“Silence reigned.It was a great emotional crisis. I had a pretty anxious time myself. But I kept reminding my subconscious mind that the bridge had been there for many springs and there was no reason why it should choose this particular time to collapse! The bridge obliged by reacting to such positive, trustful thinking and we reached the other end of it in safety and with sincere relief. And thereby concluded a definite division of our Saga of Adventure. Now, at last, we were WEST!”

Excerpted from the book “Veil, Duster and Tire Iron” by Alice Huyler Ramsey (1961).