“And it’s all your fault!” He pointed the gun at Tim and now the fury was back in his eyes. “It all started at St. Egbert’s! That hateful school! That was where I started coming in second and that was why I decided to have my revenge. You all thought you were clever beating me at everything. Well, I’ve shown you! I’ve killed the whole lot of you and I’ve done it in exactly the way you deserve!”

“You haven’t killed me!” Tim exclaimed.

I didn’t think it was a good idea to point this out. Nadler steadied the gun. “I’m going to do that now,” he said. “Your body will still end up smashing into the needles, so everything will have worked out the way it was meant to.” He nodded at me. “I’ll have to kill you, too, of course,” he continued. “You weren’t meant to be here, but I don’t mind. You sound too clever for your own good. I’m going to enjoy killing you, too!”

He took aim.

“No!” I shouted.

He fired at Tim.

“Missed!” Tim laughed and rolled to one side. He was still laughing when he rolled over the side of the cliff.

“Tim!” I yelled.

“Now it’s your turn,” Nadler said.

I closed my eyes. There was nothing I could do.

There was a long pause. I opened them again.

Nadler was still standing, but even as I watched he crumpled to the ground. Eric Draper, the fat solicitor, was standing behind him. There was blood all over his shirt and he was deathly pale. But he was still alive. He was holding the blunderbuss, which he must have taken from the bear. He hadn’t fired it. He had used it like a club and knocked Nadler out.

“He only wounded me . . .” he gasped. “I woke up this morning. I came to find you . . .”

But I wasn’t interested in Eric Draper, even if he had just saved my life. I crawled over to the cliff edge and looked down, expecting to see Tim, smashed to pieces, on the rocks below.

“Hello, Nick!” Tim said.

There was a bush growing out of the side of the cliff. He had fallen right onto it. I held out a hand. Tim took it. I pulled him to safety and we both lay there in the sun, exhausted, glad to be alive.

*  *  *