'Yes,' she answered.
We stumbled on, the beam of her torch cutting a swathe in the darkness of the tunnel. The sound of water grew louder. Then we saw it, coming down the shaft we'd tried to climb. The volume was not so great now. The main weight of the water was probably finding other outlets. We waded into the brown flood that swept down the adit.
I gripped Kitty's hand. She didn't say anything, but I felt the answering grip of her fingers. My God, when I think of it now. It needed nerve to go down and not up — to go down into the race of swirling, brackish, ochre-coloured water. But she didn't hesitate. I'll admit my heart was in my mouth. The noise of water closed in around us, blocking out the sound of the flood breaking through the mine.
We reached the cross-cut that led to the pump and the shaft down to the Mermaid gallery. Vaguely I heard the pump beats. They were slow and laboured. I stumbled and almost fell. Kitty shone the torch down into the ochre stream. A piece of ladder was jammed across the tunnel, and by the wall to my right a hand was thrust up from the water. I caught it and pulled. Captain Manack's head rose above the level of the water. It lolled loosely like some frightful doll. The teeth were bared and the eyes glazed. His neck was broken.
We went on then. There was no smell of the sea. I was scared the weight of water had already filled the adit. The floor of the tunnel dipped sharply down to the adit mouth. The brown flood through which we waded deepened and moved faster. The sound of it became like a roar of a waterfall in that confined space. I kept tight hold of Kitty's hand. It was difficult to prevent our feet being swept from under us. At any moment the weight of water pouring into the lower levels of the mine might flood it to sea level. Then the full volume of it would come pouring down this adit.
The tunnel widened and the torch suddenly showed the dark cavern where the sea came in. But there was no sign of the flat rock slab of the landing place. It was covered by a bubbling froth of filthy liquid. And where a narrow opening should have led through to the sea there was only the sloping roof of the cave. I looked at Kitty. She met my gaze. I made a motion with my hand indicating we'd have to dive and swim under water through the adit mouth. It was impossible to speak in that din of roaring water. She nodded. Her grip tightened for a second on my hand and then released it and slipped off her overalls and gum boots. I did the same. Then we stood there, hesitating. She was looking at me, her eyes wide. 'Hurry,' I shouted.
She couldn't hear, but I think she must have understood from the movement of my lips, for she nodded again and handed me the torch. As our hands touched, she suddenly came close to me and kissed me. Then she stood back, looking at the brown froth of water that filled the cave. She stood hesitating for a second and then quickly spreading her hands, dived in.
I saw her head for a second in the scum as the water bore her towards the exit. Her hair hung like strands of seaweed in the bubbling froth, and her face was white against the dark, heaving bulk of the water. Then she dived.
I waited, but she did not reappear My ears suddenly began to sing. There was a great roaring behind me. I half-turned. I knew what it was. I knew that the water had risen above sea level, that it was in the adit and roaring down towards the sea. I crammed my helmet tight on my head and with the torch still in my hands, dived straight out for the entrance.
As I hit the water there was a great roaring sound in my ears. I could see nothing, though the torch was still in my hands. I kept my head down, thrusting deeper with my legs and let the water do the rest. I felt myself flung forward. My head fetched up with a terrific jolt against rock. Only my helmet saved me from having my skull stove in. My back was keel-hauled along a slanting face of rock. I felt myself being sucked down and down. My hand struck a rock. The pain of it jarred along my arms. Then I seemed quite stationary, yet I knew I was being thrust along by the weight of water behind me. My ears stabbed with pain. A great band tightened about my chest. The desire for air became my whole world.
Then I was being pushed upwards. I thrust up with my hands and feet. An instant later I was gasping on the surface. A wave lifted me and broke with a crash. The backwash of it carried me clear of the dark shadow of the cliffs, gasping in a smother of foam. I swallowed water and choked with the salt of it. The next wave bore down on me, broke and carried me struggling towards the cliff. My feet touched rock for an instant. Then the backwash carried me clear again.
I tore off the helmet which was still jammed tight on my head. Then I took a deep breath and, burying my head in the surf, summoned my last ounce of energy to crawl clear of the break of the waves. One, five, ten minutes — I don't know how long it took me to get clear. My clothes clung to me, hampering my movements and the seething welter of water seemed intent on flinging me against the cliffs.
But at last I was clear and trod water, gently rising and falling with the waves. Behind me the dark wall of the cliffs towered into the night, frilled at the base with a raging inferno of surf. I began to shout, but my voice was lost in the roar of the surf spilling across the rocks.
Then I found I still had the torch. It was in my trouser pocket. When I'd put it there I don't remember, probably just before I started to swim clear of the break. I switched it on. It still worked. The friendly beam swept across the heaving seas. An instant later I heard a feint cry. An arm showed upthrust from the top of the wave a little further out. I swam on. Kitty met me. She had a cut on the side of her head and one shoulder was bleeding. But she was treading water easily and smiled as I swam up.
'All right?' I asked her.
She nodded. 'You're bleeding,' she said.
'So are you,' I answered and got a mouthful of water from a broken wave cap.
We laughed. We were alive. It was good to laugh. We laughed till a wave rolled right over us. Then we didn't laugh any more. The tide was setting towards Kenidjack Castle and we were being swept in towards the headland. I stripped off all but my pants. Kitty got out of her skirt, and then we settled down to swim for it.
The tide was setting fast and we were tired. There was no chance of going with the current. That way we should have landed on the jagged rocks at the foot of the headland. We swam straight out to sea.
Kitty was a strong swimmer and she was fresher than I was. We kept a steady pace side by side. And all the time I watched the surf boiling at the foot of the headland. It was astonishing how rapidly it seemed to come towards us. The ugly black teeth of rock grinned at us. The surf slavered through them as though waiting to tear our bodies to pieces.
It came nearer and nearer. Then we were in the break of the waves, diving through them and swimming for our lives. For a moment I thought we wouldn't make it. I could feel the undertow clutching at my body as wave after wave thundered down on us. Then we were out of the surf and treading water with the headland receding slowly from us. Kitty swam up beside me. I think she must have realised how tired I was for she said, 'Can you make the shore now? There's a little beach right in under the headland.'
'Okay,' I said, and we began to swim again.
That was the longest swim I ever did. The current was not so strong now, but it was still setting south along the coast and we were trying to swim straight in on the lee side of Kenidjack Castle.
At last we were in the break of waves again. But there was no strength in them now and they carried us the way we wanted to go. I trod water between the waves and then went in with a crawl as each one broke over me. At last my hand, down-thrust to drive me forward, touched rock. I caught hold and clung to it as the surf receded. The next wave carried me in and I felt pebbles under my feet. A moment later I joined Kitty up the narrow beach, clear of the sea. I lay down on the cold pebbles, my chest heaving as though it would burst.