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the irritating rain. At one place on the cliff I noticed a large hollow that formed a sort of giant cave, open on all sides, but roofed over by a protrusion of rock. Within it were piles of twigs, branches, and entire trees, all of them bone dry. Here I could get a fire started. Perhaps I should build a huge bonfire as a signal for Kevin. But I was too restless to stop; I had to go on.

Then I came to a dead end. The ledge I was walking along suddenly dropped off. Below me about two hundred feet flowed the Tuichi. The view was breathtaking. The silver river snaked through the thick jungle growth. I stood looking at the water for a long while, half expecting to see Kevin's body swept along by the current. I had to go on looking for him. He would die without me. He had nothing – no food, no matches – nothing. He didn't stand a chance if I didn't come to his aid.

Like one possessed, I scrambled up the rock face to reach the next ledge, hoping that I would be able to go on to the level above me. At a height of about two hundred and fifty feet I was trapped; I couldn't go any higher but couldn't go back down. I leapt across to a protruding nub of rock about a yard away. As I made it, the nub crumbled under my step and fell away from the wall. I fell backward, but fortunately my fall was broken by a tree. The pack on my back absorbed the impact of my fall, though the force of the blow bent the metal frame out of shape.