The
fire-waves mounted higher and higher, the roar of the fiery surges grew
louder and louder. Then in a momentary lull, he put his arm round her,
drew her close up to him and kissed her and said:
"That's all we can do, dear. We've come too close and he's too strong
for us."
She returned his kiss and said quite steadily:
"Well, at any rate, I'm with you, and it won't last long, will it?"
"Not very long now, I'm afraid," he said between his clenched teeth. And
then he pulled her close to him again, and together they looked down
into the storm-tossed hell towards which they were falling at the rate
of nearly a hundred miles a minute.
Almost the next moment they felt a little jerk beneath their feet--a
jerk upwards; and Redgrave shook himself out of the half stupor into
which he was falling and said:
"Hullo, what's that? I believe we're stopping--yes, we are--and we're
beginning to rise, too. Look, dear, the clouds are coming down upon
us--fast too! I wonder what sort of miracle that is. Ay, what's the
matter, little woman?"
Zaidie's head had dropped heavily on his shoulder. A glance showed him
that she had fainted. He could do nothing more in the conning-tower, so
he picked her up and carried her towards the companion-way, past his
three guests, who were standing in the middle of the upper deck round a
table on which lay a large sheet of paper.
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