ks, possibly
months, to construct a ladder to the top. I had no conception of their
formidable height. Our mortar would not carry a line halfway to the
crest of the lowest point. There is no use discussing any plan other
than the hydro-aeroplane. We'll find the beach and get busy."

Late the following morning the lookout announced that he could discern
surf about a mile ahead; and as we approached, we all saw the line of
breakers broken by a long sweep of rolling surf upon a narrow beach.
The launch was lowered, and five of us made a landing, getting a good
ducking in the ice-cold waters in the doing of it; but we were rewarded
by the finding of the clean-picked bones of what might have been the
skeleton of a high order of ape or a very low order of man, lying close
to the base of the cliff. Billings was satisfied, as were the rest of
us, that this was the beach mentioned by Bowen, and we further found
that there was ample room to assemble the sea-plane.

Billings, having arrived at a decision, lost no time in acting, with
the result that before mid-afternoon we had landed all the large boxes
marked "H" upon the beach, and were busily engaged in opening them.
Two days later the plane was assembled and tuned. We loaded tackles
and ropes, water, food and ammunition in it, and then we each implored
Billings to let us be the one to accompany him. But he would take no
one. That was Billings; if there was any especially difficult or
dangerous work to be done, that one man could do, Billings always did
it himself. If he needed assistance, he never called for
volunteers--just selected the man or men he considered best qualified
for the duty. He said that he considered the principles underlying all
volunteer service fundamentally wrong, and that it seemed to him that
calling for volunteers reflected upon the courage and loyalty of the
entire command.

We rolled the plane down to the water's edge, and Billings mounted the
pilot's seat. There was a moment's delay as he assured himself that he
had everything necessary. Jimmy Hollis went over his armament and
ammunition to see that nothing had been omitted. Besides pistol and
rifle, there was the machine-gun mounted in front of him on the plane,
and ammunition for all three. Bowen's account of the terrors of Caspak
had impressed us all with the necessity for proper means of defense.

At last all was ready. The motor was started, and we pushed the plane
out into