Gandy, in spite of shattered arm, had succeeded in fastening the rope about his waist, and now, placing the long, light shaft of the boat hook in front of him, was bearing down upon it as hard as he could.
“That’s a good idea,” cried Will. “But here, Mart, the oar will be better because it’s bigger round and flat in the blade. Fling us the boat hook and take the oar!”
These efforts, though they had not at all availed to extricate the victim, had kept him from being dragged further down. With the oar he was able to exert his strength to more advantage. Will now made a loop in the rope and passed the handle of the boat hook through it. Then, one on each side of the rope, and each with the shaft across his breast, so that the whole formed a sort of rude harness, Will and Reube bent their bodies to the pull like oxen in a yoke. At the same time Gandy, using his unwounded arm, lifted with all the force that despair could give him.
For two or three seconds there was no result. Was it all to be in vain? Then from Gandy’s white lips came a gasping cry of “She gives!” and slowly, slowly at first, then with a sudden yielding which nearly threw the rescuers to the ground, that terrible hold gave way, and Gandy, was jerked forward upon solid ground.
White and panting from the strain, they turned to free him from the rope. He had fainted and lay as if dead. The anguish of his wound and of his terror and the gigantic effort which he had just put forth had overcome him.
Will and Reube bent their bodies to the pull.
“Let’s get the poor wretch down to the water,” proposed Will.
“We’ll take him right aboard the Dido, where we can see to his arm and fix him a place in the cuddy,” said Reube. “The Dido’s hard and fast now for another six hours, so we can take our time. But I wish we could get the chap to a doctor sooner than that.”
So saying, he picked up Gandy’s long form and walked with it easily down to the boat. The wounded man was still unconscious. A bed of quilts was fixed for him, and Reube was just about to cut the sleeve from his shirt to examine the arm and bathe it when Will cried: