Trapped!
Max dove the final distance to the opening with Slim, Duncan, and Brandon right behind him. Max grabbed Dexter by the foot and tried to pull, but the man was too far into the passageway already. “He’s going to get away.” Max held on to the foot, but Dexter kicked at him and he had to let go.
Grunting, scraping, and words Max knew would never be tolerated in his home flew out from the narrow passageway.
“I think he’s getting himself wedged in there.” Grandpa stood at the back of the group and shined his light over the children’s head.
“With that bag, he’s too fat for the narrow part and he got stuck.” Chad giggled.
“Like Pooh in Rabbit’s hole in Winnie the Pooh,” said Molly. “You remember that part of the story, Grandpa? You used to read it to me.”
“Yeah, I remember, Molly.” Grandpa shook his head. “I remember Pooh had to stay there until he lost enough weight to get out. The problem here is that it’s not only Dexter who is stuck. We’re trapped.”
Trapped! Max shuddered. “We need to help him get unstuck.”
“We can’t let him get away with the bag.” Max glared into the passageway. “He has no right to steal that from us.”
“Dexter, is that you?” Grandpa shined his light into the passage.
“Of course it’s me,” Dexter shouted back. “Who else would it be? I’m going to get out of here with this bag and you won’t ever see me again.”
“It sounds like you are stuck, Dexter. Do you need help?” Carly leaned close to the entrance and waited for an answer.
“I don’t need none of your help.” The shuffling and grunting resumed.
Slim stepped forward. “Dexter, listen to me. You’ll get yourself so wedged in there you’ll have to wait a week until you lose weight in order to get out. If you shove that bag down and drop it at your feet, I think you’ll be able to shuffle out.”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Dexter’s voice exploded out of the entrance. “You are not getting this bag from me. I have the right to it ’cause Matthew was my great-grandpa. Either I get out with the bag, or we all stay right here.”
“Dexter,” Max said. “Even if you do get out of here you won’t get far. The police know your vehicle and they will catch you.”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up.” Dexter’s voice rose in a howl.
“I don’t think he’s going to let us help him.” Molly covered her ears to block out the angry words Dexter was spewing.
“I’m afraid you’re right,” said Grandpa. He looked around the group. “Does anyone have any ideas?”
“Can you call the ranch and ask them to send help?” Max glared through the dark at the spot where Dexter had disappeared.
Duncan shook his head. “I can try but I’m afraid there won’t be any signal in this cave.” He pulled out the phone, opened it, then shook his head again. “Nope. There’s not a single bar. If they don’t hear anything from us by early afternoon, though, they’ll come looking.”
“Is there another way out of here?” asked Max. “I’d rather we get out of here before Dexter figures out how to get loose and takes that bag with him.”
“No,” Duncan said. “Except, well . . .” He scratched his head. “There’s a little opening farther down this tunnel that goes up to the top of the ridge.” He looked uneasily at the others. “It’s too small for an adult and I don’t think you kids could get up there. It’s pretty much a sheer wall.”
“Wall climbing,” Brandon said. “I love wall climbing.”
“Me too.” Max slapped Brandon on the back. “You are looking at the championship wall climbers from camp this past year.”
“Yeah,” Carly said. “You are good, but . . .” She stopped, then rushed on. “The walls at the camp were fake and you had protective gear. What if rocks start sliding again or you lose your grip or. . . ?”
“Those are good points,” said Grandpa. “I’m not sure I’m very excited about the idea either.”
“Let’s go take a look, Grandpa,” said Max. “Then we can decide.”
“What do you think?” Grandpa looked at Slim and Duncan.
“I guess it won’t hurt to check it out,” said Duncan.
“I think the sooner we can get out of here the better,” Slim said. “That rockslide made me nervous. I’m not very good at being stuck.”
Max stood staring up the sheer wall to the light shining in from outside.
“Whoa!” Chad’s eyes were huge as he stood beside his brother. “That’s one steep wall. Do you think you can do it, Max?
