"Hey, I'll wait for ya in the kitchen. Your mother said she'd cook me an egg. Get yourself dressed, and let's hustle over to my house." Dixon Kap and Frank Anderson had been the closest of friends for most of their eighteen years. Both boys were over six feet tall, had lettered in track and football, and were now graduating with identical 3.8 averages. Frank was Student Body President at Sky High, and Dix was the Senior Class President. Dix liked to mountain climb too, and often went with the Andersons on their family hikes. Dix came out of his room with checkered blue shirt out over faded levis, dirty black sneakers untied. In his anxiety, Frank had eaten both their eggs, and Dix's mother was busily preparing another for her son. He hastily finished dressing, and soon was proficiently dispatching his breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, the boys were outside, equipment in hand for the planned assault on Mount Hochstenberg. They had their climbing boots, leather trousers and shirts, spikes, nylon ropes, and axes. Soon, they were driving toward Ferd's house a half a mile away. The car, owned by the boys, was a '36 Chev coupe which they often took hiking because of its "power and speed." As they pulled up in front of the house, the boys could see Mr. Anderson's four-wheel-drive jeep backed into the driveway. Its grey and black markings clearly signified the membership of its owner in the Jeep Patrol. As the boys approached, Mr. Anderson had just finished loading his own equipment. "Hi boys," said the father. "Guess this one's going to be a little tough, especially finding him before the sun goes down." This fact was well-known to the boys. Even though it was almost the end of May, there was still some snow on the peak, and at night, the temperature on the mountain went way below freezing. In this type of atmosphere, it would be extremely difficult for an injured man to survive. "Wait, Pop, we'll get our equipment and go with you. You may need all the help you can get." "Sorry guys," came the reply. "The Chief says he doesn't want anybody hurt because of one man. You can come along all right, but you can't go climbing in search of that fellow." "Aw Dad! You know we can climb as well as a lot of those guys. Scrud, we're almost nineteen. We're not kids anymore." "Look fellas, I gotta call in to check out my radio. I'll ask Captain Kook if it's O.K. That O.K. with you? SP 6 to SP 1...SP 6 to SP 1. Do you read me Don?" "SP 1 to SP 6. Got ya Jim. Yer checked out. We're meeting at the road on the south-east slope, and working down." "Say Don, my boy and Dix are wondering if they can 22 join the search too. Think it'll be all right?" "Sorry, Jim, Air Force says no civilians. They're welcome to stay at the jeeps or the radio truck though." The boys, their faces in a disappointed cloud, walked over to their car as Ferd's father signed off, and got into the jeep. The engine sprang to life, and the jeep rolled down the driveway, stopping at the curb. "You wanta come? Ya heard what he said. Air Force probably doesn't want anybody hurt trying to rescue that pilot." "Naw, go on. We can find something else to do," came the reply, and the jeep roared off. "Now what we gonna do? Damn I wish they'd let us kids grow up around here. Bet we've had as much experience as some of those old foggies," Dix thought out loud. He was thinking of the years they had spent as Boy Scouts. Each boy was now silently contemplating their previous hiking experience in the Tetons, Wind River Mountains, the Sawtooth Range, and others. Because of their interest and abilities along this line, the boys excelled in scouting, first becoming Eagles, and later being made troop scout leaders. "You know, I been thinkin," Ferd's voice broke the silence. "Aren't they doing that search kind of 'bass-ack-wards'? The pilot was supposed to have come from the west. He'd have bailed out on the west slope, so why they work in from the east?" "I heard they couldn't get a plane in there because of downdrafts. Maybe they figured if they started from the top, they might see the chute down below," explained Dix. "Hey, that might be one cause of the crash! He probably got out just in time." Again the boys were silent, as they thought about their bad luck in not being able to go with Mr. Anderson. By now he would be almost at the east slope. Suddenly a wild look of excitment filled the eyes of the two boys. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" said Ferd. "I don't know what you're thinkin', but I'm thinkin' we ought to be up on that west slope, lookin' for that pilot." "I'm thinkin' we have all our equipment in Jessabell, and we could be up there in fifteen or twenty minutes." The boys jumped into the car and roared off. As Dix drove along the highway, Ferd changed into his heavy hiking gear. Ten minutes later, they were at the end of the highway, and had turned off on a dirt road. Mount Hochstenberg loomed high before them, and as they drove on, it became higher and higher. The burned black spot on the peak was very clear now. Ferd drove now, as Dix changed his clothes. Soon the boys were at the end of the road, and a well-worn trail took off towards the big mountain. Besides their hiking equipment, each boy carried a large canteen of water, and a 23