Danger in the Extreme by Franklin W. Dixon Page B

Now we’ll see some serious jumping, Frank said to himself.
    Winiki stepped from the hut and raised his arms over his head. He seemed to be going over the jump in his mind.
    Then he zipped down the ramp in a blur of speed. He hit the lip of the ramp and shot into the air, spinning so fast Frank couldn’t count the rotations.
    Somehow, Winiki made himself stop flipping andspinning at the perfect time. He opened up out of his tuck and executed a smooth, brilliant landing.
    The crowd jumped up for a standing ovation.
    The scores were nearly perfect.
    â€œOkay, Neal,” Frank mumbled. “Concentrate. Nail this thing.”
    Neal appeared at the top of the ramp, looking much thinner and younger than the more experienced Winiki. He stood quietly for a moment, then started down.
    He did the same jump he’d practiced, a front half, double back half.
    Frank clenched his fists as he watched Neal turn through the air. “Get the landing, Neal!” he shouted.
    Neal opened up a fraction of a second too early. He didn’t rotate far enough and landed on the nose of his board.
    For a split second he held on. Frank sucked in a breath.
    Then Neal went down, skidding down the slope on his face.
    Frank groaned.
    Sammy Fear climbed down from the tower and met Neal when he came back around.
    Neal looked as though he was about to cry.
    â€œSuck it up,” Fear said. “You barely missed it, man.”
    â€œTough luck,” Frank added. “I thought you had it nailed.”
    Neal couldn’t answer. He flopped down on the bench and waited for the scores.
    Frank watched the numbers flash on. “Well,” he said, “they liked the jump, but the landing cost you. You’ll just have to stick the next one.”
    Neal looked down at his boots.
    They watched as the rest of the athletes jumped. By the time the first round was over, Neal was stuck in eleventh place.
    â€œI might as well drop out,” Neal grumbled. “I don’t have any chance for a medal now.”
    â€œDon’t quit,” Fear said. “Stick it out. That’s the way you get stronger.”
    Frank handed Neal his helmet. “Get back up there.”
    The announcer started the second round, and Neal and Fear trudged back up the ladder to the hut.
    Again, the first two jumpers weren’t very good. The announcer even had to scold the crowd when people stopped paying attention and started talking amongst themselves.
    When it was Winiki’s turn, everyone paid attention.
    This time he concentrated even longer than usual. One of the other jumpers mouthed the words “quad-quad” to Frank.
    Frank signaled thumbs up. That jump was something he’d like to see.
    Winiki pushed off the railing, sending himselfdown faster than any other jumper. He rocketed into the air, twisting and flipping even as his board left the ramp.
    The twists went too fast, but Frank could count the flips. “One, two, three, four—”
    Winiki slammed into the landing ramp. He hit so hard that his knees buckled and he almost sat all the way down.
    Frank grimaced, then relaxed as Winiki got the landing under control and schussed down the slope.
    The crowd went nuts again. They cheered until the scores came up. Then they cheered even louder. A perfect score!
    Frank hoped the jump would inspire Neal. Maybe he could work his way into the top ten. That would be great for someone his age, Frank thought.
    After a long wait, he saw Neal come out of the hut. He pulled his helmet strap tight.
    Frank stood up to get a better view. Neal looked taller and thinner all the way up there.
    Neal steered his way down the ramp. This time he performed a beautiful triple twisting gainer. He opened out of his tuck and landed lightly, gracefully, like a bird settling on a lawn.
    The crowd roared.
    Frank glanced over at Agent DuBelle. Her brow wrinkled. She stared at Neal, a look of confusion on her face.
    Frank realized what was wrong. That