some irregular and confused signs (for my voice died in
my choking throat) to the German to obey the request of his
neighbour--but these were unnecessary: the man himself saw the fearful
position in which we were placed, with as keen a perception of the
danger, and as anxious a wish to remove it, as either of us. He was,
however, struggling for want of air to a greater extent than either
Jenkins or myself. His face was swollen and blue, his mouth open, his
eyes protruding from his head, his breast heaving like one under the
weight of the angel of death. Yet he tried to combat the antagonist
powers of cruel fate; and, raising his body from the bench, he bent
forward to clutch the mattock, with which to give the clangs that formed
the signal to raise us from our water-bound prison. He had to reach over
the body of Jenkins, who lay coiled up, almost lifeless from
suffocation; then, in his efforts to get at the instrument, he fell down
through the mouth of the bell, and stuck fast among the tangled weed. At
this very instant, I heard again the sound of the air-pump whizzing in
my ears: it came like the music of angels; and, while Vanderhoek hung
fast by a rope that was attached to the bench, I felt the inspiring
power of the oxygen coming through the air tubes: my breast rose--my
lungs inhaled the sweet aliment--I felt strength infused into my blood
and nerves--and, raising myself, laid hold of Vanderhoek; but my energy
failed in the effort that exceeded my powers; he fell from my grasp, and
plunged overhead among the waters and loose weeds by the side of the
dark piece of the wreck, that still seemed to move, though almost
imperceptibly, to the east. It was a little time before he came to the
surface again, which satisfied me that we were still a considerable way
from the bottom, notwithstanding of the accumulation of algae that had
deceived us into a contrary opinion. When his head again appeared within
the bell, I was struck fearfully by the horrid expression of his face,
which, pale before, now looked green and hideous through the wreaths of
weed that hung round his hair. The influx of atmospheric air partially
revived his energies for self-preservation; then laying hold of the
rope, he got a clutch of the bench, and clambered up. He seemed shocked
by some cause of terror, even greater than the danger to which we were
yet exposed.

"Shrecken! shrecken!" he muttered, with difficulty. "There is von corpse
of a woman there