"We've got to get out of this mighty quick," shouted Edward. "Hustle now
and repair ship."
We got to work at once, Juba aiding us a little under Edmund's direction,
and soon we had the sleds out of the tangle and properly attached. Then
we replaced the natives on their seats, and entered the car. Edmund began
to fumble with his apparatus. After some ten minutes' work he said, in an
evasive way, that the damage was not serious enough to prevent the
working of the car, but I thought I caught an expression of extreme
anxiety in his face. Still, his manner indicated that he considered
himself master of the situation.
"You notice," he said, "that this wind is variable, and there lies our
chance. When the blasts weaken, the air springs back from the face of the
cliff and then whirls round to the right. I've no doubt that there is a
passage in that direction through which the wind finds its way behind
this icy mountain, and if we can get there, too, we shall undoubtedly
find at least partial shelter. I'm going to take advantage of the first
lull."
It worked out just as he had predicted. As the wind surged back after a
particularly vicious rush against the great blue cliff, we cut loose and
went sailing up into it, rushing past the glittering wall so swiftly that
it made our heads swim.
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