091 If Looks Could Kill by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Nine

MARTIKA WAS STRUGGLING SO violently that Nancy had a hard time helping her, but then all at once she seemed to collapse. She must be passing out, Nancy realized.

Nancy grabbed her as she began to sink, knowing that Martika would be dead in a matter of minutes if she didn’t act quickly. Taking a deep breath, Nancy removed the regulator from her mouth and pushed it into Martika’s. Breathe! she thought. Breathe, Martika!

Martika’s eyes opened as she sucked in the life-restoring air, but Nancy could tell her hold on consciousness was tenuous.

Nancy slipped Martika’s left arm around her shoulders. Placing her right arm around Martika’s waist, Nancy kicked hard for the surface, struggling to make it before she had to take her regulator back. She was afraid Martika would really panic if she had to remove the regulator from her mouth. Nancy was dizzy and seeing a wash of red across her field of vision from lack of oxygen as the two of them finally broke the surface near a head of coral.

Nancy tread water as she sucked in lungfuls of air. She was grateful they hadn’t been deep and could surface quickly. After a minute she guided Martika to the head of coral, where they lay to recover. It was a long time before Nancy’s heartbeat returned to normal.

“Oh, Nancy!” Martika sobbed. “I thought I was dead!”

“What do you think happened?” Nancy asked, studying Martika’s oxygen line. It was apparent that it had been cut neatly in two.

“I felt something tug on my line,” Martika said. “At first, I thought it was you. The next thing I knew, my line had been cut. I panicked. Nancy, you saved my life! How can I ever thank you?”

“Let’s not worry about that now,” Nancy said quickly. “This line has definitely been severed. You’re sure you didn’t notice anyone nearby?”

“I don’t think so, but I wasn’t really looking,” Martika said, distress pinching her voice. “There were several divers around on our way out to the reef. But I lost track of them almost as soon as I dove in.”

Nancy nodded. She hadn’t paid any attention to the handful of other divers she had seen either. “Well, we’d better get back to the island,” Nancy said. “Do they keep a list of who takes out equipment at the scuba shack?”

“No,” Martika said. “We’re on the honor system here once we’ve checked you out as a qualified diver. Whoever was handing out equipment today might remember who came by if he wasn’t too busy. But some guests prefer to use their own equipment, so he wouldn’t see everyone anyway.”

The two of them swam for shore and handed in their gear. Nancy saw Derek running toward them from the dock. “There you are, Martika!” he shouted as he approached. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Well, now you’ve found me,” Martika said curtly.

“Do you know what time it is?” Derek asked his sister. “It’s after eleven.”

“So?” Martika asked. Nancy knew he wouldn’t know about Martika’s telling Nadine she’d see her at eleven.

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