ed one eye and divined our intention.

"Mad!" he exclaimed. "So then that is the end of them!"

He believed what he said, for he sat still. But Yasmini came running,
screaming to her women to prevent us.

King and I took off together, hand-in-hand, and I take my Bible oath
that I looked up, and saw Yasmini and the Gray Mahatma leaning out of
the window to watch us drown!

Of course, seventy feet is nothing much--provided you are used to the
take-off, and know the water, and have a boat waiting handy to pick you
up. But we had none of these advantages, and in addition to that we had
the grievous handicap that King could not swim a stroke.

We took the water feet-first, close together, and that very instant I
knew what we were up against. As we plunged under, we were whirled
against a sunken pole that whipped and swayed in the current. King was
wrenched away from me. When I fought my way to the surface I was already
a hundred yards beyond the palace wall, and there was no sign of King,
although I could see his turban pursuing mine down-stream. We were
caught in the strongest current I had ever striven with.

I don't know what persuaded me to turn and try to swim against it for a
moment. Instinct, I suppose. It was utterly impossible; I was swept
along backward almost as fast as I had been traveling before. But what
the effort did do was to bring me face-up-stream, and so I caught sight
of King clinging to a pole and being bobbed under every time the weight
of water caused the pole to duck. I managed to cling to a pole myself,
although like King it ducked me repeatedly, and it was perfectly evident
that neither of us would be alive in the next ten minutes unless a boat
should come or I should produce enough brawn and brain for two of us.
And there was no boat in sight.

So between ducks I yelled to King to let go and drift down toward me. He
did it; and that, I believe, is the utmost test of cold courage to which
I have ever seen any man subjected; for even a strong swimmer becomes
panic-stricken when he learns he is no longer master of his element.
King had the self-control and pluck to lie still and drift down on me
like a corpse, and I let go the pole in the nick of time to seize him as
his head went under.

Followed a battle royal. Fight how I might, I could not keep both of our
heads out of the water more than half the time, and King very soon lost
the little breath that was left in him. Thereafter, he struggl