Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-08-18
HOW FAR CAN YOU SWIM.


"Look here, Sine, old Purdy nigh,
have told us he'd taken away his oars. p"
Well, yes; but there was kind oil
might have it. Not another loose
boat"
1t was a solemn fact. Every skifl
along the beach but "old Purdy's' was
fastened by chain and paddock and
stake, to express the objection of its
owner against its use by stray boys.
mo fun going in for a swim in this
shallow water. Only wading place.
Barry. there's board. That'll dc
for us. We can paddle her out far
enough
1t was lost fragment of clapboard
about four feet long. and with no house
to it. Nobody could guess how it got
there; but in three minutes more the
clumsy ilat-bottomed skiff was being
slowly propelled away from the beach.
out toward the deeper water of the
lake.
Slime Hopkins and Barry Gilmore
had reached, to judge from the remarks
they made. that precise point in their
aquatic practice when your common
small boy 'long-shore swimming is a
thing to be looked down upon, and a
lake of some size. or a section of the
Atlantic, was required for any fun of
theirs. The day was warm. the water
as smooth as pane of glass, and there
was faint haze over the sky. The
very model OF day for a perfect swim.
The boat, too, had evidently been built
for it. She was broad enough not to
tip too easily if you were climbing in.
and the wide seat at each end was just
the arrangement for diving.
This III do, Slime. Pity VIC didn't
bring an anchor"
Waters hundred feet deep out
here. How far are we from shore"
Don't know. Maybe it's half n
mile. Maybe it's more. Could you
swim it?'
"Guess not. Barry. Perhaps could
But don't care to try. Not unless the
boat came along. A fellows legs might
give out. or he might take a cramp."
My legs would peg out, sure, long
before l got there"
They were very good pair for a boy
of fifteen, and in a moment more they
were in the air, as he sprang from the
stern of the boat, and went in, capitally
well. head first.
THAT was a good header" shouted
Sine. "Pm coming"
Come he did, and thew found the wa
ter Just about right for them. Not a
trace of chill in it, i'm spite of the fact
that the lake was largely supplied from
the bottom. Out there. of course, there
could be no weeds to catch their feet in.
and there was very little to be suggested
by way of Improvement.
Fore we get too tired, Barry, let's
try longer swim"
Come on. Only don't let's go too
far"
They were headed toward the shore,
and they were not looking back, when
Barry exclaimed: There's a ripple,
Sine. The winds rising"
BARRY, look at the boatr'
'.She's drifting out. The winds off
shore"
The boys looked at each other for a
moment with very serious faces; but
they were brave fellows, and there was
no time for hesitation.
''She isn't so very far, SINE"
But she's drifting. No telling how
far she'll go. We mustn't risk it."
Shores too far. Can't do it. We
can catch the boat"
1.-The WlndS rising, Barry.
"Choose, Sime-shore or boat"
ashore for me. Choose oryourself.
See how she driftsn'
8. You can't reach the shore, Slime.
Besides, want my clothes. I'm going
for the boat"
mo time to talk Good-by, Barry"
Slime Hopkins felt great sob rising
as he struck out for the shore, and it
was every bit as much on Barry's ac-
count as on his own. but he had to
choke it down.
"Straight swimming now, and no
nonsense. How plainly can see the
city,
That is, he could see the steeples of
it, some two miles from the shore he
hoped to reach; and below them. he
knew, were the roofs of houses, and I'M
der the roofs of two of those houses
were Barry Gilmore's mother and his
own.
Steadily, regularly, without q motion
too much or pull too hard-for he was
thinking very closely what it was best
to do i'm such a case-Sime swan on,
until dull feeling in his arms warned
him of coming WEAKNESS.
"On nv back now for a few rods.
1t III change the work, and rest me.
can see the boat, but can't see Barry.
The wind is blowing harder"
All that time, however, Barry had
been doing precisely what his friend
had done, only that he had watched
more anxiously the increasing ripple on
the water.
..She isn't so very far" he had said
to himself, at first. ~ do wish Slime
had come with me. He can't reach
that shore, swim his best. 1t III be an
awful thing to tell
A couple of minutes later he was
That was a harder puff
How she does drift! Seems to me l
don't get an inch nearer. If it blows
much harde- I'll have to follow her to
the upper end of the lake.