Harriet tightened Max’s collar and clipped on the leash. She shouted up to Luke: “Pull Max up. Watch out for the branches. Slow and steady.”
The makeshift rope tightened. Harriet supported Max until he gradually began to lift away from her and up through the tree. She could hardly bear to think what it must feel for him to be dangling from his collar again and she hoped desperately the clip would hold. Luke avoided the branches and pulled him clear of the tree. Max flopped forward on to the clay slope and Luke dragged him up until he reached the track. A shout of triumph floated down.
It was then that the danger hit Harriet and she started to shake. She crouched against the trunk. Her mouth was dry and she felt cold. Max had made it to the top; she still had to get back herself. She looked down to the stream – it was about as far away as her upstairs bedroom from the ground. Could she climb down and walk out along the stream? The rope wouldn’t stretch that far so if she slipped nothing would stop her until she hit the bottom.
She looked up to the track. If Luke sent the rope back down to her, would he be able to pull her up? How would she get from the tree on to the slope? If she jumped, would Luke be able to hold her? Then she still had to scramble up.
Harriet felt exhausted, frightened and giddy. She closed her eyes. Help me, Toby, she whispered.
A warmth stole over her and the shaking stopped. She heard Toby’s voice. It’s better to go up the slope. Use the forked stick to dig into the clay. I’ll be right beside you. I’ll tell you when to have a breather.
She stood up and found the forked stick where she’d pushed it into the leaves. The shaft below the fork was too long, so she shortened it with her knife. “Send down the rope!” she shouted to Luke; and after several unsuccessful attempts, he managed to slither it down to where she was sitting. She wound it tightly around her hand again, wincing with the pain, and gripped the forked stick in her other hand.
Harriet began her perilous climb. She edged out as far as she could go. Then she stepped off the branch towards the slope. She dangled for a second before letting go. The rope went tight and jerked her shoulder painfully, but the moment her feet touched the slope, she flung herself against it and dug the stick into the clay to hold her position. Bit by bit she edged her way up the steep slope, finding roots and stumps to support her.
Sometimes everything went dark and Toby told her to stop and lean against the slope for a rest. He leant beside her with his arm around her. Luke wound the rescue rope round and round the stump as she inched closer. When her head and shoulders came level with the top, he grabbed her jersey and hauled her over the lip on to the track where she lay gasping and shivering, Toby on one side of her and Gus on the other.
She wanted to go to sleep there, but Toby spoke to her: You must get up and go home now, Harriet, so she struggled to her feet and held on to Gus. Luke carried Max, who couldn’t walk, and they made their way down the track. Harriet wasn’t sure how she reached the car park though she remembered Toby telling her to sit down when they got there. Gus sat with her and she held Max tightly.
“I’m going for help,” said Luke and he ran down the road towards home. Harriet wanted to follow him but she couldn’t get up.
She had no sense of how long she sat there before Mrs Howard arrived in her car with Luke, wrapped a rug around her and helped her into the car with Max and Gus.
“Are you coming, too, Toby?” Harriet asked, but he gave her his lopsided smile and walked away. Harriet started to cry and Gus laid his head on her lap.
When Harriet woke up, her parents were sitting beside her bed. She remembered instantly what had happened and sat up.
“Max!” she said. “Is he all right?”
“He’s OK,” said her mother.
Harriet felt sore all over. Her left hand had deep, red marks on it. Her left shoulder hurt when she moved her arm.
How long had she been asleep? Her mother had made her get into bed as soon as Mrs Howard brought her home – she helped her out of her clay-smeared clothes, gave her some soup and told her that what she needed most was sleep. The sun was on the front of the house so it must be late afternoon. How come her father was home so early?
“Why aren’t you at work, Dad?” she asked.
“I came home when your mother rang.”
“Come and have a shower, Harry,” said her mother, “and we’ll get some of that clay out of your hair.”
Harriet climbed slowly out of bed. The water washed away some of the stiffness. She was content to let her mother wash and dry her and help her into her pyjamas and dressing gown. They went downstairs and sat in the sunshine streaming into the family room.
