The sunlight that came down through the green waves showed the white face of a girl upturned for a moment, the eyes wide open and staring.
Frank plunged at the object with remarkable speed, and he felt a wild thrill of hope as his arm closed around the waist of a girl.
That clutch seemed to arouse her, and, in a moment, she had fastened her hands about his neck.
It was the clutch of a drowning person, and the girl seemed to possess the strength of Samson.
Frank tried to break away, but she held fast to him.
Down they went toward the bottom.
“I must break her hold!” thought the youth. “If I do not, she will drown us both! It is the only chance!”
He understood how desperate the situation was, and prepared to make a last mad effort.
Then the girl folded him in her arms and drew him close to her with a frantic clutch that caused him to gasp, and the salt sea water poured down his throat.
He found he could not well exert his strength, as the girl held him in a position so that he could not get hold of her hands.