The Rock Jockeys by Gary Paulsen Page B

ready.”
    J.D. and Spud strained on the rope trying to get him back to the ledge. Rick helped every time he got a chance, using tiny cracks and footholds.
    When they hauled him over the edge, his face was white and covered with sweat. He rested for a few minutes and then shakily got to his feet.
    “Hold on.” Spud steadied him. “You should take it easy for a while.”
    Rick shook his head. “No time. If we’re going to make it to the top before dark we have to hustle.”
    J.D. readjusted his pack. “It would be better to spend the night out here on the face than to have the coroner scrape us up off the bottom.”
    Spud swallowed. “If you want to switch places, Rick, I’ll take lead for a while.”
    Rick set his jaw. “I’m the designated leader on this climb.” He turned to the overhang. “And I’ll see it through to the end. Now let’s get going.”

C HAPTER 3
    “Don’t you look pretty?” Rick frowned as he hauled J.D. on top of the overhang.
    J.D. touched his cheek. Blood came off on his hand. “I guess I must have scraped it coming over.”
    The three of them sat on the narrow overhang, resting and looking down at what they had accomplished so far. They were halfway up the wall with no major problems. But this was nothing; other climbers had made it this far. What had stopped them was what still lay ahead.
    The rock wall above them was as smooth as polished black marble. There were no crevices and no ledges. They would have to fight for every inch.
    Rick looked at his friends. J.D. and Spud nodded silently. Rick stood up and started. His job would be to make the trail. Their job was to make sure he lived through it.
    The sun was already on its way down. The climb was taking longer than any of them had expected. But Rick was determined. He kept going, working at a snail’s pace hammering and moving up.
    The other two followed, always keeping a watchful eye. At the slightest hint of a slip, Spud and J.D. pulled the rope taut and prayed the pitons would hold them.
    Rick was fast becoming exhausted. The climb had taken a lot out of him. He looked down. Spud and J.D. resembled tiny insects trailing along behind him. Everything looked so small and insignificant from up here.
    “Putting on headlamp,” Rick yelled down. He reached in his pack and pulled it out.They were losing the light. From here to the top they would have to work wearing the lamps.
    The headlamp threw weird shadows and made it hard to decide where to hammer. Rick unclipped a piton and started to pound it in. The rock was rotten and small pieces came loose in his hand. A big chunk fell out. He grabbed for it and missed.
    “Rock!”
    Spud covered his head and buried his face in the wall as the rock sailed by. J.D. wasn’t as lucky. The chunk smashed into his shoulder.
    “You rock brain. What are you trying to do up there—kill me?”
    Rick breathed a sigh of relief. He knew if J.D. was yelling at him, he wasn’t hurt too bad. He shouted back, “Just trying to keep you guys on your toes.”
    “Wait till we reach the top,” J.D. called. “I’ll show you how much I appreciate it.”
    They worked in silence for the next two hours. The only sounds in the still evening were the clang of the hammer and the groans of the three climbers.
    Rick felt above him for the next place to hammer. There was none. Instead his hand grabbed a flat rock. Using both arms, he hoisted himself over the edge. He sat on his knees and pointed his headlamp in front of him. There were patches of snow and trees everywhere.
    A slow grin started in one corner of his mouth. He threw his arms in the air triumphantly.
    “We made it!”

C HAPTER 4
    They hadn’t stopped grinning and high-fiving each other since J.D. had finally pulled himself over the top. No one in history had ever climbed the entire face of Devil’s Wall and lived to tell about it.
    Setting up camp for the night had taken less time than usual. The boys were too happy to realize how exhausted they