I fell, the sneering cackle of Kirby's laugh of triumph
echoing in my ears until drowned in the splash as I struck the black
water below.

I came back to the surface dazed and weakened, yet sufficiently
conscious to make an intelligent struggle for life. The over-hang of
the rapidly passing boat still concealed me from the observation of
those above on the deck, and the advantage of permitting them to
believe that the blow on my head had resulted in drowning, together
with the knowledge that I must swiftly get beyond the stroke of that
deadly wheel, flashed instantly through my brain. It was like a tonic,
reviving every energy. Waiting only to inhale one deep breath of air,
I plunged back once more into the depths, and swam strongly under
water. The effort proved successful, for when I again ventured to
emerge, gasping and exhausted, the little _Warrior_ had swept past, and
become merely a shapeless outline, barely visible above the surface at
the river. Even if the two men had rushed to the stern, seeking thus
to ascertain what had happened to their victim, they could not have
detected my presence in that darkness, or determined whether or not I
had met death in the depths, or been crushed lifeless by those
revolving paddles.

Slowly treading water, my lips held barely above the surface, I drew in
deep draughts of cool night air, my mind becoming more active as hope
returned. The blow I had received was a savage one, and pained dully,
but the cold water in which I had been immersed had caused the bleeding
to cease, and likewise revived all my faculties. The water was so icy,
still fed by the winter snow of the north, as to make me conscious of
chill, and awaken within me a fear of cramps. The steamer melted
swiftly away into nothingness, and the last indication of its presence
in the distance was the faint gleam of a stern light piercing the night
shadows. The very fact that no effort was made to stop was sufficient
proof that Thockmorton in the wheelhouse remained unconscious of what
had occurred on the deck below. My fate might never be discovered, or
suspected. I was alone, submerged in the great river, the stars
overhead alone piercing the night shadows. They seemed cold, and far
away, their dull glow barely sufficient to reveal the dim outline of
the western shore; and even this would have remained invisible except
for the trees lining the higher bank beyond, and silhouetted against
the slightly ligh