other side Larry had turned to watch her. Catherine was moving slowly, keeping one hand tightly on the rope, trying not to look down at the abyss below. Larry could see the fear written on her face. When Catherine reached Larry’ s side, she was shivering, either from terror or from the chill wind that was beginning to sweep across the snow-capped mountain tops.
Catherine said,“ I don’ t think I’ m cut out to be a mountain climber. Could we go back now, darling?”
Larry looked at her in surprise.“ We haven’ t even seen the view yet, Cathy.”“ I’ ve seen enough to last me a lifetime.”
He put his arms on hers.“ Tell you what,” he smiled,“ up ahead is a nice quiet place for our picnic. We’ ll stop there. How’ s that?”
Catherine nodded reluctantly.“ All right.”“ That’ s my girl.”
Larry gave her a brief smile, then turned and started up the path again, Catherine following behind him. Catherine had to admit that the view of the village and the valley far below was breathtaking, a peaceful idyllic scene out of a Currier & Ives postcard. She was really glad that she had come. It had been a long time since she had seen Larry so exuberant. He seemed to be possessed by a sense of excitement that kept growing as they climbed higher. His face was flushed, and he chattered on about trivia as though he had to keep talking to release some of his nervous energy. Everything seemed to excite him: the climb, the view, the flowers along the path. Each thing seemed to take on an extraordinary importance as though his senses had somehow been stimulated beyond normal. He was climbing effortlessly, not even out of breath, while the increasingly rarefied air was making Catherine pant.
Her legs were beginning to feel like lead. Her breath was coming in labored gasps now. She had no idea how long they had been climbing, but when she looked down, the village was a tiny miniature far below. It seemed to Catherine that the path was getting steeper and narrower. It wound along the edge of a precipice and Catherine hugged the side of the mountain as closely as she could. Larry had said that it was an easy climb. For a mountain goat, Catherine thought. The trail was almost nonexistent, and there was no sign that anyone else had used it. The flowers had thinned out and the only vegetation was moss and a strange-looking, brownish weed that seemed to be growing out of the stones. Catherine was not sure how much longer she could keep climbing. As they rounded a sharp turn, the path suddenly dropped away and a dizzying abyss appeared below her feet.
“ Larry!” It was a scream.
He was at Catherine’ s side instantly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back, guiding her over the rocks to where the path resumed. Catherine’ s heart was pounding wildly. I must be crazy, she thought. I’ m too old to go on safari. The altitude and the exertion had made her dizzy and her head was swimming. She turned to speak to Larry, and above him around the next turn, she saw the top of the mountain. They had arrived.