Gage shined the light on the ravine they’d been traversing, saw uprooted trees and branches rushing past in a sea of brown, muddy water. Boulders were swept away, patches of dirt crumbling off the mountainside into the violent onslaught.

“What about the mules?” Gage asked as Kyle appeared beside him.

“Hobbled them up on the slope of the hill. Damned good thing.”

“The water would have taken them if you hadn’t.”

Kyle nodded. “My dad knows these mountains. When he talks, I’m smart enough to listen.”

Gage clamped a hand on his shoulder.

“What about the trail?” Abby asked anxiously, staring down at the dark, turbulent river dimly illuminated by the spot of light shining down from so far above. “It’s going to be washed away.”

“Only parts of it,” Gage said. “We’ll have to make adjustments. We won’t know how much of a problem it is until morning. Nothing we can do until then.” But dawn was close. With all the excitement, there was no way he’d be able to go back to sleep.

“I need to check the mules,” Kyle said, beginning to pace the floor of the cave. “They’ll be frightened to death. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

Gage shook his head. “Too dangerous. One slip and you’ll wind up in the water. In minutes, you could be dead.” He panned the ground with the flashlight, but the mules were too far away to see.

Time passed. Minutes turned into an hour.

“The rain has stopped,” Mateo said, his ear tuned to the quiet that had replaced the drumbeat against the walls outside the cave. “It won’t take long for the water to slow enough for us to leave.”

Gage studied the horizon, saw the faint gray light of dawn. “Let’s pack up and be ready to go.”

“There is still enough wood for a fire,” Mateo said. “I will make coffee while we wait.”

Gage nodded.

By the time it was light enough to see, the floodwaters had dropped to a muddy trickle, and all of them were packed and ready to leave. The bad news was, the water had washed out a portion of the rocks below the cave, taking out the path they had used to make the ascent.

It was tough going up. Going down could be deadly.

“We’re roping up,” Gage said. “The rocks are going to be like glass, the handholds unreliable. The climb’s bound to be treacherous.”

“I’ll go first,” Kyle volunteered, tugging down the brim of his damp straw cowboy hat. “I need to get to the mules.”

Gage nodded. “I’ll anchor you.”