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"What is it?" she said

"Rapids!"

The boat was beginning to pick up speed even though she hadn't touched the throttle The air was cooler than before and daed to a roar, and through theover the river she sahite foaht of the boat's flat bottoh thin alu into this natural funnel spout had essentially transfor sluiceway

She looked back The boats had stopped and were circling in the river Their pursuers obviously knew about the rapids That's why they hadn't shot at them Why waste ammunition?

"We'll neverthunder of rushing water "I' to steer for land Well have to make a run for it in the forest"

She pushed the tiller over, and the praled toward the shore Thirty feet frohed and conked out Gaain, but with no success She quickly twisted off the gas tank top All that was left was vapors

Professor Chi had grabbed a single oar and was trying to scull the boat The current was too strong and jerked the oar froan to spin around Gamay watched helplessly as the pram was carried like a woodchip toward the toothlike rocks and the boiling white water

It was Trout's idea to go back along the river Moe and the dial of his atch, sign language saying they were running low and had to head back

Trout's thoroughness as a scientist caster with his Uncle Henry, a skilled crafts after plastic hulls came into style "Measure twice, cut once," Henry would say between puffs on his overripe pipe In other words, doublecheck everything you do Even years later Trout couldn't start a co his uncle's voice whispering in his ear

It was a natural reaction to suggest, through Morales, that they go back along the river, slowly this ti on their first pass They flew at less than one hundred fifty feet, cruising at alohen the river opened up The JetRanger was highly ht observation helicopter, and in itsthey came up on the rapids he had seen on the way out

Trout looked down at the stretch of white water, then, beyond it to the calht Two sether back fro there while a third drifted downstrea current drew the third boat on a path toward the rapids Trout spotted the flash of dark red in the boat's stern

There was nooff it in rusty highlights There was also no doubt in his mind of as about to happen Within seconds the helpless boat would pick up speed and be sucked into the toothy round to pieces

Trout yelled at Morales, "Tell the pilot to push them back with the helicopter's downdraft!"

Morales had been watching the unfolding disaster with fascination Now he tried to relay Trout's statelish He shot off a feords in Spanish, then shrugged in frustration Trout pounded the pilot's shoulder He pointed eer in a circle and ht on right away to his crude sign language lide, and cut speed to a walk until they had positioned the boat and the crest of the rapids where the river narrowed The hovering copter descended until the downdraft fro beater and created a frothy dishshaped depression

Waves rippled out in great concentric cirdes The first undulation hit the praan to deflect the light boat toward the shore above the