to support Koval only inches from the ground. Jack had proven to be worth his weight in hold. He continued to support most of Koval’s weight alone. His team seemed to be working well, but Em saw Corby’s team finishing the rope maze. He knew he would have to push his team if they were going to catch up. Em climbed through rope after rope, holding the ropes so they would not touch Koval. The ropes had been coated with creosote to keep them from rotting. If the ropes were touched in any way, they left stains on the clothes.
When they crawled through the last set of ropes and stood on the other side, they decided to take another survey. Jack, Smith, and Hamilton put Koval down on a tree stump and examined him. So far, he had remained unscathed. The three of them only remained clean from the waist up. Em was relatively clean above his knees. Em thought that the most critical part of the course was surely ahead of them, so he had everyone wipe their hands on the grass. Em looked ahead to see where Corby’s team was. Only half of his team had completed the next obstacle. Em felt for sure that his team still had time to overtake them.
The next obstacle was over two hundred yards away. Em could see the last of Corby’s team starting to propel themselves onto the wall. He wondered why they had not gotten over it yet. Once his team got closer, he understood what the problem was. The wall was at least ten or twelve feet high. As they approached, Em had Jack maneuver Koval so he sat on Smith’s shoulders with his feet resting on Hamilton’s shoulders, keeping his feet from the muddy fatigues. Jack told Em to get on someone’s shoulders and climb to the top of the wall. From there, he could assist everyone else up. One by one, they ascended the wall. Em looked at the other wall and saw Corby’s team trying to lower their cargo to the other side. They were definitely catching up. He rallied his men to go faster, and when they lowered Koval on the other side, Em saw that they were almost even with Corby and his team. If they made no mistakes from here on, they should be able to pull ahead. Em continued to walk behind Jack and Smith. Jack had stepped up the pace a little. The next obstacle was still not in sight. The hill in front of them was obstacle enough. It was at least a quarter of a mile to the top. If they continued their pace, they would overtake Corby’s team before they reached the top.
The front seven on Em’s team disappeared from his view as they made their way over the crest of the hill. Jack and Smith soon reached the top. Koval started to complain. Jack told him to shut his piehole. Em saw that Koval had no intention of speaking again. Their team had finally overtaken Corby’s team. Em could see them right behind and still looking strong. Any good feelings he had disappeared as soon as he saw their next obstacle. Directly in front of him, in the middle of the path, were two small towers made of wood. There were pulleys and cables attached at the top. The cables descended to the bottom of the hill, which looked to be over two or three hundred feet. At the bottom, he saw yet another mud pit. This one was the mother of all mud pits. It looked as if the cable descended directly into the pit. On the bottom of each tower were simple instructions: cargo must descend by cable.
Rather simple, he thought. They unloaded Koval onto tower 1. He climbed to the top and strapped himself into the harness. Em and Jack climbed up to help. “Koval, don’t do anything stupid! Just wait and take your time. Remember, if there’s any mud whatsoever, this will have all been for nothing.” Em felt like there had to be a way to descend slowly and carefully. He looked all around him. Koval’s harness, a two-foot cable with two metal loops, was the only thing on the tower. Only one person could descend by cable. The cable looked as though it remained close to the ground all the way down the hill, but Em knew that looks could be deceiving. The tower itself was over twenty feet tall. The cable was suspended a good distance from the ground. The incline was not too great. Em knew that Koval would descend rapidly. He sent his men ahead in teams of two to the three lowest points along the cable’s route. He told them to sit atop of each other’s shoulders and attempt to slow Koval down as he made his way past them. Em was pleased when he saw Corby order his team to do the same. He then saw Corby running to the bottom of the hill. There he directed two of his men into the pit to catch the cargo. Em knew he had to get two of his men into the pit. He descended the tower and ran toward the bottom of the hill. He was barely halfway when he heard Jack yell, “Here he comes!” Em ran faster. He knew he had to be in the pit to stop Koval. He reached the bottom and quickly jumped into the mud. Hamilton and Smith jumped in with him. Now he had to wait on the cargo. He looked over at Corby just as he was looking back. At first, their looks were intense. Then they both smiled. After all, this was kind of fun. What had started as a fierce competition now seemed unimportant. Em knew by the look on Corby’s face that they were going to be all right.
Em looked up the hill as both of their cargos began to pick up speed. As they reached the halfway point, they were neck and neck. It was going to come down to who was the cleanest. All of a sudden, both riders began to get closer. Em heard Corby screaming to his team to let him go and not to slow him down. Em quickly yelled to his team, “Slow him down! Keep him clean! Slow and easy!” Em jumped out of the pit so he could catch Koval before he got too close. Morris and Smith were grabbing at Koval’s feet as he passed them. When Koval sped past them, Morris was knocked off his feet. He slid twenty feet, down the hill. Smith managed to grab Koval’s head, slowing him down minimally.
Corby’s cargo was coming down fast! Corby now stood on the ground next to the pit and was going to try and stop his cargo by himself. Every other member of his team looked as if they had purposefully camouflaged themselves with mud. Em turned in time to see Corby get hit. His cargo was going too fast. Corby was knocked off his feet. He flew backward into the pit, sending mud flying everywhere. Wilson, Corby’s cargo, clung to the cable. He was halfway out of the harness but still moving rapidly toward the cable’s end. He hit the end of the cable with a thud, held on for a fraction of a second, and then fell into the mud beside Corby.
Em was transfixed. He almost forgot where he was. He wanted to laugh along with the half of a dozen other wailers that he heard, but he knew he had one shot to make this work. He jumped into the air and grabbed the cable. As quickly as he could, he swung his feet over the cable. He knew he would have to let Koval hit him right in the head. It was basically the only clean part of his anatomy that was readily available. He desperately hoped that they had slowed him down enough. Em closed his eyes and tried to prepare himself for the impact.
He counted. One…two…three…four…five…six. Bam! Lights out!
He felt himself being grabbed. Hands were touching him all over. He raised his hands to wipe the mud from his face. He opened his mud-caked eyes and saw the blurry image of Jack. He was smiling. “You did it, hillbilly. Are you okay?” Other than being muddy, Em did not seem to suffer any other consequences. His hands were fine, and so was his head. There was just a dull throbbing in his temples. He looked around for Koval. There he was, twenty feet beyond the pit, standing alone on top of a wooden pedestal. From where Em stood, he looked to have remained clean.
The rest of the morning turned out to be the beginning of the best day since their arrival. Sergeant Cannon let them all sit and relax for almost an hour. He even arranged for them all to have a Coca-Cola. To Em, it tasted like the best drink ever made. He drank it slowly as he sat with Corby, Larry, and Jack.
“I’ve got to hand it to you, Em. That was quick thinking. But it’s a wonder you’re able to think at all, considering Koval knocked you out.” Corby was smiling. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He tried to wipe the smile from his face. A glob of mud fell off his ear, and the laughter was contagious.
Corby told Em how he had seen him flip head over heels and land in the mud pit. He could not stop laughing now that he knew Em was not hurt. “And then”—he chuckled—“he landed.” He chuckled again. “And still curled up…in a little bitty ball…headfirst…Splat!” He laughed so much that it spread to other groups.
All four of them laughed so hard they began to roll on the ground. The mud started to dry on their clothes. Em began to wonder how he was going to get all these clothes clean. When he voiced his concerns to the others, it started a whole new laugh festival. Corby even suggested that instead of calling Cannon “Mom,” maybe they should call Em “Mom.”
None of them could believe that they were actually having a good time. Today was already a great day, and it was not even lunchtime yet. When Em thought about