o loves!

"It was now absolutely impossible for either of them safely to leap from
the car unless I pulled it down, and my mind was not capable of even
considering such an alternative. To meet him here upon the ground, in
this awful solitude! To die together, but not in each other's arms; to
perish from this bright earth; to reach out to my Irene; to call to her
as she reached out and called to me, when the terrible monster-- It was
too much!

"But even in my despair I remembered to be humane. I seized the end of
the rope. I would not let my Irene float away altogether. I could not.
The soul of the husband asserted itself. The cloud had now passed from
the face of the sun. The balloon was rising with considerable force, but
I could hold it; I was very heavy. I would not desert my Irene.

"As I stood thus, looking upward and holding fast to all that was dear
to me in life, I saw Irene, still sitting on the edge of the car, raise
one hand and put it to her head. I could see that she was feeling faint;
the strain of her position was beginning to tell upon her; at any moment
she might fall. Then my quick glance sought the tiger. He was in the
car, his great head and two front paws hanging over the edge; his green
eyes were steadily fixed on me. Just then Irene, evidently unable to
hold any longer to the ropes, gave herself a dexterous twist, and in an
instant she was inside the car, her head sinking down out of sight. Oh,
noble, most beloved Irene! Sooner than let herself drop and fall at my
feet a mangled corpse, she would do anything. She well understood my too
sensitive soul, this dear Irene!

"In spite of my emotion I still held firmly to the rope, and the tiger
still glared down upon me. It was too far for him to jump; he knew that
if he did he would be dashed to pieces. This gave me strength and
courage.

"Irene now raised herself and looked over the edge of the car; the tiger
by her side did not regard her. I have often read of wild animals, of
different kinds and degrees of fierceness, who, having fallen into a pit
together, did not attack each other, but remained as gentle as sheep,
being cowed by their fear. Plainly this tiger was cowed. He had never
been so far above the earth; he knew that he would die if he leaped; but
he kept his sinister green eyes steadily fixed on me.

[Illustration: The great beast was drawing up his hind legs and was
climbing into the car.]

"Now Irene called down to me. I could n