The Rock Jockeys (5 page)

“I didn’t mean to make him mad. I was just trying to make it easier on him.” Rick sighed. “If anything happened to Spud on the way down, I’d never forgive myself.”

J.D. cocked his head. “Tell me the truth. If you were in his shoes, would you go back in a chopper?”

Rick looked sheepish. “I see what you mean.”

J.D. laughed. “We better catch up with him before he gets to the north face and starts down without us.”

They half ran through the brush until they found Spud. He glared back at them and kept walking.

J.D. winked at Rick. “You know, I was just thinking. Tomorrow would be a good time for us to try that new impaired-climber move I was reading about.”

“You mean the one where we wrap the injured
man in a sleeping bag and drop him in a free fall to the bottom?”

“That’s the one.”

Spud turned. “If you airheads think I’m gonna let you—”

Rick and J.D. started laughing. “Got ya!”

The sun was just coming up. Rick took a sip of his tea and threw a stick on the fire. “Before we start off the mountain, I guess I owe you guys an explanation about the lieutenant’s diary.”

“Diary?” Spud looked at J.D. “What diary? I don’t know anything about any diary. Do you?”

J.D. shook his head. “Never saw one.”

Rick half smiled. Then his look grew serious again. “I was thinking of the lieutenant’s family. I figure the government’s already made its report and after all these years his
family doesn’t need this kind of shock. The lieutenant did what he had to in order to survive. Any of us might have done the same in his position.”

“Nobody here is arguing with you, Rick.” J.D. was equally serious. “Spud and I talked it over last night. Your dad taught us not to judge someone unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. And I sure wouldn’t have wanted to be in Lieutenant Dowling’s shoes when the bomber crashed.”

“So we’re all agreed,” Spud said. “The only thing we found up here was an empty, wrecked bomber.” He had taken the bandage off his arm and was trying to rewrap it.

Rick watched his progress. One of the sticks fell on the ground. The other one was turned sideways. Rick folded his arms. “I know you’re a Rock Jockey and everything, but do you want some help?”

“Shut up and get over here.” Spud held the elastic bandage out to him.

J.D. looked on as Rick wrapped the arm. “You guys realize that we’re gonna be famous when we get back?”

Rick glanced up. “I’ve been giving that some thought.” He tied off the bandage and started collecting his gear. “Maybe we could use our skills to help out around here.”

J.D. put out the fire. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, there are a lot of dangerous mountain ranges nearby.” Rick uncoiled his rope. “And people like Lieutenant Dowling are always getting lost or stuck on them somewhere. Then the authorities have to go out and locate rescue teams.…”

“And you think they should call us?” Spud heaved his pack onto his back and checked his rope.

“Why not?” Rick moved to the edge of the cliff and grinned. “We’re the best, aren’t we?” He reached down and hooked his rope to the first carabiner. “Lead man ready.”

Spud put his thumb in the air. “Belayer ready.”

J.D. waved. “End man ready.”

Rick dropped over the side. “Last one down buys the other two pizza.”

“Do you think he’s serious?” Spud looked back at J.D.

“About what? The pizza or us becoming a rescue team?”

Spud laughed. “Both.”

“He better not be serious about the pizza because I’m the end man. About helping people, why not?” J.D. smiled. “After all—we’re the Rock Jockeys.”

MOUNTAINEERING

Mountaineering is a sport that requires special skill, equipment, and endurance.

The most important thing in climbing is safety. Beginning climbers should start out slowly, taking one-day hikes or backpacking trips to strengthen muscles. Practice foot- and handholds by scrambling over boulders, and never attempt a difficult climb without an experienced climber present.

Use of the rope is the most crucial skill for a climber, and many climbers spend months mastering belaying and rappelling. On most climbs, two or three people are roped together. One person is chosen as the leader and covers the route first. The second climber follows, and then the third.

Belayer:
The person who handles the ropes and protects the climber from a fall.

Bowline:
A special knot used to connect the ropes to the climber.

Carabiner:
An aluminum clip with a gate that opens and snaps shut, connecting climbing hardware with the rope.

Chimney:
Openings in a mountainside wide enough for a climber to get inside.

Commands:
Short, easy-to-understand climbing instructions exchanged between the lead man, belayer, and end man.

Ice Ax:
A special ax that has a pick on one end and a blade on the other, designed for climbing snow- or ice-covered peaks.

Pitons:
Metal spikes with rings on one end that can be hammered into cracks in rock and used as handholds.

Rappelling:
Descending a mountain by sliding down a rope that is anchored at the top.

Will Little Bear Tucker and his friend Sarah Thompson have heard the eerie Apache legend many times. Will’s grandfather especially loves to tell them about Red Horse—an Indian brave who betrayed his people, was beheaded, and now haunts the Sacramento Mountain range, searching for his head. To Will and Sarah it was just a story—until they decide to explore a newfound mountain cave, a cave filled with dangerous treasures.

Deep underground Will and Sarah uncover an old chest stuffed with a million dollars. But now armed bandits are after them. When they find a gold Apache statue hidden in a skull, it seems Red Horse is hunting them, too. Then they lose their way, and each step they take in the damp dark cavern could be their last.

Friends Brett Wilder and Tom Houston are video game whizzes. So when a new virtual reality arcade called Rodomonte’s Revenge opens near their home, they make sure that they are its first customers. The game is awesome. There are flaming fire rivers to jump, beastly buzz-bugs to fight, and ugly tunnel spiders to escape. If they’re good enough they’ll face
Rodomonte, an evil giant waiting to do battle within his hidden castle.

But soon after they play the game, strange things start happening to Brett and Tom. The computer is taking over their minds. Now everything that happens in the game is happening in real life. A buzz-bug could gnaw off their ear. Rodomonte could smash them to bits. Brett and Tom have no choice but to play Rodomonte’s Revenge again. This time they’ll be playing for their lives.

“… 
please anybody … fire … need help
.”

That’s the urgent cry thirteen-year-old Nikki Roberts hears over the CB radio the weekend she’s left alone in her family’s hunting lodge. The message also says that the sender is trapped near a bend in the river. Nikki knows it’s dangerous, but she has to try to help. She paddles her canoe downriver, coming closer to the thick black smoke of the forest fire with each stroke. When she reaches the bend, Nikki climbs onshore. There, covered with soot and huddled on a rock ledge, sit two small children.

Nikki struggles to get the children to safety. Flames roar around them. Trees splinter to the ground. But as Nikki tries to escape the fire, she doesn’t know that two poachers are also hot on her trail. They fear that she and the children have seen too much of their illegal operation—and they’ll do anything to keep the kids from making it back to the lodge alive.

Bobbie Walker loves working on her grandfather’s ranch. She hates the fact that her cousin Alex is coming up from Los Angeles to visit and will probably ruin her summer. Alex can barely ride a horse and doesn’t know the first thing about roping. There is no way Alex can survive a ride into the flats to round up wild cattle. But Bobbie is going to have to let her tag along anyway.

Out in the flats the weather turns bad. Even worse, Bobbie knows that she’ll have to watch out for the Bledsoe boys, two mischievous brothers who are usually up to no good. When the boys rustle the girls’ cattle, Bobbie and Alex team up to teach the Bledsoes a lesson. But with the wild bull Diablo on the loose, the fun and games may soon turn deadly serious.

Daniel Martin doesn’t want to go to Camp Eagle Nest. He wants to spend the summer as he always does: with his uncle Smitty in the Rocky Mountains. Daniel is a slow learner, but most kids call him retarded. Daniel knows that at camp things are only going to get worse. His nightmare comes true when he and three bullies must ride the camp van together.