CHAPTER 18Matt didn’t know how long he clung to the rim of the drop opening, with only his head and part of his shoulders above the surface. The rest of him dangled over the abyss, the loose rope wrapped around for rappelling. His gloved hands wouldn’t move. They gripped the rock like steel hooks.
Tears smarted under his eyelids as he stared at the backs of his hands. The hands seemed to have a will of their own. He tried to will them to let go. But they clung like a fly to a web.
He felt drugged and aching in the air. His limbs knotted with cramp. Then he suddenly thought of Spotty, and he remembered why Spotty was down there and what would happen if he kept on alone. Matt felt the awful seriousness of his responsibility then. He realized that he wasn’t the only one in this venture. The
