He stiffened his whole right leg, as with another spasm, hurting
his real minor cramps, but flexing the muscles of his upper leg
into the seeming hardness of cramp.
The opium still worked in his brain, so that he could play-act
cruelly, while at the same time he appraised and appreciated her
stress of control and will that showed in her drawn face, and the
terror of death in her eyes, with beyond it and behind it, in her
eyes and through her eyes, the something more of the spirit of
courage, and higher thought, and resolution.
Still further, she did not enunciate so cheap a surrender as, "I'll
die with you." Instead, provoking his admiration, she did say,
quietly: "Relax. Sink until only your lips are out. I'll support
your head. There must be a limit to cramp. No man ever died of
cramp on land. Then in the water no strong swimmer should die of
cramp. It's bound to reach its worst and pass. We're both strong
swimmers and cool-headed--"
He distorted his face and deliberately dragged her under. But when
they emerged, still beside him, supporting his head as she
continued to tread water, she was saying:
"Relax.
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