Free The Stone Idol by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

drove around the base of the mountain. They strained their eyes to see if they could make out the glacier through the wind and snow.
    Suddenly they felt the Sno-Cat moving sideways!
    â€œWe’re on the glacier!” Frank shouted.
    Desperately, he threw the vehicle into reverse. The moving river of ice caught it and spun it in a semicircle. They swung toward the end of the glacier where a tumbled mass of ice blocks threatened to crush them!
    At the last moment, helped by the weight of the sled behind, the left rear tread caught on solid terrain. Frank quickly flipped the switch that fed all the power to that tread, and the Sno-Cat moved backward, pushing the sled as it went. Then the right rear tread gripped the ground. This permitted the vehicle to back all the way off the glacier.
    Frank wiped perspiration from his brow. “Wow!” he gasped. “That’s the first time I ever drove sideways!”
    Joe chuckled, trying to overcome the fear he had felt only seconds before. “You just won your Sno-Cat driver’s license.”
    â€œAnyway, we found the glacier, and are on the last leg of this trip.”
    â€œRight,” Joe said. “Now go west for twenty miles.”
    He took a compass reading, and they clanked forward over hills and down into valleys. Checking his instruments, Frank counted off the miles.
    â€œTwenty!” he said at last.
    â€œWe should reach Outpost I at any moment,” Joe said, again resorting to the binoculars for a better view ahead. However, all he could see was endless ice and snow.
    They rolled on and on, and the snow stopped falling. Now the terrain became more level.
    After a while, Frank spoke up. “Maybe we bypassed the place. We could have missed it in the snowstorm. See if you can raise them on the radio, Joe. They can guide us in.”
    Joe took the receiver from the dashboard and flicked the “on” button. However, no sound came from the instrument! He banged it with the heel of his hand, but to no avail. Then he opened the back to check the batteries. The case was empty!
    â€œNo batteries!” Joe groaned. “How did that happen?” He quickly searched the cabin for spares, but there were none. “The guy who fixed the Sno-Cat for us must have forgotten them. What a mistake!”
    â€œLet’s look at the map Muller gave us,” Frank suggested. “Maybe we made a mistake, too.”
    Joe picked up the map and unfolded it. Then he gasped. “The cross Muller made to indicate the outpost’s location isn’t there!” he cried out.
    â€œWhat!” Frank stopped the Sno-Cat and stared at the map.
    â€œSomeone must have changed maps on us,” Joe said. “While we were inside saying good-bye to Dad and Admiral Langton.”
    â€œSame guy who swiped the radio batteries,” Frank added. “It figures.”
    â€œNo, it doesn‘t,” Joe insisted. “I remember Muller said to turn west at the glacier, and that’s what we did!”
    â€œAre you sure he didn’t say east?”
    â€œYes—well—I thought he said west.”
    Frank pointed to a small hill to the right. “Let’s climb up there and take our bearings. I’ll maneuver as close as I can get.”
    He drove forward toward the hill. Suddenly, the snow gave way under the right front tread! He cut the engine instantly, but the Sno-Cat tilted up on end and the tread hung over empty air! The Hardys stared down into an icy crevasse hundreds of feet deep!
    They shivered as they realized that any movement might cause the vehicle to lose its balance and topple over the edge, hurtling them to the bottom of the crevasse!
    â€œWe can’t take a chance and climb out,” Frank muttered. “I’ll have to see if I can drive us out of this corner. Keep your fingers crossed, Joe!”
    Carefully, he turned on the motor and put the vehicle into reverse. It teetered on the edge of the crevasse