The Eiger Sanction

more easily.'

Jonathan glanced from the mountain to Ben, who turned down the corners of his mouth, closed his eyes, and shook his head heavily.

Anderl had not been a part of this discussion. Indeed, his attention was fixed on a group of attractive young girls out on the terrace. Jonathan asked his opinion on the advisability of climbing with a two-day weather limit. Anderl thrust out his lower lip and shrugged. He did not care whether they climbed in good weather or bad. Either would be interesting. But if they were not going to climb today or tomorrow, he had other things he might give his attention to.

Jonathan liked him.

'So we reach an impasse,' Karl said. 'Two in favor of climbing right now, and two opposed. The dilemma of the democratic process. What compromise do you suggest? That we climb halfway up?' His voice was heavy with Teutonic wit.

'It's three opposed,' Jonathan corrected. 'Ben has a vote.'

'But he will not be climbing with us.'

'He's our ground man. Until we touch rock, he has more than a vote; he has complete control.'

'Oh? Has that been decided upon?'

Anderl spoke without taking his eyes from the girls on the terrace. 'It is always like that,' he said with authority. 'The ground man has the last word now, and the leader once we are on the face.'

'Very well,' Karl said to cut off discussion on a point he was losing. 'That brings us to another issue. Who is to be leader?' Karl glanced around the table, ready to defend himself against any opposition.

Jonathan poured himself another cup and gestured with the pot; his offer of coffee was declined by Karl with a brusque shake of the head, by Jean-Paul who put his hand over his cup, by Anna with a movement of her fingertips, by Anderl who was paying no attention, and by Ben with a grimace, his beer mug still a quarter full. 'I thought it was pretty much set that you would lead, Karl,' Jonathan said quietly.

'And so it was. But that decision was reached before the American member of the team had his unfortunate accident and was replaced by a man of such international repute—up until a few years ago, at least.'

Jonathan could not repress a smile.

'So that we start off with a firm understanding,' Karl continued, 'I want to make sure everyone is in agreement about who shall lead.'

'You make a good point,' Jean-Paul said. 'It is true that Jonathan has climbed the mountain twice before.'

Gallic reasonableness was countered with Teutonic exactitude. 'A correction, if I may. The good doctor has failed to climb the mountain twice. I don't mean to offend you, Herr Doctor, but I am forced to say that I do not consider a record of failure automatically grants you the right to lead.'

'I'm not offended. Is it all that important to you that you lead?'

'It is important to our group. I have spent months designing a new route that departs in significant ways from the classic ascent. I am sure that once I have gone over it with you, you will all agree it is well thought out and quite feasible. And taking the face by a new route will put us in the record books.'

'And that's important to you?'

Karl glanced at him with surprise. 'Of course.'

Anderl had pushed his chair away from the table and was watching the power struggle with amusement in the folds of his thin, heavily tanned face.

Anna relieved her boredom by shifting her glance from Jonathan to Karl, the two natural leaders of the group. Jonathan sensed she was making a choice.

'Why don't we leave it at this,' Jean-Paul said, moderating. 'This afternoon we shall all go over the route you have planned, Karl. If it looks good to us, then you will be leader on the mountain. But until we are on the face, Benjamin will be in command.'

Karl agreed, certain the appeal of his new route would convince them. Ben concurred with a glum glance at Karl. Jonathan agreed. And Anderl didn't care one way or the other.

'So!' Jean-Paul clapped his hands together to punctuate the end of what had been, for him, an unpleasant encounter. 'Now we will take our coffee and become better acquainted with one another. Right?'

'Oh?' said Jonathan. 'I had assumed that you and Karl were already acquainted.'

'How so?' Jean-Paul asked, smiling.

'In a business way, I had imagined. Your company makes aerosol containers, his produces pesticides. It would seem natural that...' Jonathan shrugged.

Karl frowned at the mention of pesticides.

'Ah! I see,' Jean-Paul said. 'Yes, I can see that it would be a natural error. As a matter of fact, our meeting here is the first. It is sheerest coincidence that we are in related industries.'

Anna glanced out the window and spoke to no one in particular. 'In fact, I had assumed that every manufacturer of liquids in Europe had been to our house at one time or another.'

Jean-Paul laughed and winked at Jonathan. 'She finds some of my colleagues a little dull.'

'Oh?' Jonathan asked, wide-eyed.

The conversation turned to social trivialities, and after fifteen minutes of this Ben rose and excused himself, saying he wanted to check over the equipment. Anderl decided to help him, and the two of them went off.

Jonathan watched Ben depart with his characteristic hyper-energetic hopping gait with which he compensated for his limp. A thought crossed his mind.

'I hear you were injured last month,' he said conversationally to Karl.

'Yes. A fall. Nothing really.'

'It was your leg, I believe.'

'Yes. I cut it against a rock. I assure you it will not hamper my climbing in the least'

'Good.'

Karl and Jean-Paul fell to chatting about mountains they had both climbed, comparing routes and events. Jonathan had an opportunity to sit back with his cup and examine the three of them at his leisure. There had been nothing in the behavior of any member of the team to suggest he knew what Jonathan was and why he was there.

Anna Bidet's thoughts had turned inward, hidden behind the long lashes which veiled her quick, intelligent eyes. For some time she had been withdrawn, quite content with the company of her own mind. From time to time she would focus out on the men around her and listen for a moment before deciding there was nothing to interest her in the conversation, then she would dissolve back into herself. Jonathan let his eyes rest on her. Her clothes, her rare comments, her glances occasionally flashing in question or amusement, then eclipsing with a sudden drop of the lashes—everything was studied and effective. She was at one time dignified and provocative, a combination that is the exclusive property of Parisian women of a certain class and age.

She emerged from her reverie with the feel of Jonathan's gaze upon her. She returned it frankly and with amusement.

'An interesting combination,' she said quietly.

'What is?'

'Art critic, scholar, and mountain climber. And I'm sure there's more to you than that.'

'What do you make of it?'

'Nothing.'

Jonathan nodded and turned his attention to Jean-Paul, who obviously did not come from her world. His recent wealth fit him like his clothes, a little imperfectly because he lacked the panache to dominate them. He was over age for a major climb, but there was no fat on his sturdy agricultural body. One eye dropped down like a tragic clown's, but his expression was alive with intelligence and conviviality. His nose made a long, thin line starting rather too far up above the eyes and taking a capricious jog to one side about halfway down. The mouth was crooked and mobile enough to grant him that facial plasticity so intrinsic to a French peasant's communication. All in all, the face looked as though Nature had designed a perfectly nondescript mold, then had laid its palm against the muzzle while the clay was fresh and had given a slight twist to the left.

Jonathan appreciated his qualities. His dislike of conflict and his logical moderation made him the ideal lubricant among the dynamic and aggressive personalities common to climbing. It was a pity that he was a