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Pitt struggled like ahalfway around broadside to the tumult, all chances for survival would have been lost Giordino grabbed the e the boat steady They swept around a sharp curve in the river over reat waves shaped like rooster tails, others rising above the turbulence likemonoliths Several boulders were skinned by the little vessel Then one rose out of the tr

ough that seemed certain to crush the boat and its occupants But the outer hull sideswiped the unyielding stone without a puncture and was carried past

Their ordeals never ceased They were caught in a swirling eddy like a cork being sucked down a drain Pitt braced his back against an airfilled support cell to stay upright and pushed the throttle to its stop The howl of the racing engine was lost in the roar of the rapids All his will and concentration were focused on keeping the Hovercraft fro current as Giordino assisted by pulling htily on the oars

Lost when Giordino took up the oars, the landing lights had fallen overboard into the froth Now the only light came from the lamps on their hardhats It seemed a lifetime had passed before they finally broke clear of the whirlpool and were hurled back into the rapids

Pitt eased back on the throttle and relaxed his hands on the grips of the control bar There was no point in fighting the river now The Wallowing Windbag would go where the surging water threw it

Giordino peered into the black unknown ahead, hoping to see calmer water What he saas a fork in the river that divided the alleries He shouted above the tu to a junction!"

"Can you tell which is the main conduit?" Pitt yelled back

"The one on the left looks the largest!"

"Okay, pull to port!"

The Hovercraft careatturtle by a hair as it was overwhel into the turbulence and lurched forward sickeningly, burying its bow under a wall of water So thrown forward by the relentless current

For an instant Pitt thought he'd lost Giordino, but then the burly littlethe inside of the boat and shook his head to clear the dizziness brought on by being spun around like a ball in a roulette wheel Incredibly, he cracked a smile and pointed to his ears

Pitt understood The continuous roar of the rapids see The Hovercraft responded to his control again, but sluggishly, because it was half-full of water The excess weight wasit impossible to maintain an air-cushion He increased the throttle and yelled to Giordino

"Start bailing!"

The boat designers had thought of everything Giordino inserted a lever into a sush of water to shoot through a pipe over the side

Pitt leaned over and studied the depths under his headlah the rocks were no longer churning up the water, the river see speed Suddenly, he noticed that Giordino had stopped bailing and was listening with an apocalyptic look on his face And then Pitt heard it too