At the rate Bess was going she would soon land headfirst in the icy stream. Nancy’s mind raced for a solution. “Let yourself fall, Bess!” Nancy shouted at her friend. Bess chose not to or couldn’t make herself fall. Instead she dragged her poles, trying to slow herself down. She was less than fifty feet from the stream. Nancy knew she had to do something. Jabbing her poles in the snow, she hurled herself forward behind Bess. The slope was incredibly steep, but Nancy managed to keep her balance and gain on Bess. Finally, when Nancy was right behind her friend, she reached out and grabbed the back of Bess’s jacket and yanked—hard. The two girls fell, tumbling to the ground. When they came to a halt, Nancy saw the cold, rocky stream less than ten feet in front of them. “That was close!” Bess said, breathing heavily. “If you hadn’t pulled me down—” She stopped, and her eyes grew large with fear. “Don’t think about it,” Nancy urged. She stood up on her skis and gave Bess a hand up.
