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Show (o (& THE MAENAD IN THE CATARACT-281 she belong to some man? And, if so, was the man a cowboy? An oudaw? A prospector? A trapper? A hunter? You can imagine how perplexed I was, having no answer to a single one of my questions; in fact, I was so perplexed mat while I stood pondering, die swift current almost carried die female person away! Her grip upon die rock was slipping! Her female muscles were tiring! She called out, a feeble cry for help! And I, delaying not a second longer (For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a hero and, as you can plainly see, this was an unparalleled opportunity.) - as I say, delaying not a second longer, I rushed to the edge of the cataract overlooking her rock. The bank was high and precipitous, my lariat was a mile down die mountain tied to my saddle, and I saw at a glance that if I jumped in after her, I would either dash myself to death upon die sharp rocks, or be carried away by die torrent. Thus my problem was clearly defined: how to save her? Indeed, it was a problem for the wisdom of Solomon; and, fortunately for the female person, at that moment I bethought myself of my Levi Strauss blue denim trousers. Old as the pair was which I at mat moment wore, thin at the knees and frayed at the cuff, not to mention worn in the pocket from constant carrying of a pocket knife, they were still strong at the seams and at the copper rivets. Therefore, flinging modesty aside, I doffed said denim trousers (first, of course, sitting down to pull off my boots, over which Levi Strauss trousers will not come), and, by lying full length upon the bank above the female person, I was able to let down one leg of the trousers to her, retaining the other leg in my hands, in a grip of steel. In one last lunge of desperation, the female person grasped onto the other leg and I pulled her to safety! Once again the sturdy construction of your product had saved a human life! I am sorry to relate, however, that the episode did not end there. As the woman lay gasping upon the earth, she cried out that she was perishing, and indeed appeared to do just that, whether from fright or drowning I know not. But all signs of life did appear to cease, whereupon I chaffed her wrists, to no avail. I felt her heart, which was beating; thereupon I applied moum-to-mouth resuscitation, which soon caused her to breathe normally again. In fact, her pulse quickened, her bosom rose and fell with considerable agitation, and, to my astonishment, she opened her eyes, looked at me, and asked: "Do you love me then?" |