“Take care of yourselves, boys. Don’t overdo it. We must keep on, but it’s unkind work.”
We dived again and again, till I felt that I could do no more, and once more I was close up to Lomax, who had been down till he was almost completely exhausted.
“Oh, my lad! my lad!” he groaned, as he began to tread water slowly, “I’d have given anything sooner than this should have happened. Here, you, Burr junior, you’re spent, boy. Swim ashore.”
“I’m not,” I said. “I’m going down again.”
“I’m done,” groaned Lomax. “I seem to have no more strength.”
Shouts and orders came from the bank.
“They’re saying we don’t dive,” said Mercer piteously.
“Not diving?” cried Lomax. “Well!”
As he spoke, he sank again, and the water closed in a swirl over his head, while, after taking a long breath, I dived under into the depths, with the water thundering in my ears, as, during what seemed to be a long space of time, though less than a minute, of course, I groped and swam about till a curious sensation of confusion came over me, and, frightened now, I touched something and clung to it wildly, believing in my startled state that it was Lomax.
The next instant I was at the surface, surprised to see the old sergeant making a rush at me, as he uttered a shout. Then he seized something by me, and I knew that I had brought one of my schoolfellows to the surface.