At Pêro’s feet the man awoke. The girl thrust her hand up one more time as her body drifted under the boat. The rail of the skiff dipped down into the murky waters. Pêro snatched the shoulder of the girl’s cloak. She forced her hand up again and gripped the rail of the skiff; it careened down. The man grabbed Pêro from behind, causing him to fall back. As he fell, Pêro kept his clutch on the girl’s coat, dragging her up as he dropped.
She came up, he went down. A gush of water flooded in. She landed on top of Pêro, and he on top of the man. The skiff rocked violently.
Pinned, the man beat the water in the bottom of the boat.
In a quick burst, the girl scrambled off Pêro, as punches exploded into his back.
“Damn you! Get off me! I’ll kill you!” The man below him thrashed and cursed.
“
