. Then I will pull you down, down, a
little at a time. When you are far enough down--and I will be the judge
of that--I will give you the word; then you must jump. It will not hurt
you; the water will break your fall, and I will save you. Think of
nothing else but your trust in me, and jump. The moment you leave the
car I let go the rope; then it will instantly be too far for him to
jump. Quick! Be ready when I give the word.' And as I spoke I hauled
steadily upon the rope.

"Irene looked at me for an instant, and then she stood up in the car. I
saw her put one foot upon the seat which surrounds it; then quickly
appeared the other foot upon the edge of the car. She raised both arms
and joined her hands above her head; she pushed herself between the
ropes and leaped. It was all the work of a second.

"She came down beautifully, head foremost. It was a splendid dive.
Relieved of her weight, the balloon gave a great jerk, and I let go the
rope.

"Irene went down into the water as cleanly and smoothly as if she had
been a diving duck. She scarcely made a splash. She was a magnificent
swimmer.

"As my dear Irene disappeared beneath the surface of the water I made
use of the rapid moments in which I could not expect to see her in
glancing upward. The tiger was rising rapidly. His head was stretched
out over the edge of the car; I could see his wild and frightened eyes.
He was afraid to jump.

"Then I turned to the water. The head of Irene had risen above it; she
was striking out bravely for the shore. She did not need my help. She is
a grand woman! In a few moments we stood beside each other on the shore.
I would have thrown myself into her arms; I would have embraced this
dear one, now my own again: but she was so wet; I was so wet. We seized
each other by the hands. It is impossible to say whether she wept or
not, her face was so wet.

"Then by a sudden instinct we looked upward. The balloon was high above
us, rising steadily. We could see the head of the tiger projecting from
the car--now such a little head, but I knew that he was gazing at me.
Then we heard a sound which came down from above. It was the tiger's
roar, but it was such a little roar! I clasped more tightly the hand of
my Irene; we did not speak, but gazed steadily upward at the balloon,
which had reached a current of air which was carrying it across the
country. The sun was now very hot; the gas was expanding; the balloon
was rising higher and higher