IT TOOK THEM LONGER than Alf thought it would to scale the mountain and get around the slide. They had to climb twenty feet higher than expected to find firm surface and then travel a good ten feet across the cliff face until they could angle back down. Alf was glad for the ropes and carabiners he’d had in his backpack from several days earlier when he and Pleasance had done some beginner style climbing. She’d never climbed before and, amid much unnecessary touching and a lot of laughter, he’d shown her the basics. Unfortunately he didn’t have a decliner in his pack, but they made use of a good sized tree clinging to the mountain. Eventually they all arrived safely on the other side of the slide. Kona scrambled down after them, tail wagging and tongue lolling.
“I wish I had claws,” Emma s
