"Can you swim?" he asked her.
"No, can you?"
"No." He was nearly dragging her up the passage, their bodies soaked to the waist as they tried to walk against the flow of water.
Melcho lost her grip on his hand and was washed back down into the cavern below. She started to go down. Diving in he grabbed her and somehow managed to find the floor of the cavern and carried her to a ledge.
"Thanks," she smiled.
He smiled back, "If we don't move soon we'll be trapped by the water. How long can you hold your breath?"
"I don't know."
"We must try." He picked her up again and jumped into the water. He forced his legs to kick like a frog remembering what his grandfather had taught him about swimming. As they got near the hole leading out Melcho hit her head on the side, she began to bleed. He struggled but managed to get her through the torrent and up the passage. They were near the top now and with his enormous strength he clambered out and onto dry land laying her limp body on the ground. "Melcho!" he wept, then, "Father!"
Immediately Thalen appeared by his side.