“All right—all right—take it easy!” the voice was saying.
I simply couldn’t pay any attention to that—I was labouring with all my strength for both—for myself and this log in the water that I must—must get ashore. I was startled when he gave a sudden powerful jerk of his shoulders that altered our course.
“You’ll have us on to the reef,” he said. “I’ll steer—don’t work so hard—”
I heard myself gasping.
—“don’t get flurried, Nancy!”
“Nancy!” Yes! Then I did realize who it was that I was tugging along with me for dear life. His life was in my hands—mine, when I’d felt ready to murder him an hour ago. I’d had to save it.... “Serve him right,” I thought wildly, as I struggled along. “Oh, serve him right! I’ll show him—I’ll teach him to kiss me again.”
Indeed, I’m not sure that I wasn’t muttering this aloud to myself in the water. Anyhow, voices seemed buzzing in my ears—one was his own as I’d heard it yesterday—“I say! Isn’t it topping to be alive? Isn’t it topping to be alive?”
And then it seemed to come to the very last effort I could make. “Ah!” I heard myself groan.
The next thing of which I was conscious came with a shock of surprise. It was the soft jolt of my shoulders against sand.
We were aground!