of alarm rushed in upon my soul when I considered that,
during all my acquaintance with him, Jack had never stayed under water
more than a minute at a time--indeed, seldom so long.

"Oh Peterkin!" I said in a voice that trembled with increasing anxiety,
"something has happened. It is more than three minutes now." But
Peterkin did not answer; and I observed that he was gazing down into the
water with a look of intense fear mingled with anxiety, while his face
was overspread with a deadly paleness. Suddenly he sprang to his feet
and rushed about in a frantic state, wringing his hands, and exclaiming,
"Oh Jack! Jack! He is gone! It must have been a shark, and he is gone
for ever!"

For the next five minutes I know not what I did; the intensity of my
feelings almost bereft me of my senses. But I was recalled to myself by
Peterkin seizing me by the shoulders and staring wildly into my face,
while he exclaimed, "Ralph! Ralph! perhaps he has only fainted! Dive
for him, Ralph!"

It seemed strange that this did not occur to me sooner. In a moment I
rushed to the edge of the rocks, and without waiting to throw off my
garments, was on the point to spring into the waves when I observed
something black rising up through the green object. In another moment
Jack's head rose to the surface, and he gave a wild shout, flinging back
the spray from his locks, as was his wont after a dive. Now we were
almost as much amazed at seeing him reappear, well and strong, as we had
been at first at his non-appearance; for, to the best of our judgment,
he had been nearly ten minutes under water--perhaps longer--and it
required no exertion of our reason to convince us that this was utterly
impossible for mortal man to do and retain his strength and faculties.
It was, therefore, with a feeling akin to superstitious awe that I held
down my hand and assisted him to clamber up the steep rocks. But no
such feeling affected Peterkin. No sooner did Jack gain the rocks and
seat himself on one, panting for breath, than he threw his arms round
his neck and burst into a flood of tears. "Oh Jack! Jack!" said he,
"where were you? What kept you so long?"

After a few moments Peterkin became composed enough to sit still and
listen to Jack's explanation, although he could not restrain himself
from attempting to wink every two minutes at me in order to express his
joy at Jack's safety. I say he attempted to wink, but I am bound to add
that he d