"Ain't you goin' to help him? It's Joe. You ain't scared o' the sea. You can do it. Get him to me, George. Oh!—get me Joe. I want him. I want him. He's mine."
I grasped her by the arm and shook her, as I shouted in her ear:
"Do you love Joe,—Rita;—love him enough to marry him if I go out for him?"
"Oh, yes, yes! Get him, George. I love Joe. I always loved him."
In that moment, I made up my mind.
"If we come back, little woman," I cried, "it will be down there at the end of the Island. Run home;—get grand-dad and the others in some boats. It isn't so bad down there. Watch out for us.
"If I don't come back, Rita,—dear, little Rita——"
I took her face in my hands and pressed my lips on hers.
I ran from her, up over the cliffs, away to the far side of the horn, where the eddy made the sea quieter. I threw off my boots and superfluous clothing and sprang into the water. Out, out I plunged, and plunged again, keeping under water most of the time, until at last I got caught in the terrible rush three hundred yards straight out from the point.
I well knew the dreadful odds I was facing, yet I was unafraid. The sea was my home, almost as much as the land. I laughed at its buffeting. I defied it. What cared I? What had I to lose?—nothing! And,—I might win Joe for Rita, and make her happy.