Rigging the Anchor

A narrow iron gorge lay before me—the slatted heating vent! I held back at first, surveying the dark slots. Then, sudden impulse struck! I pinched the bent wire paperclip in my left claw, aimed true, and dropped the curved prong into the metal lattice. Clink! It hooked solid into the iron ribbing. Yar! I gave it a sharp heave with my right arm, testing the anchor's grip. The grate rattled like a ship's timber in a gale, held fast by pirate salvage!