For Douglas YMCA swimming pool was associated with unpleasant memories. It was here when a big boy threw him into the swimming pool. Actually, he had gone to the pool when no one else was there. Then came a ‘big bruiser’ of a boy. He picked Douglas up and tossed him into the deep end. He at once went to the bottom. He made a big jump to come to the surface. Those nine feet were more than ninety. His lungs were ready to burst. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but water. He was suffocating. His legs would not come up. They were paralysed and dead. He screamed but no one heard him. He went down and down endlessly. Then sheer stark terror paralysed him. Then all his efforts seized. He crossed into oblivion. Later he found himself lying on his stomach vomiting beside the pool.
