"It's only a matter of holding on and keeping cool"; and
as the Maluka began to haul he added final instructions. "Hang on like
grim death, and keep cool, whatever happens," he said.
I promised to obey, and all went well until I reached mid-stream. Then,
the wire beginning to sag threateningly towards the water, Mac flung his
whole weight on to his end of it, and, to his horror, I shot up into the
air like a sky-rocket.
"Hang on! Keep cool!" Mac yelled, in a frenzy of apprehension, as he
swung on his end of the wire. Jackeroo became convulsed with laughter, but
the Maluka pulled hard, and I was soon on the right side of the river,
declaring that I preferred experiences when they were over. Later Mac
accounted for his terror with another unconscious flash of humour. "You
never can count on a woman keeping cool when the unexpected happens," he
said.
We offered to haul him over. "It's only a matter of holding on and
keeping cool," we said; but he preferred to swim.
"It's a pity you didn't think of telegraphing this performance," I
shouted across the floods; but, in his relief, Mac was equal to the
occasion.
