Above him the watchman steadied the light, while the shipper stood tense, the looped end of the hawser in his hand, ready to make his cast.
Down, down, down went the fighting sailors. But now Alec had his arms loose. With his last ounce of strength he shoved his hand over the arm that was strangling him and gripped the sailor by the nose. With his other hand he dealt him as savage a blow as he could in the pit of his stomach. The effect was magical. The sailor loosened his strangle hold and doubled up like a jack-knife. Alec grasped the man by the hair, and with all the strength left in him, struggled upward. His head popped out of water not ten feet from Skipper Bagley. The sailor, now unconscious, came to the surface. Alec could do no more. He turned on his back and tried to float. It seemed to him that he could not even wriggle his fingers. He was on the verge of unconsciousness himself. Yet he kept tight hold of Hawley's hair.
Then a voice that seemed to be almost overhead put new life in him. "Catch this rope," it said, "and slip it under your arms."
There was a splash in the water and the rope fell across his very fingers. Mechanically he grasped it. But he could not get it around his body. He slipped his free arm through the noose. Gently the rope tightened and he moved ahead through the water, the unconscious sailor trailing behind him. In a second Captain Bagley had him by the coat collar. Then the noose was slipped under both of Alec's arms.
"Easy now," cried the skipper, as he held himself on the chains with his legs, keeping Hawley's head above water with one hand, while he steadied Alec with the other. Strong arms pulled on the rope, and in a moment Alec was safe. Then the rope was made fast about Hawley, and shortly his prostrate form lay on the deck.
Captain Bagley tore off his own coat and wrapped it around Alec. "Run to the Bertha B," he said, "and get them wet things off. Stir up the fire and get something hot inside you."
"In a m-m-m-minute," said Alec, his teeth chattering. "We've g-g-got to save Hawley first."
"You get out of this," thundered the oyster shipper. "We'll take care of Hawley."
He grabbed the unconscious sailor by the heels and lifted him straight up. Captain Bagley drew down the man's tongue with his handkerchief. Water gushed from the sailor's open mouth. The watchman squeezed the man's ribs to try to press out more. Then they laid him on his back and began to pump his arms up and down.
"That's too fast," cried Alec, who was making haste slowly and watching them from the pier. "Fifteen times a minute is right, and you ought to press in his ribs when you pull down his arms."