'We don't have much time,' she said. 'Either we get ready for the climb
right nowr you kill me. Bollinger will be here any minute.'
Glancing at the main entrance to see if anyone was trying to get in,
Bollinger crossed the marble floor and opened the white door. He stood
at the bottom of the north stairs and listened for footsteps. There were
none. No footsteps, no voices no noise at all. He peered up the
narrow, open core of the shaft, but he didn't see anyone moving
alongside the switchback railing.
He went to the south stairs. Those too were deserted.
He looked at his watch. 10:38.
Running some of Blake's verses through his mind to calm himself, he went
to the elevator. 31 Well-made boots are essential to a serious climber.
They should be five to seven inches high, crafted from the best grade of
leather, lined with leather, preferably hand-sewn, with foam-padded
tongues. Most important of all, the soles should be hard and stiff,
with tough lugs made of Vibram.
Graham was wearing just such a pair of boots. They were a perfect fit,
more like gloves than footwear. Although putting them on and lacing
them up brought him closer to the act that he regarded with terror, he
found the boots strangely comforting, reassuring. His familiarity with
them, with climbing gear in general, seemed like a touchstone against
which he could test for the old Graham Harris, test for a trace of the
courage he'd once shown.
Both pairs of boots in the pile of equipment were four sizes too large
for Connie. She couldn't wear either of them. If she stuffed paper
into the toes and along the ' sides, she would feel as if she were
wearing blocks of concrete; and she would surely misstep at some crucial
point in the climb.
Fortunately, they found a pair of klettershoes that fitted well enough.
The klettershoe-an anglicization of Kletterschuh, German for 'climbing
shoe'-was lighter, tighter, more flexible, and not so high as standard
climbing boots. The sole was of rubber, and the welt did not protrude,
making it possible for the wearer to gain toeholds on even the narrowest
ledges.
Although they would have to serve for want of something better, the
klettershoes weren't suited for the climb that lay ahead. Because they
were made of suede and were not waterproof, they should be used'only in
the fairest weather, never in a snowstorm.
To protect her feet from becoming wet and from the inevitable frostbite,
Connie wore both socks and plastic binding. The socks were thick, gray,
woolen; they came to mid-calf. The plastic was ordinarily used to seal
up the dry food that a climber carried in his rucksack.
Graham had wrapped her feet in two sheets of plastic, securing the
waterproof material at her ankles with rubber bands.
They were both wearing heavy, bright red nylon parkas with hoods that
tied under the chin. Between the outer nylon surface and the inner
nylon lining, his jacket was fitted with man-made insulation, sufficient
for autumn climbing but not for the cold that awaited them tonight. Her
parka was much better-although he hadn't explained that to her for fear
