Describe the efforts made by Douglas to save himself from drowning in Y.M.C.A swimming pool.

When Douglas was picked and tossed into the deep end, he was frightened, but not so frightened that he lost his wits, entirely. On the way down, he planned that when his feet hit the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of the pool.

He imagined he would bob to the surface like a cork. Instead, he came up slowly. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but water. He flailed at the surface of the water, swallowed and choked. He tried to bring his legs up, but they hung as dead weights, paralysed and rigid and he went down again. He struck at the water expanding his strength, remembering that he had to hit the bottom of the floor. However, the second time too, he failed, to come up to the surface.

Then, sheer, stark terror seized him. The third time he went down, he tried to scream but ultimately found himself losing consciousness and started sinking to the bottom of the pool with total silence enveloping him.