In the Land of the Long White Cloud

was, for the moment, not especiallyprecarious. The rock protrusion was big enough for one, maybe two people. Lucas would have to lower himself down on a rope, grab hold of the boy, and help him climb up. He considered whether he could make use of the horse, but without a saddle on whose horn the rope could be knotted, it wasn’t very promising. Besides, he didn’t know the animal. If it ran off while they were hanging on the rope, it could kill them both. So he’d have to tie it to one of the rocks. Lucas looped the rope around one. It wasn’t long enough for a descent all the way to the canyon floor, but it easily reached David’s precipice.
    “I’m coming, Davey! Stay calm.” Lucas slid over the rocky ledge. His heart was beating heavily, and his shirt was damp from sweat. Lucas had never been a climber—heights scared him. But lowering himself down was easier than he had thought it would be. The rock was not smooth, and Lucas kept finding handholds on ledges, which gave him courage for the climb back up. He just couldn’t look down.
    David had dragged himself to the edge of the protrusion and awaited Lucas with outstretched arms. But Lucas had not correctly estimated the distance. Though he was now at the same height as David, he had ended up to the left of the rock protrusion. He would have to get the rope swinging lightly so that the boy could grab hold of it. Lucas felt sick just thinking about it. Until then he had maintained at least a light grip on the rock, but in order to swing he would have to push himself away from the cliff.
    He took a deep breath.
    “I’m coming now, David! Reach for the rope, and pull me toward you. As soon as I have a foothold, scoot over to me, and I’ll grab onto you. I’ll hold onto you; don’t be afraid.”
    David nodded. His face was pale and streaming with tears. But he seemed to be holding himself together, and he was very capable. He should have no trouble grabbing hold of the rope.
    Lucas let go of the rock and kicked off forcefully in order to land close to Dave with as little pendulating as possible. On his first attempt, however, he swung in the wrong direction and ended up too far from the boy. He felt around for his foothold, then tried again.This time he succeeded. David seized the rope while Lucas’s foot cast about for a hold.
    But then the rope slackened. The rock above on the cliff’s edge must have moved, or Lucas’s ineptly tied knot must have slipped. At first Lucas’s body slid down only a few inches. He screamed—and then everything happened in a few seconds that stretched into an eternity. The rope above the cliff came completely loose. Lucas fell, and David clung to the rope. The boy tried desperately to halt his friend’s fall, but from his prone position, it was hopeless. The rope slipped faster and faster through his fingers. If it slipped all the way, not only would Lucas fall to the ground, but David’s last hope would be gone. With the rope, he might still be able to lower himself to the river’s edge. Without, it he would die of hunger or thirst on this rock ledge. Several thoughts raced through Lucas’s head as he fell. He had to make a decision—David could not support him, and if he landed below alive, he would in all likelihood be injured. Then the rope would be no good to either of them. Lucas decided for once in his life to do the right thing.
    “Hold onto the rope!” he called up to David. “Whatever you do, hold tight to the rope no matter what happens!”
    Pulled down by his weight, the rope slipped ever faster through David’s fingers. They had to be rope-burned already; he might have to give in to the pain at any moment.
    Lucas looked up at the desperate but beautiful face of the boy he loved—for whom he was prepared to die. Then he let go.

    Searing pain shot like knife strokes through Lucas’s back. He was not dead, but with every appalling second that passed, he wished he were. It could not be long before death took him. After falling maybe twenty yards, Lucas had crash-landed on David’s “gold strand.” He could not move his legs, and his left arm was broken; he could see the shattered bone that had punctured his skin. If only it could be over soon…
    Lucas clenched his teeth so as not to scream and listened to David’s voice above him.
    “Luke! Hold on, I’m coming!”
    The boy had held onto the rope and secured it somewhere on the rocky ledge. Lucas prayed that David would not fall as he had,