"Right you are," and Bob threw over the lever a couple of notches.
The boat leaped forward like a thing alive and for an instant the wind seemed to die down to a gentle breeze, but he knew that it was blowing as hard as ever. Then, almost as quickly as it had come, the rain lessened. It was, as Jack afterward declared, almost as though someone had turned off a spigot.
"There's the canoe," Jack shouted a moment later pointing to the right and, at the same time, swinging the boat about in a wide sweep.
Following his gesture Bob saw the canoe, bottom up, bobbing up and down on the waves, which, now that the rain had nearly ceased, were running high, and his heart sank within him as the certainty of the girl's fate struck him. But a moment later he was electrified as Jack cried out that she was clinging to the stern. And now, as they came nearer he could see that he was right. A slim arm reached up out of the water and a hand was fastened to a ring in the end of the canoe. But, even as he gazed, the fingers lost their hold and were gone.
In an instant Bob had kicked off his shoes and thrown aside his coat. Then, as the boat swept up close to the canoe, he disappeared over the side. Down he swam, striving to pierce the water with his eyes. It must be pretty deep here, he thought, kicking out more lustily as the pressure in his lungs warned him that he must soon have air. He failed to reach the bottom before he knew that he must give up and had just turned for the rise when his eye caught sight of an object a few feet to his right. It was she and with a prayer that he might be able to hold out, he plunged desperately for her. Grabbing her by the hair he beat the water frantically with his free hand and slowly rose toward the surface, although it seemed to him that they were stationary.
Would they ever reach the air? His lungs seemed on the point of bursting, but the thought of dropping his burden never entered his mind. Desperately he worked his legs in an effort to hurry their progress. Then, just when it seemed that he could stand it no longer, his head broke through the water and he breathed the life-giving air.
Raising himself as high as possible, so as to hold the girl's head above water, he shook the water from his eyes and looked about. Jack was only a few yards away and had already caught sight of him.
"Hold hard a minute," he shouted encouragingly.
Bob was certain that the girl was unconscious and he feared that she might be dead, although he hardly thought it likely, as she had been beneath the water not more than two minutes at the most. He trod water with all his strength and, although it seemed to him a long time, it was not more than a minute from the time his head appeared above the water, when Jack reached over the side of the boat and lifted the girl aboard. He quickly followed saying as he climbed over the side:
"Full speed for home, old man, and I'll see what I can do for her."