The force of the current, coming with all its speed
against the unwieldy raft, was irresistible. Time and again we shoved
round and started upstream, after incredible labor, only to be dashed
back again against the rock.

We tried our spears, but their shafts were so slender that they were
useless. We took the oar and, placing its end against the wall, shoved
with all our strength. The oar snapped in two and we fell forward
against the wall. We tore off some of the strips of hide from the raft
and tried to fasten them to the wall on either side, but there was no
protuberance that would hold them. Nothing remained to be done.

Harry and I held a consultation then and agreed on the only possible
means of escape. I turned to Desiree:

"Can you swim?"

"Parfaitement," she replied. "But against that"--pointing to the
whirling water--"I do not know. I can try."

I, who remember the black fury of that stream as it swept past us, can
appreciate the courage of her.

We lost no time, for the foulness of the air was weakening us with
every breath we took. Our preparations were few.

The two spears and about half of the provisions we strapped to our
backs--an inconsiderable load which would hamper us but little. We
discarded all our clothing, which was very little. I took the heavy
skin which Desiree had worn and began to strap it also on top of my
bundle, but she refused to allow it.

"I will not permit you to be handicapped with my modesty," she observed.

Then, with Desiree between us, we stepped to the edge of the raft and
dived off together.

Driven as we were by necessity, we would have hesitated longer if we
had known the full force of the undercurrent that seized us from
beneath. Desiree would have disappeared without a struggle if it had
not been for the support which Harry and I rendered her on either side.

But we kept on top--most of the time--and fought our way forward by
inches. The black walls frowning at us from either side appeared to me
to remain exactly the same, stationary, after a long and desperate
struggle; but when I gave a quick glance behind I saw that we had
pulled so far away from the raft that it was no longer in sight. That
gave me renewed strength, and, shouting assurance to Harry and Desiree,
I redoubled my efforts. Desiree was by now almost able to hold her
own, but we still supported her.

Every stroke made the next one easier, carrying us away from the
whirlpool, and