BURTON'S ARRIVAL.
This first day of business was the index of many days to come, and
the money rolled in rapidly. "A little while more, fellows, and we
will own half of her," said the captain, as they laid up to the pier
one fine day waiting for passengers.
"Which half, Captain," inquired the Codfish; "bow or stern?"
"Never mind which," returned Frank. "You keep on with your superb
management and we will have a property here worth while. Here comes
another load for us. There's about two dollars in this for us. Hustle
up, my hearties, and be ready to lend a hand, Fatty." This to Lewis,
who never disturbed himself unless under orders. Lewis crawled
laboriously over the gunwale onto the float.
"Well, well, well," said a young man of the party who had just come
upon the float. "If my eyes do not deceive me, the captain of that
ocean-going motor boat is none other than my old friend, Frank
Armstrong!"
Frank, who had been fussing with the motor, raised his head. "Mr.
Burton!" he exclaimed. "Glad to see you! I didn't know you were
around here."
"I can say the same to you. How long have you been a navigator?" he
added, as the party of young folks climbed aboard. "And there's Jimmy
and your little fat friend. My, this is quite a reunion. Arrived only
a day or two ago."
The boys grinned their pleasure at the meeting.
"Do any swimming now?" said Burton as the boat got under way.
"Oh, yes, we take the mornings for that. We do a little in athletics
up at Queen's School and we're kept in training, especially for
football."
"Oh, yes, you are a Freshman up there."
"No, we are in our second year," said Jimmy proudly.
"I beg your pardon," said Burton, laughing; "it is hard to be taken
for a Freshman when you've got away beyond that unhappy period. Now,
it is fortunate, Frank, you've kept up your swimming, because I want
you to come down to Turner's Point next week and show some of those
fellows how we used to swim down in Florida. Can you come?"
"Can't leave my transportation job very well," replied Frank.
"Oh, hang your transportation job! There will be no one to transport
that day. Every one will be down to the carnival. You know what a
crowd we had last year, and it's going to be a bigger affair than
ever. There'll be lots of people to come down from Seawall. Why
don't you run a special excursion, swim in the meet and take your
crowd back home in the evening? There you are, business and pleasure
combined."
"Sounds good to me," said Frank. "How about it for you, Jimmy, and
you, Codfish and Lewis?"
"Oh, come along," said Burton. "I'll put you down, Frank, in the
hundred-yard race or anything you want to go in for. They've made me
master of ceremonies again. And you will be interested to know that
your old rival, Peters, is back at the Point and swimming better than
ever. He's been practicing, he told me, hoping for the chance to get
back at you. Don't you want to take another fall out of him?"
Frank's eyes brightened. "I wouldn't mind," he added slowly. "I'm
stronger than I was a year ago, but I don't know that I've improved
the stroke you taught me."
"I'm sure it's all right," said the buoyant Burton. "I'll come up
to-morrow morning and see what you've been doing in the way of speed,
and after looking you and Jimmy over I can tell the distance you can
swim best. Is it a go?"
"It's a go for me," said Frank.
"Me, too," said Jimmy.
"Ditto," said Lewis.
"And how about Mr. Gleason?" said Burton.
"The Codfish, in spite of his name, hates the water except in the
bathtub," said Jimmy. "But he'd be a fine scorer, eh, Codfish?"
"Anything the captain says is good enough for me," said the Codfish.
"He's the boss. I'm on a salary and under orders."
"Well, you can be an ornament to the stake boat, or the float, or
anywhere you want to be. It's settled that you are to come?" said
Burton.
The boys nodded. Burton went back to his party and the boys gave
their attention wholly to navigation to the end of the trip.
"Don't forget, now; I'm going to be up your way in the morning. Be
all ready in your suits," Burton called back over his shoulder, as
with his friends he left the Seawall pier.
Next morning the boys met early at the old swimming place and were
splashing about trying various strokes, when Burton's black head
showed in the water a quarter of a mile off shore.
"By the great horn spoon," said Jimmy, "there he is, swimming up, and
it's nearly a mile from the Point."
"He must be a wonder," said the Codfish; "I wouldn't take all
that exercise if you were to give me the _Black Duck_ and all her
feathers. But there's no accounting for tastes. I'm overcome thinking
how much energy he is wasting." The Codfish was perched on a dry bit
of rock. His raiment was as immaculate as ever, but the tone of it
was pink this morning.
"Hello, boys," shouted Burton as he approached. "Ready, I see. Now,"
as he pulled himself up on the rocks, "I want to see what you've
accomplished since I saw you. In with you, Frank."
Frank plunged into the water and swam a little distance, using the
crawl stroke to the best of his ability, while Burton observed him
closely.
