In the heavy sea it was not an easy matter to get them into the boat, but it was soon accomplished.
"There's another woman, isn't there?" Bob shouted as he lifted the woman over the side.
"My little girl," the woman moaned.
"She's lost," the man who had been supporting her cried.
Jack was standing in the stern of the boat and suddenly his quick eye caught a gleam of white some twenty feet behind. It was only a glimpse but it was enough.
"Stand by, Bob!" he shouted as he dove head first into the boiling water.
He struck at an angle and scarcely went beneath the surface, and a few powerful strokes brought him to the place where he judged he had seen the girl, but now there was nothing to be seen. Taking a deep breath and breathing a prayer, he plunged downward. Down and still down he swam, hoping against hope that he might be successful. He realized that, even had it been the girl he had seen, the chances of finding her were very slight, but there was a chance, and he was taking it. Once he opened his eyes and tried to pierce the blackness, but he could not see an inch, so he quickly closed them. Finally he knew that he could go no farther and was about to turn and make for the surface when his hand struck something. It was soft and felt like hair and he knew instantly that he had found her. Getting a firm grasp he kicked out with all his strength and began to fight his way upward.
He had, however, hardly turned when the realization came that his strength was almost gone and his lungs began to pain with a dull ache. But he was not one to yield so long as a breath of life remained and, with his free hand and both feet he struggled with the strength of desperation. The girl felt like a lump of lead dragging him down and he doubted if he was making any progress. Still he would not give up, although now his lungs seemed on the point of bursting. Would he never reach the surface? It seemed to him that he had been climbing for ages. Then suddenly the pain left his lungs, and for an instant a strange feeling of rest stole over him. Then nothing.
"He's coming around."
The words seemed to come from a great distance.