St. Landry democrat., 1881-08-20
A LONG SWIM,

A LONE SWIM.
sfLook here. Sine, old Purdy might
have told us he'd taken away his oars.
well, yes; but there was kind Of
grin on his face when he told us we
might have it. Not another loose
boatr'
1t was a solemn fact. Every skiff
along the beach but .'oid Purdy's'' was
Fastened by chain and paddock and
stake, to express the objection OF its
owner against its use by stray boys.
No fan 9oin@ in for swim in this
shallow water. Only a wading place.
Barry. there S a board That Il do
for us. We can paddle her out far
enough
It 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 iiat-bottomed skif 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 four common
small boy long g-shore swimming is q
thing to be looked down upon, and d
lake OF some size. or Il section OF the
Atlantic, was required for any fun OF
theirs. The day was warm. the water
as smooth As a pane of glass, and there
was faint haze over the sky. The
very model OF a day for a perfect swim.
The boat, too, had evidently been built
for it, She was broad enough not to
tip too easily il sou were climbing in.
and the wide seat at each end was just
the arrangement for diving.
This II do, Slime. Pity we didn't
bring an anchor"
"Water's a hundred feet deep out
here How far ere we from shore2'
Don't know. Maybe it's half a
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 cramp.''
My legs would peg out, sure, long
before I got there
They were very good pair for Il boy
of fifteen, aud ill 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 good header" shouted
Sine. ''l'm coming
Come he did. and thev found the wa
ter Just about right for them. Not Il
trace of a chill in it, in 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 a 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 boat!'
'sShe's drifting out. The wind, s Oil
shore"
The boys looked at each other for q
moment with very serious faces; but
they were brave fellows, and there was
no time for hesitation.
s:She isn't so very far, Sine. "
sBut she's drifting No telling how
far she'll go. We mustn' t risk it.
''Shores too far. Can't do it. W.
can catch the boat
ssThe winds rising, Barry"
"Choose, Sime-shore or boat .
ashore for me. Choose foryoursel1
See how she drifts
You can't reach the shore, Sine
Besides, l want my clothes. I'm goinG
for the boat" E@ss -. S:F -
mo time to talk. Good-by, Barry.
d + Sine HOPKINS felt a great sob rlsln9
as he struck out for the shore, and
was every bit az much on Barry's ac
count as on his own, but he had tt
choke it down. %, s,.,,-=
as'.s Straight swimming now, and n
nonsense. How plainly I can see thu
cityn'
That is. he could see the steeples o
it, some two miles from the shore n
hoped to reach; and below them. h'
knew, were the roofs of houses, and un
i derrthe roofs OF two Of those house
were Barry Gitmore's mother and hI
own. n % .tt
Steadily, regularly, without a nlotio'
too much or apull too hard-for ne WA
thinking very closely what it was Pes
to do in such q case-Sime swan on
until dull feeling in his arms warne
him of coming WEAKNESS.
son my back now for a few rods
1t III change the work, and rest me.