out?’
Tikaani pulled the map from Beck’s rucksack and they unfolded it together. The map was covered with symbols – contours, of course, and different hieroglyphs for rocks and trees and ice. It took a moment for Beck to assimilate it all and identify their position. He wondered if maybe he hadn’t been a bit too reliant on the GPS.
But the river that they had forded was easy to find – a wiggly blue line, deceptively thin. He remembered where the pass was too – the winding thread through the knot of contour lines. Their position had to be somewhere between the two. They had headed pretty well due west from the river. He trailed his finger along the map. Once he had found the cluster of dark lines that represented the glacier, he knew exactly where they were.
‘So, we’re here . . .’ He looked up at the mountaintops. ‘And the pass is here.’ They would find it. He squared his shoulders. ‘Ready for the last bit?’
‘And then it’s downhill all the way?’
Beck checked the map again. The pass itself crested a rise through the mountains.
‘Once we’re halfway through – you bet!’
‘Oh boy, oh boy!’ Tikaani said with feeling. ‘Lead on!’
Up ahead, two rocky promontories protruded from the base of the cliff. They came down the slope in different directions, one to the south and one to the north. The boys were heading for the cliff in between. They kept their zigzag course up the slope but their destination was always in sight. The rocky arms stretched out like the mountain was welcoming them into its embrace. The cliff loomed up ahead of them. Beck scanned it quickly for the dark cleft that would indicate the opening of the pass.
‘Not seeing it . . .’ Tikaani murmured. He mirrored Beck’s own thoughts. ‘What exactly are we looking for?’
Beck remembered the pass on the map. On this side of the mountains it was tiny, its walls so close together that the threadlike contours on either side were a solid line. Beyond that it widened out into a much wider valley.
‘This end – it won’t be big. It might just look like a crack . . .’
A little further along the cliff, to their left, the mountainside bulged out slightly. Beck reckoned the pass would be just the other side.
‘This way,’ he said, and they changed course slightly. They came round the bulge . . .
. . . and faced nothing but sheer rock.
CHAPTER 26
The boys stared at it for a moment as if it might magically open up.
‘Do we knock?’ Tikaani asked after a moment.
Beck swore to himself. ‘I’m sorry. I really thought this was it.’
‘Hey, it must be around here somewhere,’ Tikaani pointed out logically. Beck could hear the disappointment in his voice but his friend was quite right. ‘We can go different ways to look for it.’
‘Yes . . .’ Beck really didn’t want to split up, but it would save time. ‘Don’t go too far. A hundred metres, tops. We make sure we can see each other all the time, right?’
‘Right.’
Tikaani headed south, Beck went north, carefully scanning the foot of the rock face. Suddenly his eyes caught a gap in the cliff a couple of metres up. His heart leaped. Right! Of course! No one said the entrance to the pass had to be at ground level.
He kicked off his snowshoes and scrambled up the bare rock. The gap he was aiming for was no more than three metres wide, and it angled away from him. No wonder they hadn’t seen it from a distance. He was careful to keep to his own rules, making sure Tikaani could see him, but at least he could get to the entrance. He stood there triumphantly and looked at . . .
. . . more rock. The gap went back for a few metres, and then its sides closed together. No pass.
Beck slowly turned away and climbed back down. He sat down and tied on his snowshoes.
Tikaani was trudging towards him. ‘Nothing this way,’ he reported. ‘Not within a hundred metres anyway.’
‘OK,’ Beck sighed. ‘We’re going to have to go further. We’ll look for
Tikaani pulled the map from Beck’s rucksack and they unfolded it together. The map was covered with symbols – contours, of course, and different hieroglyphs for rocks and trees and ice. It took a moment for Beck to assimilate it all and identify their position. He wondered if maybe he hadn’t been a bit too reliant on the GPS.
But the river that they had forded was easy to find – a wiggly blue line, deceptively thin. He remembered where the pass was too – the winding thread through the knot of contour lines. Their position had to be somewhere between the two. They had headed pretty well due west from the river. He trailed his finger along the map. Once he had found the cluster of dark lines that represented the glacier, he knew exactly where they were.
‘So, we’re here . . .’ He looked up at the mountaintops. ‘And the pass is here.’ They would find it. He squared his shoulders. ‘Ready for the last bit?’
‘And then it’s downhill all the way?’
Beck checked the map again. The pass itself crested a rise through the mountains.
‘Once we’re halfway through – you bet!’
‘Oh boy, oh boy!’ Tikaani said with feeling. ‘Lead on!’
Up ahead, two rocky promontories protruded from the base of the cliff. They came down the slope in different directions, one to the south and one to the north. The boys were heading for the cliff in between. They kept their zigzag course up the slope but their destination was always in sight. The rocky arms stretched out like the mountain was welcoming them into its embrace. The cliff loomed up ahead of them. Beck scanned it quickly for the dark cleft that would indicate the opening of the pass.
‘Not seeing it . . .’ Tikaani murmured. He mirrored Beck’s own thoughts. ‘What exactly are we looking for?’
Beck remembered the pass on the map. On this side of the mountains it was tiny, its walls so close together that the threadlike contours on either side were a solid line. Beyond that it widened out into a much wider valley.
‘This end – it won’t be big. It might just look like a crack . . .’
A little further along the cliff, to their left, the mountainside bulged out slightly. Beck reckoned the pass would be just the other side.
‘This way,’ he said, and they changed course slightly. They came round the bulge . . .
. . . and faced nothing but sheer rock.
CHAPTER 26
The boys stared at it for a moment as if it might magically open up.
‘Do we knock?’ Tikaani asked after a moment.
Beck swore to himself. ‘I’m sorry. I really thought this was it.’
‘Hey, it must be around here somewhere,’ Tikaani pointed out logically. Beck could hear the disappointment in his voice but his friend was quite right. ‘We can go different ways to look for it.’
‘Yes . . .’ Beck really didn’t want to split up, but it would save time. ‘Don’t go too far. A hundred metres, tops. We make sure we can see each other all the time, right?’
‘Right.’
Tikaani headed south, Beck went north, carefully scanning the foot of the rock face. Suddenly his eyes caught a gap in the cliff a couple of metres up. His heart leaped. Right! Of course! No one said the entrance to the pass had to be at ground level.
He kicked off his snowshoes and scrambled up the bare rock. The gap he was aiming for was no more than three metres wide, and it angled away from him. No wonder they hadn’t seen it from a distance. He was careful to keep to his own rules, making sure Tikaani could see him, but at least he could get to the entrance. He stood there triumphantly and looked at . . .
. . . more rock. The gap went back for a few metres, and then its sides closed together. No pass.
Beck slowly turned away and climbed back down. He sat down and tied on his snowshoes.
Tikaani was trudging towards him. ‘Nothing this way,’ he reported. ‘Not within a hundred metres anyway.’
‘OK,’ Beck sighed. ‘We’re going to have to go further. We’ll look for
Similar Books
