if (index == end) {
          return -c1;
        }
        // Otherwise look for the low surrogate following it
        char c2 = seq.charAt(index);
        if (Character.isLowSurrogate(c2)) {
          return Character.toCodePoint(c1, c2);
        }
        throw new IllegalArgumentException(
            "Expected low surrogate but got char '"
                + c2