A moment later they stopped rowing, but their oars remained in the water, directing the course of the dory and holding her back from riding in on top of the swells. They were both tense, for they knew that if they went too far to the left they would be swept against the rock and too far to the right would mean being carried all the way in against the walls of Azul Island. There were only a few feet of swirling waters where they could bring in the dory safely.

A heavy swell slipped under them and crashed against the rock, its spray coming down on top of their heads. As the dory went down into the trough before the next swell, Steve said, “Now, Pitch!” Together they plunged their oars downward and pulled hard. The small boat leapt ahead, its prow parallel with the rock. The wave behind them struck the face of the rock and water poured in torrents about them. Steve’s fingers clawed at the jagged stones as he pulled the dory forward, and Pitch struck his oar viciously into the water as though he were wielding a canoe paddle. The dory’s prow pushed sluggishly into the strong current flowing back from the walls of Azul Island, and for a moment Steve thought they would be pushed back to the front of the rock again. Then the waters from the rock surged forward to meet those coming from the wall. Now there were turbulent waters beneath the dory, but neither a forward nor backward current.

They were just behind the larger rock, and Steve saw the small alcove where the smaller rock joined the larger one. While he steadied the dory, Pitch jumped out onto the rock and grabbed the boat. “Hurry, Steve,” he said.

Steve followed, his feet slipping on the slimy, moss-covered rock.

“Pull her up now,” Pitch said.

Together they lifted the prow out of the water and then swung the dory sideways until she was directly behind, and protected by, the larger rock. That done, they sat down quickly beside the dory. For a moment they said nothing, each listening to the heavy thud of waves crashing against the face of the rock.

Finally Pitch asked, “Now what, Steve? It’s just about as bad as in the canyon.”

“But it’s not as smooth or as steep,” Steve pointed out hopefully. “Maybe we can get a foothold someplace and be able to climb up.”

“It’s difficult to tell from here,” Pitch said.

Simultaneously they looked in front of them at the low, dark rock that stretched before them to the wall. Their first task would be to cross it safely. They waited for the waters to drain from the rock, and saw the green, slippery moss that grew there.

“We’ll have to be careful,” Pitch cautioned. “Very careful.”