The boat stuck with something wrong about one of the davits; no other
boat was visible; no one had leaped and swum to save the woman, whose
clothes, after sustaining her for some moments, were gradually sinking
out of sight, and the motion of her hand grew slower.
"Yes; she'll be drowned long before they can save her," I said, I
believe aloud, for I seemed to hear the words; and then, without
calculating the consequences, I dived from the high side of the great
East Indiaman, struck the surface, and went on down, down, into the
black muddy water, till I felt as if I should never rise.
Then there was light once again, and I struck out, dimly conscious of
shouts and cheering, but fully awake to the fact that I was swimming
there with the ship gliding away, and the steep forbidding wall of the
dock about a score or two of yards distant, looking slippery, and as if
it would afford no hold if I swam there, as for the moment I felt urged
to do.
For I had forgotten the object which made me plunge into the dock, and
the long immersion had confused me for the time being, as I tried vainly
to make out what people were shouting to me from the quay.
All at once, away to my right, I saw a hand appear above the surface,
and like a flash it came back, and, amidst shrieks and cheers, I swam as
hard as I could for the spot, to reach it just as the hand disappeared.
For the moment I thought all was over, but, thrusting my hands down,
they touched something, and the snatch I gave made the woman's shoulder
roll up above the surface, then her face appeared, and, knowing the
imminent danger, I tried to swerve aside to avoid the clutch of the poor
creature's hand.
I was too late. The fingers seized me with a death-grip, and as I was
thrown off my balance, I struggled to free myself, went under, made a
desperate effort which brought me up again, and recovering myself a
little, I tried hard to swim now and keep both afloat.
It was a time of confused effort and excitement I don't know that I felt
much fear, only that I was getting weaker and weaker, and in a dull,
half-stupefied fashion, I thought that if help did not come soon I
should not be able to save the poor woman.
Then all was black again; there was a thundering in my ears, a scalding
sensation in my throat, and my arms seemed to be turning to lead. But I
was striving hard all the time, and once more in a dim way I saw the
light, and struck out blindly enough, my only aim being to keep afloat.
I was conscious of shouting. Some one close by cried, "Hold her!" but
the water was rising over my eyes again as I felt a sharp shock; hands
clutched me directly after, and I was hauled into a boat, where I lay
panting, my heart throbbing, and a sensation at the back of my neck as
if I had received a sharp blow.
"Oh, he's all right," said a familiar voice. "Give way, my lads, and
let's land her. I dare say they'll bring her to. Better chance than we
shall have."
In a dreamy way I saw the dock wall above me, and people looking down;
then we reached some steps, and the dripping figure of the woman was
lifted out of the boat, and taken by other hands.
"Get her into a room, and fetch a doctor directly," said a voice close
to me, which I now recognised as that of the officer I had run against.
"Now, my lads, give way.--I say, how are you?"
I looked up, feeling dull and confused, and saw the officer was bending
down over me. "That's better," he said. "We'll soon have you on board,
and the surgeon will put you right in no time."
In a few minutes the great stern of the _Jumna_ was looming over us, and
a tremendous burst of cheering rose as we were pulled alongside; but it
did not strike me then what it all meant. I looked up, and could see
white faces looking down at us, and handkerchiefs were being waved
because the woman was saved, I supposed, but I was too weak and
exhausted to trouble much. I was conscious of the hooks being made
fast, of the creaking of the blocks as the boat was run up to the
davits, and then of being lifted out on to the deck, all wet and cold,
with the water streaming from me. There was a crowd of excited people
around, but all dimly seen, and a loud humming of voices and an order or
two, but the faces were swimming round me, and the voices sounded
distant, all but one, which seemed to belong to my cabin, and it said--
"My gallant lad!"
Almost at the same moment, as it appeared to me, a rough hand caught
mine, and gripped it so that it would have been painful if all I was
passing through had not been confused and misty, as if it were part of a
dream. There was a face, too, looking down in mine with a woollen cap
and a red tuft, and a suggestion of a white flannel jacket, and a hoarse
voice said--
"Bless you for that, sir. She's my dear lass."
Then everything was dark again, as if my head had gone under water, and
when I saw clearly once more I was in the cabin and two gentlemen were
standing by my berth.