Max shuffled from foot to foot, his eyes never leaving the wall. Using his flashlight, he examined it for nooks and juttings that could be used for handholds. “I don’t know. I think we can, but I sure want to know if it’s going to start crumbling like that wall did back there.” He pointed back toward the entrance.
“Do we have anything in our backpack that could help us test the safety?” asked Brandon. “I don’t want to do anything dumb here.”
Carly grabbed the backpack and knelt down to look. “There’s a rope, bungee cords, flashlight batteries, the walkie talkies, and a small first aid kit.” She sat back on her heels and looked around. “That doesn’t seem like it’ll help.”
“We have the shovel,” said Dorie. “Is it back by the rockslide?”
“Yep,” said Slim. “I’ll go get it. We could use it to poke at the wall and see if it’s solid.”
“That might work,” Brandon said.
When Slim returned with the shovel, he walked right up to the wall, lifted the shovel over his head, and hit the wall as hard as he could. Then he moved a little to the right and did it again. Over and over he hit the wall, working his way across and down from as high as he could reach to the bottom. A couple of tiny pebbles broke loose but otherwise the wall seemed solid.
“What do you think?” Grandpa asked. “I’m going to leave it up to you guys. I know you are good at this, but I don’t want you to take any unnecessary chances.”
Brandon looked at Max. “I think we can. What about you?”
“Yep,” Max said. “I think it will work.”
“Take the phone,” Duncan said. “Put it in your pocket and when you get out, just push one and hold it. It’s programmed to call the house. Have Leah call the sheriff. He can come out and talk some sense into Dexter.”
“Should we run back to the van to meet the sheriff?” asked Max. “Then we can show him where the cave entrance is.”
“No need.” Duncan shook his head. “The sheriff is one of my best childhood friends. He knows this cave as well as I do. Just meet him at the cave entrance.”
“Okay,” Max said. He looked up the wall again. Nervous butterflies flew around in his stomach. This was not just the wall at camp. This was life-and-death important. “Grandpa, could we pray first?”
Grandpa gathered a boy under each arm and the rest of the family crowded close. “Lord,” Grandpa prayed. “We are in a spot here. We know You can see us and You know exactly where we are. We believe that the boys can safely get up the wall and out, but we know that they need to depend on You. Please put Your hand of protection on them and on us below. Please talk some sense into Dexter’s stubborn soul. Thank You for hearing us when we pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
“Everyone else should back up,” said Max. “If some rocks do fall, we don’t want anyone below to get hit.”
Slim looked at Duncan, who gave him a slight nod and a smile. “We’ll stay right below here,” Slim said. “If you get into any trouble, we’ll be your safety net.” Slim put his hand on Max’s shoulder. “Are you going first?”
“Yep.” Max gulped, took a deep breath, and looked at the others. “Just because Grandpa already prayed doesn’t mean you have to stop.”
“I can’t watch this.” Carly sat on the floor, her face to the opposite wall, and closed her eyes. Dorie and Molly sat beside her but watched the boys.
If you all shine your flashlights up at the wall it will help. Just make sure you hold them still,” Max said.
Carly slowly turned around. Holding her flashlight out, she shined her light on the wall. Then she closed her eyes.
Approaching the wall with confidence, Max reached as high as he could and found a handhold. Then he put his foot in a small crevice and shoved himself up. Foot by foot, hand by hand he crept up the wall, always testing the spots before putting his weight on them. Duncan and Slim stood below, staying just below Max, ready to join arms if they needed to catch him. Halfway to the top he stopped.
“I’m getting tired,” he said.
“You can do it, Max,” said Brandon. “Just keep moving. Don’t stop.”
Max nodded and shoved himself higher with his foot. Once he reached the opening, Brandon started. He followed the path set by Max, not wavering from the hand holds and crevices he had seen Max use. Before long, both boys had disappeared into the little sunshine hole at the top of the wall.
Max poked his head back through and called down into the cave. “Don’t go anywhere! There’s four bars! We’re making the call now. We’ll meet the sheriff at the cave entrance.”