Treacherous: unpredictably dangerous; unreliable or trustworthy.
Subdued my pride: to reduce or limit the level of one's self-esteem and confidence.
Flailed at the surface: Strike or lash out violently at the water's surface in an attempt to get out. Fishing for landlocked
salmon: to go salmon fishing in a certain lake for a specific type of salmon.
Misadventure: an accident that ends up being a disaster.
Bob to the surface like a cork: to float or resemble a cork in water in terms of buoyancy.
The curtain of life fell: to denote the end of life or a near-death experience
. Back and forth across the pool: to swim from one side of a swimming pool to the other.