Any thought of how unsafe this bridge might be were cast aside amidst a flurry of organization. Shen started across immediately, and then Nick and Sandeep heaved the boat up onto the trunk and set off after him, gripping the guide rope and walking in baby steps to cope with the downward gradient and the weight of the case they carried between them.

Tom ignored the babble of organization and watched the far side where the top of the tree rested, uneasy that the chunks of dirt continued to fall with every step Nick and Sandeep took. The whole side of the gorge seemed unstable.

Kate and Emma crossed with ease, their steps in sync. Chloe went over next, with Chris behind her, guiding her, but when she reached the end of the rope, even with only a couple of steps left to make, she froze and Chris didn’t have enough room to get around her. Quickly Kate climbed back up and took hold of Chloe’s hands, leading her the rest of the way.

Alice came over and said, “I’m taking the second boat with George. But we’ll wait until the end, just because of the extra weight—George doesn’t like how the side’s giving way over there.”

“Okay. I’ll come over last. Once you two are clear I’ll untie the rope and bring it with me.”

She appeared troubled by that, and seemed to search for the right thing to say before settling on, “We have more rope. You could leave it so you’ll have something to hang on to.”

He smiled, touched that she was concerned, and said, “I’ll be okay—it’ll still be tied at the other end.”

She nodded and was about to speak again when a shout came from the other side.

Oscar and Lara were on the tree, and he was screaming, “Hold on!” as a chunk of the opposite lip of the ravine crashed away in a small explosion of dirt and debris and the top of the tree pounded down into the newly formed gap.

Oscar and Lara were thrown off their feet by the impact but somehow managed to stay on the tree trunk, holding tight to the guide rope. Lara let out a small yelp of pain as she rubbed at her hip.

There was a small ripple of concerned comments from the people around Tom, but then Joel’s voice sounded, “Okay, you’re okay, just keep coming along the tree—we’ve got you.” Although Tom and the others could hear him, Joel raised his voice an extra notch as he called over to them. “The rest of you stay there for now. We’ll check how stable it is.”

George raised his eyebrows and said, “I think we already know.”