diff --git a/matrix/eventable.lua b/matrix/eventable.lua
index e273d95..a1a7e09 100644
--- a/matrix/eventable.lua
+++ b/matrix/eventable.lua
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 local _select, _pack, _unpack = select, table.pack, table.unpack or unpack
 
 if not _pack then
+   -- Provide a table.pack() implementation for Lua 5.1 and LuaJIT.
    _pack = function (...)
       local n = _select("#", ...)
       local r = { n = n }
@@ -18,28 +19,15 @@ if not _pack then
    end
 end
 
-local function _expack (args, ...)
-   local r = { n = args.n }
-   local n = _select("#", ...)
-   for i = 1, args.n do
-      r[i] = args[i]
-   end
-   for i = 1, n do
-      r[r.n + i] = _select(i, ...)
-   end
-   r.n = r.n + n
-   return _unpack(r)
-end
-
 local log = (function ()
    local env_value = os.getenv("MATRIX_EVENTABLE_DEBUG_LOG")
    if env_value and #env_value > 0 and env_value ~= "0" then
       local out, _tostring = io.stderr, tostring
       return function (...)
          out:write("[eventable]")
-         local args = _pack(...)
-         for i = 1, args.n do
-            out:write(" " .. _tostring(args[i]))
+         local n = _select("#", ...)
+         for i = 1, n do
+            out:write(" " .. _tostring(_select(i, ...)))
          end
          out:write("\n")
          out:flush()
@@ -49,100 +37,66 @@ local log = (function ()
    end
 end)()
 
-local function eventable_functions (...)
-   local event_map = {}
-
-   local hook = function (event, handler)
-      log("hook:", event, handler)
-      if not handler then
-         event_map[event] = nil
-      else
-         if not event_map[event] then
-            event_map[event] = {}
-         end
-         local handlers = event_map[event]
-         handlers[#handlers + 1] = handler
-      end
-   end
-
-   local unhook = function (event, handler)
-      log("unhook:", event, handler)
-      local old_handlers = event_map[event]
-      if old_handlers then
-         local handlers = {}
-         for i = 1, #old_handlers do
-            local h = old_handlers[i]
-            if h ~= handler then
-               handlers[#handlers + 1] = h
-            end
-         end
-         event_map[event] = handlers
-      end
-   end
-
-   local fire
-
-   local nargs = _select("#", ...)
-   if nargs == 0 then
-      -- Simplest version, no arguments.
-      fire = function (event, ...)
-         log("fire: " .. event .. ":", ...)
-         local handlers = event_map[event]
-         if handlers then
-            for i = 1, #handlers do
-               local ret = _pack(handlers[i](...))
-               if ret.n > 0 then
-                  return _unpack(ret)
-               end
-            end
-         end
-      end
-   elseif nargs == 1 then
-      -- Common single-argument case: optimized.
-      local arg = _select(1, ...)
-      fire = function (event, ...)
-         log("fire: " .. event .. ":", arg, ...)
-         local handlers = event_map[event]
-         if handlers then
-            for i = 1, #handlers do
-               local ret = _pack(handlers[i](arg, ...))
-               if ret.n > 0 then
-                  return _unpack(ret)
-               end
-            end
-         end
-      end
+local function do_hook(event_map, event, handler)
+   log("hook:", event, handler)
+   if not handler then
+      event_map[event] = nil
    else
-      -- Generic multi-argument case.
-      local args = _pack(...)
-      fire = function (event, ...)
-         log("fire: " .. event .. ":", _expack(args, ...))
-         local handlers = event_map[event]
-         if handlers then
-            for i = 1, #handlers do
-               local ret = _pack(handlers[i](_expack(args, ...)))
-               if ret.n > 0 then
-                  return _unpack(ret)
-               end
-            end
-         end
+      if not event_map[event] then
+         event_map[event] = {}
       end
+      local handlers = event_map[event]
+      handlers[#handlers + 1] = handler
    end
-
-   return fire, hook, unhook
 end
 
-local function eventable_object(obj)
-   local fire, hook, unhook = eventable_functions()
-   function obj:fire(name, ...)
-      return fire(name, self, ...)
+local function do_unhook(event_map, event, handler)
+   log("unhook:", event, handler)
+   local old_handlers = event_map[event]
+   if old_handlers then
+      local handlers = {}
+      for i = 1, #old_handlers do
+         local h = old_handlers[i]
+         if h ~= handler then
+            handlers[#handlers + 1] = h
+         end
+      end
+      event_map[event] = handlers
+   end
+end
+
+local function do_fire(event_map, event, ...)
+   log("fire: " .. event .. ":", ...)
+   local handlers = event_map[event]
+   if handlers then
+      for i = 1, #handlers do
+         local ret = _pack(handlers[i](...))
+         if ret.n > 0 then
+            return _unpack(ret)
+         end
+      end
+   end
+end
+
+local function eventable_functions (event_map)
+   if not event_map then event_map = {} end
+   return function (e, ...) return do_fire(event_map, e, ...) end,
+          function (e, h) return do_hook(event_map, e, h) end,
+          function (e, h) return do_unhook(event_map, e, h) end
+end
+
+local function eventable_object(obj, event_map)
+   if not obj then obj = {} end
+   if not event_map then event_map = {} end
+   function obj:fire(e, ...)
+      return do_fire(event_map, e, self, ...)
    end
    function obj:hook(...)
-      hook(...)
+      do_hook(event_map, ...)
       return self  -- Allow chaining
    end
    function obj:unhook(...)
-      unhook(...)
+      do_unhook(event_map, ...)
       return self  -- Allow chaining
    end
    return obj