I Promised To Keep Close To Him, And Help Him
If Need Were, Though I Was Confident If He Left Everything To
Cream There Would Be No Danger.
"Well, if he must, he must.
But, if anything happened to him, would I write and tell
Mary? I knew her address; leastways, if I didn't, it was in
his bag on the brown mule. And tell her I done my best."
'The water was so clear one could see every crack in the rock
beneath. Fortunately, I took the precaution to strip to my
shirt; fastened everything, even my socks, to the saddle;
then advanced cautiously ahead of William to the brink of the
chasm. We were, in fact, upon the edge of a precipice. One
could see to an inch where the gulf began. As my mare
stepped into it I slipped off my saddle; when she rose I laid
hold of her tail, and in two or three minutes should have
been safe ashore.
'Looking back to see how it had fared with William, I at once
perceived his danger. He had clasped his mule tightly round
the neck with his arms, and round the body with his long
legs. She was plunging violently to get rid of her load.
Already the pair were forty or fifty yards below me.
Instantly I turned and swam to his assistance. The struggles
of the mule rendered it dangerous to get at him. When I did
so he was partially dazed; his hold was relaxed.
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