CHAPTER XVII

At Grips with Death Had the biplane struck the rocks squarely, it would have been smashed to bits, together with its inmates. As it was, the shock that had shorn away the side of the plane tore Ted and Frank from their seats, burst the straps that held them, and hurled them violently against the side of the cockpit. Ted kept his head and shut off the motor, hoping against hope that there might be some chance of volplaning to a landing below. But it was too late. The shattered plane could not be guided. With one sid…