“I do not think there will be any, but if there are I must even chance it.�
“It sounds terribly dangerous.�
“It is dangerous, but it is our only chance. How long do you think we would last in this open boat? In two or three days we would be mad for food and drink, burning up under this tropic sun.�
“Could we not land on one of the other islands?�
“They are all populated, I take it, and our end would be certain.�
“And what do you propose that I should do while you are fighting for me on the ship?�
“You will stay in the boat which I shall make fast to the ship, and if I should fail—�
“Oh, don’t say that!�
“But I must say it. It is not beyond possibility that I shall, although I do not think it, because I believe God Who has preserved us hitherto does not intend that we shall finally fail. But if I should be overpowered or killed, there is a plug in the bottom of the boat. All you have to do is to cast off the painter and pull out the plug and—drift away.�
“I understand,� she said. “And if anything happens to you,� she looked at me directly as she spoke, “I would rather drift away and drown—than live without you.