Secrets of the Andes Page 27

  CHAPTER XXVII

  Fighting Desperately

  There was not a moment to lose. With the huge white condor swoopingdown upon them, the explorers knew that they must act quickly.Unfortunately their rifles had been left on the trail above. Beforethey could secure the weapons the huge bird would be upon them andwould probably use its terrible claws and beak to great advantage.

  "My knife is all we have to defend ourselves with," said Joe, watchingthe large form advance toward them. "But I'm going to use it."

  The condor came on swiftly. It circled around a few times near itsnest and then rushed madly at the little group of adventurers.

  Now it was barely ten feet away and coming with deadly aim. In but abrief moment it would be in a position where it could work deadlyhavoc with its sharp claws.

  Joe had his long hunting knife in readiness now, waiting for anopportune moment. Then it came.

  The huge white bird was soaring directly above its human enemies. Asit dropped lower, Joe lunged forward and plunged the sharp knifethrough one of the long, thin legs.

  Uttering a curious sound, the condor darted away, circled around for abrief period, and then flew at the explorers with a new determination.

  One of the horrible claws shot out and caught Joe's arm, the impactknocking the knife from the youth's hand. It went hurtling to thebottom of the abyss, far below.

  Joe was weaponless, helpless!

  New horror crept over him when he suddenly felt himself leaving theground. Not fifteen feet away was the edge of the cliff! Vainly hetried to escape from the clutch of that formidable claw.

  Meanwhile, Bob and the old man were not inactive. They knew that itwould only be a short time before their friend would be carried overthe brink of the cliff. And that must be prevented at any cost.

  Looking wildly about, Bob caught sight of a rock about half as largeas a brick. Almost frantic, he picked it up, and with desperatestrength he sent it crashing into the condor's body.

  The force was terrific, and for a moment it seemed as if the condorwere going to drop. But it righted itself and carried the helplessJoe still farther toward the rocky edge.

  "I'm going to try something," blurted out Bob, his face red with anawful fear. "You run up to the mules and get a rifle--quick!" he saidto Dr. Rander.

  As a last resort, Bob hurled his hundred and eighty pounds at Joe'sfeet, and caught hold with a grip of steel. He wondered if the hugebird could lift both himself and his friend. If it could....

  At that moment Dr. Rander scrambled down the rocky slope with a rifle,which he aimed unflinchingly at the condor's body. The next moment thegun barked.

  With a terrific fluttering of its heavy wings, the bird sank slowly tothe ground. It touched the hard soil, and then with a convulsivetwitch it lay still.

  For almost a minute there was silence among the little party ofadventurers. They were panting furiously, and their wide eyes had notyet lost their look of terror. Perspiration was streaming from them,making their faces shine gruesomely. It had been one of the narrowestescapes they had had so far.

  Finally Joe wiped his face and looked at Bob with intense gratitude.Then his eyes fell on Dr. Rander, whose rifle was still warm from thetimely shot.

  "I don't know how to thank you," he said warmly. "If you hadn't beenso plucky, I would probably be lying in a broken mass at the bottom ofthe gorge right now. It was simply wonderful!"

  "Forget it!" Bob disclaimed any praise offered him. "The only thingnow that matters is that you're alive."

  "Thank Bob for that," the old man said. "If he had not thrown himselfat your feet you would surely have gone over the cliff."

  "But it was your shot that finished the job," protested Bob Holton."Even with the weight of both of us the condor was slowly dragging ustoward the brink."

  "I'm afraid my bullet would have been too late if you hadn't done whatyou did," persisted the old man.

  "All right. Have it your own way." With a laugh Bob dropped the matterand stooped over to examine the huge white bird.

  It must have had a wing spread of over ten feet. Later measurementsshowed that this was accurate. But what impressed the youths most wasits pure white feathers, which looked as clean as if they had beenrecently washed. The terrible claws and long sharp beak next caughtthe youths' eyes, and their respect for the power of this monstrousbird was increased.

