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Show LEE NELSON'S While Kathryn was still teetering on the loose rock, Sam dropped to his knees, grabbing the loose coils of the rope. He found the section closest to the end tied to Kathryn's leg and wrapped it quickly around his left wrist before taking a firm hold with his hand, at the same time wrapping his right arm around the heavy pine beam. By taking up the slack in the rope, Sam broke Kathryn's fall before be-fore it hardly began. She felt the pull of the rope as she began to fall, turning her upside down and hold-' hold-' ing her in a hanging position just I over the edge of the cliff. She was ' out of sight, maybe a foot or two ! below the ledge, and somewhat ' bruised from the slam against the ; cliff face as the rope broke her fall. ; Otherwise, she was all right except ex-cept for the paralyzing fear of being i so close to death and being totally helpless to do anything about it. ; Sam began to tug on the rope, hoping he had the strength to pull : Kathryn back up with one arm. But as soon as he began to inch the rope in, he became aware of Boggs .' again. Having recovered from the i rock's blow, the old man was ' creeping forward, the long skinning skin-ning knife still in his hand. OSam was helpless to do anything. If he let go of the rope, Kathryn would fall to her death. If he con- tinued to hang on, he would be de-j de-j fenseless before Dick Boggs and , his knife. ; Boggs stepped closer. Sam i looked right and left, but he didn't ' know what he was looking for. In his confusion over what to do, his grip on the rope relaxed, just a little, lit-tle, just enough for the rope to begin be-gin slipping through his hand. Sam tightened his grip, stopping the movement of the rope. Boggs began to laugh, stepping even closer. "Better let her go," taunted Boggs. "Plenty more women where she came from." Sam continued con-tinued to hang on, a determined but desperate look on his face. He could hear Kathryn sobbing. "If you don't let go, I'm going to slit your throat," warned Boggs. "As your blood runs out you'll begin be-gin to lose your strength, the rope will begin to slip, you'll let go, and she'll fall to her death." Grinning, the old man moved one step closer. Something Boggs had said " started racing again and again i through Sam's mind. "The rope will begin to slip." That's it, i thought Sam. Our only chance. Sam loosened his grip on the : rope just a little, allowing it to slip between his fingers. Faster. His : plan was simple. Let all the rope ; out. Kathryn could hang just as comfortably 30 feet down the cliff : as she could in her present place : just over the edge. But with all the i rope played out, the heavy beam would be holding Kathryn, freeing Sam to deal with Boggs. Sam let the rope out even faster. There wasn't much time. His hand was burning as the rope wore through skin and flesh. Sam looked up at Boggs, who was watching the rope, trying to figure out what Sam was up to. Trying to anticipate what Boggs might do next, Sam changed to a sitting position, pushing his feet out in front of him, towards Boggs. Sam was ready now to kick at Boggs should the old man decide to come at him before all the rope was out. Having figured out what Sam was doing, Boggs didn't waste any time deciding what he would do. He moved close, fully aware that Sam could kick at him and possibly kick the knife out of his hand if he got too close. But he had something some-thing else in mind. Just when Boggs was almost in kicking range, when Sam was getting get-ting ready to strike out with one of his boots, Boggs did the unexpected unex-pected again. Reaching down, he picked up one of the remaining coils of rope and cut it with his knife, laughing. Sam's plan was spoiled. The end of Kathryn's rope was no longer tied to the beam. The end would soon slip through Sam's hand and she would fall to her death. "What are you going to do, kid?" asked Boggs. "Let her go ' and fight me like a man? Or hang on until I slit your throat?" Sam could see Kathryn falling to her death on the boulders below. Logic told him she would die no matter what he did. He might as well let go now so he would have a chance to save his own skin. That is what she would want him to do. Hanging on wouldn't do her any good. Not now. Still, there was something about the conscious act of letting go of the rope, even though it seemed the logical thing to do, that was beyond Sam's ability to do. He couldn't let go. "What are you going to do?" taunted Boggs, just out of reach of Sam's boot. Sam raised his chin and spit at Boggs, at the same time continuing to hang onto the rope. Boggs moved in. Sam kicked simultaneously with both feet, ' striking Boggs in the stomach. Almost" instinctively, the old man wrapped his arms around the boots to prevent a second kick. Sam tried to pull his feet free, but couldn't. Every moment was loosening his hold on the beam and his grip on the rope. Boggs knew it and leaned backwards, pulling Sam away from the beam and rope. Sam didn't know what else to do but hang on and grit his teeth. He knew only one thing, that he would not let go of the rope or the beam as long as there was strength in him to hang on. Suddenly there was a snapping, in his head. Like something cracked. crack-ed. He felt it. But when it happened again, Sam thought maybe he was hearing it. Suddenly Boggs let go of his boots. Sam forced his eyes to focus on Boggs, who was reeling about, blood streaming from his nose and mouth. Again the crack. This time Sam realized he had been hearing the report of a rifle. Someone from down below was pumping lead into Dick Boggs. The old man dropped forward to his knees, again within range of Sam's boot, but closer to the edge of the cliff. Sam kicked again. Boggs lost his balance and disappeared from sight. Sam's attention was back on the rope and Kathryn and how he could get the loose end secured to the beam. He no longer had the strength iu pull her up. He couldn't hang on much longer. But he couldn't let her g v'ot now. "Help," he called. He hoped that whoever had fired those shots was running up the trail. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually Sam became aware of footsteps behind be-hind him. "Don't let go now," cautioned a voice. It was Lance. Lance grabbed the rope and together they began pulling Kathryn up the cliff, calling to her that everything was going to be all right. She was bruised and battered, and the skin was worn raw where the rope was tied around her leg. As soon as Kathryn was safe on the ledge, with Sam untying the rope, Lance headed back down the trail. "Got a little business to take care of with Boggs," he said in parting. Sam glanced over the cliff. Below Be-low on the boulders he could see the twisted body. It wasn't moving. mov-ing. He turned to Kathryn. "You going to be all right?" She nodded. He sat down beside her, both with their backs against the heavy beam, both too spent to talk. It felt so good, just to be alive and know that life wasn't going to end at any moment. After a while Kathryn began to pick some rock particles out of an abrasion on her shoulder. Sam looked at the bloody mess that had once been the palm of his left hand. "Isn't it wonderful that it's over," said Kathryn. "Feels great," said Sam. "Think I can still make it to Virginia Vir-ginia City by dark?" asked Kathryn. They were both laughing when Lance reappeared, tossing a bloody piece of skin at their feet. "What's that?" asked Kathryn. "Boggs' scalp," said Sam. "Lance is half-Indian." "But there's no hair on it," said Kathryn. "Being bald doesn't get special privileges for a man like Boggs," responded Lance. They all laughed. "Found this on him," said Lance, tossing the bear claw necklace neck-lace in Sam's lap. "Think it's the one Grizzly Fire Woman was wearing. wear-ing. Thought you would want it." "Thanks," said Sam. Without warning and before she could respond, Sam reached over and placed the necklace over Kathryn's head. She looked at him. She knew the story of the matching necklaces and what they meant to Sam. "Are you sure you want me to have this?" she asked. "I'm sure," he said. "But on one condition." "What's that?" "That you forget the trip to Virginia Vir-ginia City." "It's a deal," Kathryn said, holding the shiny black claws out where she.could get a better look at them. THE END |