now at the lip of the water, nigel paused and looked back, and the dragon made a bound, beginning a scream of rage that was like all the engines of all the railways in england. but it never uttered the second half of that scream, for now it knew suddenly that it was sleepy it turned to hurry back to dry land, because sleeping near whirlpools is so unsafe. but before it reached the shore sleep caught it and turned it to stone. nigel, seeing this, ran shoreward for his life and the tide began to flow in, and the time of the whirlpools' sleep was nearly over, and he stumbled and he waded and he swam, and the princess pulled for dear life at the cord in her hand, and pulled him up on to the dry shelf of rock just as the great sea dashed in and made itself once more into the girdle of nine whirlpools all around the island.