“Well, I hope he won’t get out of sight after to-night,” suggested Sam. “I hope we’ll have him good and tight before morning.”
“I firmly believe that he will be taken to-night!” was the reply.
The machine was now only a short distance above the ledge upon which the aviator aimed to land. Even in the dim light they could see a level stretch of rock, and the _Ann_ was soon resting easily within a short distance of the fort, now hidden only by an angle of the cliff.
Presently the two moved forward together and looked around the base of the cliff. The fort lay dark and silent in the night. So far as appearances were concerned, there had never been any lights displayed from her battlements during the long years which had passed away since her construction!
There was only a very narrow ledge between the northern wall of the fort and the precipice which struck straight down into the valley, three hundred feet below. In order to reach the interior of the fortification from the position they occupied, it would be necessary for Havens and his companion to pass along this ledge and creep into an opening which faced the valley.
At regular intervals on the outer edge of this ledge were balanced great boulders, placed there in prehistoric times for use in case an attempt should be made to scale the precipice. A single one of these rocks, if cast down at the right moment, might have annihilated an army.
The two men passed along the ledge gingerly, for they understood that a slight push would send one of these boulders crashing down. At last they came to what seemed to be an entrance into the heart of the fortress. There were no lights in sight as they looked in. The place seemed utterly void of human life.
Sam crept in first and waited for his companion to follow. Mr. Havens sprang at the ledge of the opening, which was some feet above the level of the shelf on which he stood, and lifted himself by his arms. As he did so a fragment of rock under one hand gave way and he dropped back.
In saving himself he threw out both feet and reached for a crevice in the wall. This would have been an entirely safe procedure if his feet had not come with full force against one of the boulders overlooking the valley.