lungs almost bursting, I could see nothing of the oars. They must

have been swept away by the chaotic currents. I saw Demetrios



Contos looking back from his boat, and heard the vindictive and

mocking tones of his voice as he shouted exultantly. He held



steadily on his course, leaving me to perish.

There was nothing to do but to swim for it, which, in that wild



confusion, was at the best a matter of but a few moments. Holding

my breath and working with my hands, I managed to get off my heavy



sea-boots and my jacket. Yet there was very little breath I could

catch to hold, and I swiftly discovered that it was not so much a



matter of swimming as of breathing.

I was beaten and buffeted, smashed under by the great San Pablo



whitecaps, and strangled by the hollow tide-rip waves which flung

themselves into my eyes, nose, and mouth. Then the strange sucks



would grip my legs and drag me under, to spout me up in some fierce

boiling, where, even as I tried to catch my breath, a great



whitecap would crash down upon my head.

It was impossible to survive any length of time. I was breathing



more water than air, and drowning all the time. My senses began to

leave me, my head to whirl around. I struggled on, spasmodically,



instinctively, and was barely half conscious when I felt myself

caught by the shoulders and hauled over the gunwale of a boat.



For some time I lay across a seat where I had been flung, face

downward, and with the water running out of my mouth. After a



while, still weak and faint, I turned around to see who was my

rescuer. And there, in the stern, sheet in one hand and tiller in



the other, grinning and nodding good-naturedly, sat Demetrios

Contos. He had intended to leave me to drown, - he said so



afterward, - but his better self had fought the battle, conquered,

and sent him back to me.



"You all-a right?" he asked.

I managed to shape a "yes" on my lips, though I could not yet



speak.

"You sail-a de boat verr-a good-a," he said. "So good-a as a man."



A compliment from Demetrios Contos was a compliment indeed, and I

keenly appreciated it, though I could only nod my head in



acknowledgment.

We held no more conversation, for I was busy recovering and he was



busy with the boat. He ran in to the wharf at Vallejo, made the

boat fast, and helped me out. Then it was, as we both stood on the



wharf, that Charley stepped out from behind a net-rack and put his

hand on Demetrios Contos's arm.



"He saved my life, Charley," I protested; "and I don't think he

ought to be arrested."



A puzzled expression came into Charley's face, which cleared

immediately after, in a way it had when he made up his mind.



"I can't help it, lad," he said kindly. "I can't go back on my

duty, and it's plain duty to arrest him. To-day is Sunday; there



are two salmon in his boat which he caught to-day. What else can I

do?"



"But he saved my life," I persisted, unable to make any other

argument.



Demetrios Contos's face went black with rage when he learned

Charley's judgment. He had a sense of being unfairly treated. The



better part of his nature had triumphed, he had performed a

generous act and saved a helpless enemy, and in return the enemy



was taking him to jail.

Charley and I were out of sorts with each other when we went back



to Benicia. I stood for the spirit of the law and not the letter;

but by the letter Charley made his stand. As far as he could see,



there was nothing else for him to do. The law said distinctly that

no salmon should be caught on Sunday. He was a patrolman, and it



was his duty to enforce that law. That was all there was to it.

He had done his duty, and his conscience was clear. Nevertheless,



the whole thing seemed unjust to me, and I felt very sorry for

Demetrios Contos.



Two days later we went down to Vallejo to the trial. I had to go

along as a witness, and it was the most hateful task that I ever



performed in my life when I testified on the witness stand to

seeing Demetrios catch the two salmon Charley had captured him



with.

Demetrios had engaged a lawyer, but his case was hopeless. The



jury was out only fifteen minutes, and returned a verdict of

guilty. The judge sentenced Demetrios to pay a fine of one hundred



dollars or go to jail for fifty days.

