The Planet Savers

The first adventure in her famous Darkover Series: Hjalmar, watching as the woman gained the third loop—which joggled horribly to her slight weight—shouted suddenly, "Kyla, quick! The loop beyond—don’t touch the next one! It’s frayed—rotted through!" Kyla brought her left hand up to her right on the third loop. She made a long reach, missed her grab, swung again, and clung, breathing hard, to the safe fifth loop. I watched, sick with dread. The damned girl should have told me what she intended. Kyla glanced down and we got a glimpse of her face, glistening with the mixture of sunburn cream and sweat, drawn with effort. Her tiny swaying figure hung twelve feet above the white tumbling water, and if she lost her grip, only a miracle could bring her out alive. She hung there for a minute, jiggling slightly, then started a long back-and-forward swing. On the third forward swing she made a long leap and grabbed at the final loop. It slipped through her fingers... GREAT SCIENCE FICTION FROM ONE OF ITS ACKNOWLEDGED MASTERS! Originally appeared in AMAZING STORIES – November 1958