The morning’s events were coming back in vivid pictures, and the feelings: fear, anger, desperation, pain, exhaustion. The realisation of the danger she’d been in grew by the second; Harriet wondered how much she should tell her parents.
Sipping hot chocolate on the sofa, she waited for the questions.
“Start at the beginning and tell us what happened,” her father said.
“We went to see the slip and the wind from a helicopter blew Max over the edge of the track. His collar got hooked on a snag down the slope.”
Harriet’s parents waited.
“I tied the dog leashes and my belt and scarf together to make a rope so I could climb down. I hooked the rope around a stump at the top and wound the other end round my hand. I managed to reach a tree near Max and used a branch to lift him down.”
Harriet’s voice was low and faltering as she relived the rescue. Her mouth felt dry and she took sips of the drink.
“Then I clipped the rope to his collar and Luke pulled him up.”
The next bit was the worst part and Harriet didn’t want to talk about it. She stopped.
After a moment of silence, her mother asked: “How did you get back?”
“Oh, I just climbed up – Toby helped me, and Luke pulled on the rope.”
“How do you mean Toby helped you?” her mother asked quietly.
Harriet sighed. “He told me to go up the slope not down to the stream, and to use the forked stick to dig into the slope. He said he’d help me. He told me when to have a rest.”
“Did you actually see him?”
“Not then – I just felt and heard him – sort of in my head. But I saw him in the car park. He smiled at me as he walked away.” Harriet felt tears pricking her eyes so she swallowed hard and looked at the ceiling.
Her mother moved across to sit beside her on the sofa. She took her hand.
“Were you very frightened?”
“Only when I had to climb back up the slope. That’s why Toby came – he knew I was in trouble.”
They sat in silence. Harriet leaned her head against her mother’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Her head was exploding with pictures and sounds: Max slipping, his choking breaths, her feet scrabbling, the din of the helicopter, her anger with Luke – she opened her eyes suddenly. Her face went hot. Yes, she was so angry with Luke!
“What is it, Harriet?” asked her father.
“Luke wouldn’t stop! I kept trying to make him go back! He let Max off the leash – that’s why Max fell over the edge!”
“But you didn’t have to go with Luke,” said her father.
“I did! I did! He was dragging Max with him and the Search and Rescue girl said you have to stay together in the bush.”
“Not when someone’s leading you into danger.”
“But I didn’t know it would be so dangerous,” wailed Harriet. “I should have put Max’s leash back on again and held on to it. That makes it my fault!”
“No!” Her mother and father said together.
“It certainly wasn’t your fault,” her father said. “And I want to know why Luke didn’t climb down to rescue Max!”
“He was too heavy for the rescue rope,” explained Harriet. “Anyway …” she faltered, “I didn’t trust him to do it. He doesn’t love Max as much as I do. Don’t you see, I had to do it – Max was choking, he would have died!” She jumped up from the sofa. “I have to ring up and find out how he is. He’s only just recovered from that terrible journey to the pound!”
Her mother pulled her down and put her arm round her shoulders.
“Listen, Harriet. What Luke did was reckless and stupid. The helicopter coming down low was bad luck. What you did was brave, but dangerous and foolish. If it comes down to your life or Max’s, you know who matters more.”
Harriet stared at her parents. What could she say? Her only thought had been for Max. But, yes, she could see she had taken a big risk. What would her mother and father have done if she’d been badly hurt, or even …? She struggled with a half-formed thought. Would she always have to take extra care so that her parents wouldn’t be frightened about her all the time, thinking she might be in danger and they might lose her, like Toby? It was too hard to work that out right now.
Her mother spoke again. “We’ll ring and find out how Max is.”
“I’ll ring,” said her father. “I’d like to have a word with the Howards.”
“Luke did help me with the rescue as much as he could,” said Harriet. “He pulled Max up very carefully, and me, too. He ran for help once we got to the car park.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” said her father, not looking at all inclined to give Luke the credit for anything.
Later at dinner, he was even more to the point. “That young man needs a good walloping to knock some sense into him! You should have turned round and left him to it, Harriet. What might have happened doesn’t bear thinking about. I don’t want you spending any more time with him.”