• assemble [ə´sembəl] v.聚集；装配；调整 (初中英语单词)


• arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)


• intention [in´tenʃən] n.意图；打算；意义 (初中英语单词)


• gravely [´greivli] ad.庄重地，严肃地 (初中英语单词)


• permission [pə´miʃən] n.允许；同意；许可 (初中英语单词)


• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)


• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)


• sympathetic [,simpə´θetik] a.同情的，有同情心的 (初中英语单词)


• audience [´ɔ:diəns] n.听众；观众；接见 (初中英语单词)


• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)


• breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)


• consideration [kən,sidə´reiʃən] n.考虑；原因；体谅 (初中英语单词)


• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• formerly [´fɔ:məli] ad.从前，以前 (初中英语单词)


• trifle [´traifəl] n.琐事，小事；少量 (初中英语单词)


• constantly [´kɔnstəntli] ad.经常地；不断地 (初中英语单词)


• aboard [ə´bɔ:d] ad.&prep.在…上 (初中英语单词)


• immense [i´mens] a.广大的，无限的 (初中英语单词)


• swiftly [´swiftli] ad.迅速地，敏捷地 (初中英语单词)


• driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• contain [kən´tein] v.包含；容纳；抑制 (初中英语单词)


• instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)


• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)


• glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)


• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)


• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)


• jacket [´dʒækit] n.茄克衫；外套 (初中英语单词)


• beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• survive [sə´vaiv] vt.幸存；残存 (初中英语单词)


• barely [´beəli] ad.公开地；仅仅 (初中英语单词)


• conscious [´kɔnʃəs] a.意识的；自觉的 (初中英语单词)


• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)


• arrest [ə´rest] vt.逮捕 n.逮捕；停止 (初中英语单词)


• unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)


• helpless [´helpləs] a.无助的，无依靠的 (初中英语单词)


• distinctly [di´stiŋktli] ad.清楚地，明晰地 (初中英语单词)


• enforce [in´fɔ:s] vt.执行；强迫；加强 (初中英语单词)


• conscience [´kɔnʃəns] n.良心；道德心 (初中英语单词)


• witness [´witnis] n.见证人 vt.目击 (初中英语单词)


• lawyer [´lɔ:jə] n.律师；法学家 (初中英语单词)


• rotten [´rɔtn] a.腐烂的；腐朽的 (高中英语单词)


• nonsense [´nɔnsəns] n.胡说 int.胡说!废话 (高中英语单词)


• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)


• salmon [´sæmən] n.鲑，大马哈鱼 (高中英语单词)


• crowded [´kraudid] a.充(拥)满了的 (高中英语单词)


• extravagant [ik´strævəgənt] a.奢侈的；过度的 (高中英语单词)


• tackle [´tækəl] n.用具；装置 vt.处理 (高中英语单词)


• steamboat [´sti:mbəut] n.轮船，汽艇 (高中英语单词)


• smoothly [´smu:ðli] ad.光滑地；顺利地 (高中英语单词)


• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)


• equivalent [i´kwivələnt] a.相等的 n.同等物 (高中英语单词)


• continually [kən´tinjuəli] ad.不断地，频繁地 (高中英语单词)


• madness [´mædnis] n.疯狂；狂热 (高中英语单词)


• frightful [´fraitfəl] a.可怕的；不愉快的 (高中英语单词)


• navigation [,nævi´geiʃən] n.航行；航空；导航 (高中英语单词)


• compliment [´kɔmplimənt] n.敬意 vt.赞美；祝贺 (高中英语单词)


• hopeless [´həupləs] a.无望的，无可救药的 (高中英语单词)


• patrol [pə´trəul] n.巡逻 v.巡逻(查) (英语四级单词)


• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)


• afloat [ə´fləut] ad.&a.漂浮；在海上 (英语四级单词)


• consolation [,kɔnsə´leiʃən] n.安慰，慰问 (英语四级单词)


• unusually [ʌn´ju:ʒuəli] ad.异常地；非常 (英语四级单词)


• triumphant [trai´ʌmfənt] a.胜利的；洋洋得意的 (英语四级单词)


• unjust [ʌn´dʒʌst] a.不公平(正)的 (英语四级单词)


• hateful [´heitfəl] a.可恨的，可憎的 (英语四级单词)


• verdict [´və:dikt] n.裁决，判决；判定 (英语四级单词)


• dissatisfaction [di,sætis´fækʃən] n.不满 (英语六级单词)


• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)


• greenish [´gri:niʃ] a.带绿色的 (英语六级单词)