there before
anywhere else; it seemed to ooze up from the bottom."

"I must swim for it, then, I suppose," he said, pulling off his
jacket and his boots; then, slipping into the water, he struck out
and crossed the strip of rising tide, which lay like a river along
the bottom of the gulch.

But when he reached the shelf it was above him, and the cliff was
too steep for climbing.

"You must roll off that shelf and drop into the water," he said in
a sharp, decided tone.

"Oh, I dare not! I cannot swim, and I might be drowned!" cried
Mary, her face turning ashen white.

"You won't drown--I will catch you. But make haste, this water is
so cold that I am afraid of cramp," Jervis said, feeling his teeth
chatter. Although it was July, there was so much ice in the bay in
the shape of floating bergs that the water was of course fearfully
chill.

"I can't do it; I simply can't!" she cried, with a shudder. "Mr.
Ferrars, I would rather lie here and drown than have to roll off
into that dreadful water. All my life I have been a coward, and it
is of no use expecting me to be brave now."

"You must do as you choose, of course, as you are too high up for
me to be able to reach you," he said, keeping his voice as steady
as he could, although his teeth were chattering still; "but all the
time you stay there you keep me here, so in compassing your own
death you compass mine also."

"Go away, Mr. Ferrars, go away, and save yourself," she groaned.
"I cannot, I dare not, plunge into that dreadful water!"

"You must; there is no other way to safety. Come, be a brave girl,
and take the plunge," he urged, a note of entreaty coming into his
tone, for life was sweet to him, sweeter than it had ever been
before, and it was dreadful to think that he must throw it away
because this wilful girl refused to allow herself to be saved. But
she only covered her face with her hands, moaning and crying
because of the panic that had her in its grip.

Then Jervis felt himself lifted higher; the water was rising fast,
and now, by straining upward and reaching as far as he could, he
managed just to touch the shelf whereon Mary was crouched,

"Here I am. Now, take my hand and come," he said urgently.

She only covered her face with her hands and moaned, but would not
stir nor look up.

In that narrow gulch they were sheltered from the wind, but the
rain was beginning to pour down in torrents, and Jervis thought
grimly that she would so