shaft as the last swirl of water drained away.
‘Thanks,’ said Tiffany. ‘My leg was going numb in the water. But for a minute I thought you were going to drown!’
‘So did I,’ admitted Edmund.
But Tiffany was still just as stuck as she’d been before. Edmund braced himself and shone his light on the rock that was trapping her foot. It looked like another loose rock that had washed down and got jammed in the crack in the wall. He’d kicked out the rock that blocked the drain; surely he could pull this one out too …
He tugged, yanked, pushed and grunted. The rock didn’t budge.
There was another crack in the wall just above it, with a strip of rock going across from one side to the other like the bar of an H. Edmund had another idea. He shrugged off his dripping backpack and pulled out Nim’s empty pack and the sheet.
F ROM THE TOP of the rock arch, Nim was looking down at the deep blue pond. She was a very long way up, and the bridge was slippery with waterfall spray. Then she thought about Tristan and Ollie trying to cross it in pouring rain, and crawled quickly the rest of the way across.
The rock was almost flat where the arch joined the cliff. So much mud washed down to it with each rain that tough, straggly bushes were growing on it, the only bit of green on the harsh grey rocks. It was a good place to catch her breath.
Above the waterfall it was hill more than cliff; mud more than rock. Mud is easy to slide down, but hard to climb up. ‘There’s nothing else you can do,’ she told herself sternly.
She was just about to start climbing when she heard a faint voice.
‘You’re crazy!’
Which was exactly what Nim was thinking, but the voice wasn’t in her head. It was in the mountain – and so was the voice that answered.
‘Maybe. But if it’s strong enough to hold me it’ll hold you.’
‘Edmund?’ Nim called.
‘That’s weird,’ she heard. ‘It sounded like Nim.’
‘It’s coming from the crack where my foot’s stuck,’ said Tiffany.
‘I’m on the bridge!’ Nim shouted.
She pushed through the bushes till she found a hole leading into the cliff. Nim crouched and leaned in.
‘Can you hear me?’ she shouted, just as Edmund’s voice floated out, ‘Can you hear us?’
Nim really didn’t want to climb into another tunnel that she didn’t know, but the opening was wide, and she could see a long way in. It slanted upwards, so she wasn’t going to slide down anywhere except back to this safe flat patch. And she knew that Tiffany and Edmund were very close, at the other end of it. Though if the end was a crack small enough to trap Tiffany’s foot, Nim wasn’t going to fit through from this side.
Fred had already jumped off her shoulder and started in. Nim pulled on her headlamp and crawled after him.
The tunnel ended in a small cavern, tall enough for Nim to stand straight, but with water up to her knees.
Inside the shaft, light glimmered through cracks in the wall.
‘Look!’ Edmund called.
‘We can see your light!’ said Tiffany.
‘And I can see yours,’ Nim called back.
She sloshed through the water towards them. There were two strips of fabric across a bar of rock; when she got closer she saw they were the shoulder straps from a backpack – and when she looked through the crack above it she saw Tiffany swinging in a hammock seat.
‘I tied the sheet through the pack’s top handle, and wrapped it around with the cord,’ said Edmund. ‘It’s pretty strong.’
‘It’s good,’ said Tiffany. ‘I couldn’t have hung on much longer.’
Her voice was trembly and faint, and she was still anchored to the cliff wall by her left foot. Her sneaker toe was pointing through a crack into Nim’s side of the cavern.
‘Can you push it back?’ Tiffany asked.
Gently at first, then harder, Nim tried to shove the sneaker through the crack. It didn’t move.
‘Try harder!’ Tiffany said.
Nim pushed as hard as she could.
Tiffany screamed. Her foot still
‘Thanks,’ said Tiffany. ‘My leg was going numb in the water. But for a minute I thought you were going to drown!’
‘So did I,’ admitted Edmund.
But Tiffany was still just as stuck as she’d been before. Edmund braced himself and shone his light on the rock that was trapping her foot. It looked like another loose rock that had washed down and got jammed in the crack in the wall. He’d kicked out the rock that blocked the drain; surely he could pull this one out too …
He tugged, yanked, pushed and grunted. The rock didn’t budge.
There was another crack in the wall just above it, with a strip of rock going across from one side to the other like the bar of an H. Edmund had another idea. He shrugged off his dripping backpack and pulled out Nim’s empty pack and the sheet.
F ROM THE TOP of the rock arch, Nim was looking down at the deep blue pond. She was a very long way up, and the bridge was slippery with waterfall spray. Then she thought about Tristan and Ollie trying to cross it in pouring rain, and crawled quickly the rest of the way across.
The rock was almost flat where the arch joined the cliff. So much mud washed down to it with each rain that tough, straggly bushes were growing on it, the only bit of green on the harsh grey rocks. It was a good place to catch her breath.
Above the waterfall it was hill more than cliff; mud more than rock. Mud is easy to slide down, but hard to climb up. ‘There’s nothing else you can do,’ she told herself sternly.
She was just about to start climbing when she heard a faint voice.
‘You’re crazy!’
Which was exactly what Nim was thinking, but the voice wasn’t in her head. It was in the mountain – and so was the voice that answered.
‘Maybe. But if it’s strong enough to hold me it’ll hold you.’
‘Edmund?’ Nim called.
‘That’s weird,’ she heard. ‘It sounded like Nim.’
‘It’s coming from the crack where my foot’s stuck,’ said Tiffany.
‘I’m on the bridge!’ Nim shouted.
She pushed through the bushes till she found a hole leading into the cliff. Nim crouched and leaned in.
‘Can you hear me?’ she shouted, just as Edmund’s voice floated out, ‘Can you hear us?’
Nim really didn’t want to climb into another tunnel that she didn’t know, but the opening was wide, and she could see a long way in. It slanted upwards, so she wasn’t going to slide down anywhere except back to this safe flat patch. And she knew that Tiffany and Edmund were very close, at the other end of it. Though if the end was a crack small enough to trap Tiffany’s foot, Nim wasn’t going to fit through from this side.
Fred had already jumped off her shoulder and started in. Nim pulled on her headlamp and crawled after him.
The tunnel ended in a small cavern, tall enough for Nim to stand straight, but with water up to her knees.
Inside the shaft, light glimmered through cracks in the wall.
‘Look!’ Edmund called.
‘We can see your light!’ said Tiffany.
‘And I can see yours,’ Nim called back.
She sloshed through the water towards them. There were two strips of fabric across a bar of rock; when she got closer she saw they were the shoulder straps from a backpack – and when she looked through the crack above it she saw Tiffany swinging in a hammock seat.
‘I tied the sheet through the pack’s top handle, and wrapped it around with the cord,’ said Edmund. ‘It’s pretty strong.’
‘It’s good,’ said Tiffany. ‘I couldn’t have hung on much longer.’
Her voice was trembly and faint, and she was still anchored to the cliff wall by her left foot. Her sneaker toe was pointing through a crack into Nim’s side of the cavern.
‘Can you push it back?’ Tiffany asked.
Gently at first, then harder, Nim tried to shove the sneaker through the crack. It didn’t move.
‘Try harder!’ Tiffany said.
Nim pushed as hard as she could.
Tiffany screamed. Her foot still
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