"'Tisn't quite right. Look," and the coach dived off the rock and
shot over to Frank. "You ought to bring your hand clear out of the
water. Don't reach too far and don't let it go too deep; just like a
paddle, you remember. Your leg kick is good. Get your arms right and
there will be nothing to it."
Frank tried to follow the instructions as well as he could, and his
efforts pleased his instructor, who shouted from his perch on the
rock to which he had returned: "Fine, fine, that's the way; now
only one breath to half a dozen strokes; you waste too much time
breathing."
"Same as me," commented the Codfish from his perch.
Frank finished his lesson, and Jimmy and Lewis were sent in for some
instruction. Burton began to call for the crawl stroke, but both
boys confessed they had never been able to learn it very well. They
disliked burying their faces in the water, and so got along much
better with the old overhand and breast strokes.
Burton tried to show them just how it was done, and was in the
water and out of it half a dozen times coaching, but neither of the
swimmers caught the idea.
"Well, never mind, let it go to-day and swim me a hundred yards, the
three of you. Frank, you take the crawl, and let the other two use
what they want to. Get ready, go!"
The boys splashed into the water each in his different way, Frank
easy and graceful, Jimmy determined but rather clumsy, and Lewis like
a walrus.
"See how Frank pulls away from them," said Burton, now left alone
with the Codfish. "That boy is a wonder in the water. Why, they're
not any match for him at all, and only last year both of them could
beat him. That's what comes of sticking to a thing. Frank was
determined to learn that stroke and he got it. The others thought
there was nothing in it and didn't try hard."
The swimmers reached the other side of the little rocky inlet and
were heading back towards the starting point, with Frank well in the
lead, but he slowed up and finished easily, while the others pulled
themselves up on the rocks almost exhausted.
"We're no match for Frank at all," said Jimmy, puffing. "He has a
motor attached to him somewhere."
"It is the motor of perseverance, my son," said Burton. "You would
do better in a long race, I think. Did you ever swim an eighth of a
mile--the 220 yards?"
"Yes, but not in a race," answered Jimmy.
"You'll be as good as any of the rest of them at the distance, so
I'll put you down for the 220 race. And Lewis, we'll put him in for
the plunge."
"What's that?" said Lewis.
"Just like this," and suiting the action to the word Burton sprang
from his rock, put his hands before him as he flew through the air,
struck the water cleanly as a knife, and after disappearing a moment
from view came to the top floating. His body traveled rapidly forward
in a straight line, arms and legs held rigidly extended and the face
buried. Fifty feet from the rock, when his momentum had about ended,
he turned over on his back and raced back to the starting point.
"That's the way you do it," he said, as he climbed up, shaking the
water out of his hair. "Let's see you try it, Lewis."
"It's easy," said Lewis, and took the dive. He landed flat as a
pancake, nearly knocking all the breath out of his body, stretched
out his arms and legs, as he had seen Burton do, but didn't move
five feet from the point where he struck the water. After lying on
his face and imagining himself traveling forward, he looked up,
disgusted, to note what little progress he had made, only to see his
companions howling with laughter.
"Isn't so easy as it looks, is it?" said Burton. "But keep at it."
He illustrated again, and Lewis, after one or two attempts, readily
caught the idea. As there was no work to the job of plunging, he took
a fancy to it, and before the morning's coaching was over was doing
pretty well.
"There," said Burton finally, jumping up, "that's all the time I can
give you this morning. All of you work every morning, but don't do
too much. You have a week before the meet comes off. See you later."
"Can't we come a little way with you?" said Frank.
"Sure, glad to have you," and Frank and Jimmy took the water with
Burton. They headed out clear of the rocks and turned down the shore
at a distance of perhaps a hundred yards from land. Lewis and the
Codfish walked leisurely down the sand, watching the three heads as
they bobbed along in the waves.
"You ought to take every chance you can get," said Burton, as the
three swam easily side by side, "to swim longer distances. There's no
telling how handy it might come in, supposing you were pitched off a
boat some day. The way to do, is to take it easy like we are now and
use all your strokes. When you get tired with one, take another. That
change rests you almost as much as stopping. Use one arm over first,
and then another," illustrating as he went along, "and if you get
very tired, turn over on your back and float a while with your hands
well over your head like this." Again he illustrated.
The three swam on for two or three hundred yards, the boys drinking
in the instruction of the expert and trying to put into practice all
that he was telling them. Little did they think that they would need
all and more than they were able to show in the way of strength and
endurance in a short time.
"Well, good-by, boys; I've got to make time now," shouted Burton.
"Maybe I'll see you before the meet, but if I don't, remember it is
Thursday week at four o'clock. Be sure to come," and he was gone in a
cloud of spray kicked up by his arms and legs as he started on his
long swim down the shore.
"Good-by," echoed both boys, and with quickened pace they drew toward
the shore and soon joined Lewis and the Codfish.