human
You next.
gpt
I next? What do you mean?
human
You want to get to the surface, don't you? said Ross, grimly.
gpt
You expressed yourself as willing to do anything I might say, in order to get to the surface. Well, strip off your coat, vest, and shoes, and crawl into that tube.
human
What? To drown? No, I will not.
gpt
Yes, you will. Can you swim?
human
I can swim, but not when I am shot out of a gun.
gpt
Then you'll drown. Peel off.
human
I cannot. I cannot. Would you kill me?
gpt
Don't care much, answered Ross, quietly,
human
he added, his voice rising.
gpt
I'm giving you a chance for your life. I can swim, too, and would not hesitate at going out that tube, if I were sure that the boat, deprived of my weight, would rise. But I am not sure, so I send you, not only because you are heavier than I, but because, as Miss Fleming must remain, I prefer to remain, too, to live or die with her. Understand?
human
But, Miss Fleming, cackled Foster.
gpt
She can swim. I've heard her say so.
human
You cowardly scoundrel, said Ross, his eyes ablaze with scorn and rage. He had already shed his coat and vest. Now he rolled up his shirt-sleeves.
gpt
Will you go into that tube of your own volition, conscious, so that you may take a long breath before I flood the tube, or unconscious, and pushed in like a bag of meal, to drown before you know what ails you--which?
human
No, shrieked Foster, as the menacing face and fists of Ross drew close to him.
gpt
I will not. Do something else. You are a sailor. You know what to do. Do something else.