"We must reserve our forces, my darling, every breath in us. Valentine will give the alarm directly. She will wait and wait, and then there will be a hue and cry. It will be a matter of life and death. Do you understand?"
In the earnestness of his face she read for the first time all that this adventurous swim would mean for them both.
"If they come," she panted, "you will not leave me, you will not give me back to them?"
His jaws clenched hard.
"Never!" he vowed. "We will go under first!"
He trod the water for a moment while he scanned the expanse behind them. "Go on," he begged of her; "I will catch you up: spare yourself as much as you can."
His precaution was needless; nothing was to be seen on the still surface of the sea, and, as the rock now screened the shore, it was impossible to guess what might be taking place there. Presently he gained on her.
"Safe so far," he said. "Don't speak; float a little."
He caught the side of the life-belt she wore and swam out, drawing her in the direction of the island. Some sailing boats fluttered across the horizon, but their route lay in an opposite direction to that of the swimmers, who had now left the rocks and were well in the open. Gradually the St Malo coast grew more indistinct, and by degrees in front of them the spikes that had represented Cezambre developed into rocks. Then Leonie assembled her flagging forces and struck out with renewed zest. The sun was going down, and a cool breeze came up behind them and seemed to give them impetus and freshened courage. Before twilight they had safely piloted themselves to shore.
As they rose from the depths he flung his arms round her with a sense of ecstatic relief.