  "Quite a specimen," observed Joe. "And speaking of specimens," he wenton, "why can't we skin it and take it with us? Our dads and Mr.Wallace would sure be tickled. The white condor! Boy! I can just seethem giving cries of delight."

  "Nothing to prevent us," returned the other youth. "We may find ithard to place in our mule train, but we'll manage some way."

  Bob secured a long knife, and with a skill that he learned while onother hunting trips he cut the bird's skin open down the breast. A fewminutes more and the task was completed.

  Without the weight of the body, the skin was light, and they had nodifficulty in tying it over the back of one of the mules, whichappeared not to notice the extra load.

  With one last look at the spot where Joe had almost met his death,they turned and drove the pack animals ahead on the remainder of thejourney to Pasaje.

  But now they were more anxious than ever to reach their destinationand fly with Karl Sutman to the place where their fathers werehunting. With every minute they longed still more to reach the townthey were approaching.

  "I hope nothing further comes up to stay us," remarked Bob, as theydescended a steep slope. "Somehow I've had enough excitement for awhile."

  "So have I," said Joe. "But of course there's no way of telling whatwe may meet in these mountains."

  The next day they found themselves in a wide valley, which was coveredwith a heavy growth of dense vegetation. Tree ferns were quiteprominent, growing in large clusters that dotted the valley. Brightflowers were also numerous, some of them unusual in shape and form.

  And with this heavy vegetation came several varieties of wild animals,among them being foxes, lizards, guinea pigs, and a host of birds. Theyouths could easily have shot some, but they did not wish to lose timein doing so.

  "I believe we are getting close to Pasaje now," announced the old man,as he led the way around the winding Apurimac River.

  Notwithstanding this, they traveled all that day without coming to thetown. Camp was made at a clearing near the stream, supper wasprepared, and then all retired, knowing that the following day wouldwitness their coming to their destination.

  Early the next morning the young men saw something that thrilled themwith delight. They had been breaking camp and were almost ready toresume the tramp when suddenly their keen ears caught the sound of amotor. Looking up, they plainly made out an airplane in the sky abovethem.

  "That's Karl!" cried Joe joyously. "I wouldn't be afraid to betanything that it is."

  "I sure hope you're right," came from Bob. "Gee! Won't it be swell tosee him again?"

  "Of course there's a chance that he won't see us," said the other boy."But I believe he will. He'll be looking around for us closely. Maybethat's why he's here now."

  Bob started, as an ominous thought struck him.

  "Do you suppose anything's happened--to our dads, I mean?" he asked ina tense voice.

  Joe's face darkened.

  "I--I hadn't thought of that," he replied solemnly.

  They watched the airplane closely, expecting at every moment to see ithead downward.

  Then it came.

  "Hurrah!" Bob was overjoyed. "Karl sees us, all right. And it's Karl,too," he observed, as the monoplane came closer.

  As the machine flew closer it circled around the little group below,rapidly flying lower. When within a hundred feet of them, its cabinwindow opened, and Karl's face was thrust out.

  "Hello, up there!" shouted Bob, and received an answering greeting.But the noise of the 'plane's engine made it impossible for theadventurers to understand the aviator's words.

  While the three wer
e still gazing up at the huge monoplane they sawsomething that caused them to look all the closer. They made outKarl's arm reaching out of the cockpit. Then they saw something whitedrop toward the ground.

  "It's a small parachute," observed Joe, his heart beating rapidly."Wonder what's tied to it?"

  As there was no wind, the object fell in a straight line, theparachute opened and began to float slowly above the onlookers. Beforelong it came to the ground within fifteen feet of them. Karl hadcertainly aimed accurately.

  "Hurry!" cried Joe. "Let's see what it is. Maybe something's happenedto our dads or the others."

  He picked up the parachute, at the end of which was attached a smallbox. Opening it, the youth found a folded paper.

  "Quick!" murmured Bob. "Let's see what he has to say."