their fears was that he had about sixteen hundred feet of rope
available. He first gave his attention to the cave, and found that by an
easy climb of seven feet he could reach the mouth. He found the hole to be
about ten feet deep, by as many broad. It was perfectly lighted and piled
in the rear was what appeared to be an indiscriminate mass of bones buried
under a pile of dust. Dragging some of them out, he saw that the pile
consisted of some ten fine mammoth tusks, well preserved, two of which
were still attached to part of the skull of the animal, a fine museum
relic. The rest was made up of a miscellaneous collection of
ivory--narwhal's horns and tusks of the walrus--all weighing about five
hundred pounds.
There were also many Indian relics, nearly all in a decayed condition. He
soon notified his companions of what the cave contained, and asked them to
send up the block and tackle on the rope he had dragged over the pinnacle.
Fastening the block by a turn of the rope around a small point of rock
above his head, he bundled up the bones in canvas cut from one of the
planes and lowered it to his comrades. When the last of the ivory had been
lowered, together with the Indian relics which he thought the Siwashes
might prize, he took the other rope from the aeroplane and knotted it at
ten foot intervals. This he fastened to another point of rock and threw
down. Then he placed a noose of the tackle rope around his body under his
arms. Yelling to his companions to lower away he bent a last sorrowful
look upon his beloved aeroplane, and with tears in his eyes, swung off
with his knotted rope in his hands. Placing his feet against the
perpendicular rock, he swung out by his knotted guide line, and fairly
walked down the face of the obelisk backward.
The loss of the machine and Gerald's stupendous adventure and escape was
almost too much for the emotions of the Boy Scouts, and with watering eyes
they surrounded their comrade with many a hug and pat upon the back.
As for the Indians, they were on their knees almost worshipping the
mammoth's tusks and the Indian relics. To hide their emotions the boys
began at once preparations for departure. The ivory was divided up, and
under the guide's direction taken across the gravel and up the ridge,
where it was packed upon the horses. The remainder of the stuff was
abandoned, including the ropes, gasoline and tools to keep the derelict
and exalted plane company. When they reached th
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