The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-11-01
One Lesson Enough for Him.

what he always told her he'd beer
doing when he came in anyhow, afte
being away the whole afternoon, ant
she said to him:
"Son, I'm going to take you dowr
to the bathing beach. Your pa viii
meet us there about 4 o'clock and give
you swimming lesson. Boys ought
to know how to swim
The boy surveyed his mother out oi
the tail Of his eye. He twitched.
"The fellers'll be down there, ano
they'll put her On to me-" he was prob
ably thinking.
II don't want to learn to swim,
said he.
cob, but you must learn, yor
know" said his mother. ''It is no
what you want. 1t is what your ps
wants. I warn you that you hac
better try to Learn, too, when your pa
is teaching you
Even in the teeth Of calamity the
boy had to turn away his face to hide
his grins.
Five OF six of his boy friends were
already splashing around in the watel
when Johuny arrived at the bathing
beach with his mother. When they
saw Johnny and his mother they look
ed at each other and winked solemnly
Johnny, before he went into cell tc
put on his trunks, tried to catch their
eyes so as to scoml at them warningly
but they studiously avoided his gaze,
"Why, how sunburnt your back
and arms are, Johnny" said his
mother, when he emerged in his
trunks.
"Yes'm," said Johnny. "Was
playin'. ball 'ithout my coat on yis-
tiddy and the sun burnt through my
shirt
Then Johnny looked at his mother
slantingly to see Il he had made his
yarn stick. He had.
''Well, did you ever!' exclaimed
his mother, ~ do declared
If Johnny was not thinking
"Womenis easy marks" he certainly
looked as if he were.
He stood on the shore and looked
wistfully at the water.
'Come on in, Smoke" yelled his
boy friends to him. "Come on out to
the raft.
"Don't you dare to try to do any
such thing Johnny!" his mother called
to him. "Just you wade around until
your pa comes. He'll teach you, and
after Few weeks you'll be able to 60
out where those boys are"
johnny was pretty disgusted
looking boy. The other boys sat on
the raft and grinned at him. He
padded around in water up to his
ankles, and when he suddenly slipped
and tumbled into kneedeep water his
mother screamed.
"Come right out Of that water at
once, Johnny, a2d wait till your pa
gets here!' she exclaimed.
johnny caught the eye Of the
bronzed man who looks after the kids
aud fishes them out when they get
to fooling risky, and winked the eye
furthest removed from his mother.
The beach guard put his outstretched
fingers over his face to hide his grin.
Then the boys father arrived. He
looked sideways at the red peeling
skin on the back and arms of his son
and heir, and twinkling light came
into his eyes.
"Just think hcw tender skinned
Johnny ISL said his wife. 1.-THE sun
burned him that way through his
shirt when he was playing ball with
out his coat yesterday afternoon.
Isn't his back sight?'
"Um-m, said he, and he went into
one Of the bath rooms and rugged him
self out in a bathing suit. AS he
came out he caught the boys eye.
The boy looked at his toes and grinned.
His father looked across the stream
at the fats and grinned.
''I'll bet 1 can teach the kid to swim
in one lesson said the boy s dad to
the boys mother. ''He's got the look
Of a natural born swimmer about
him.
"Has he really, Jack?" she asked.
"Isn that remarkable"
':I'm onto you with both feet, son,
said the boys father when they got
into the water together. I suppose
you can swim across the river and
back can you?"
II never tried so far as that,
replied the boy. He and his father
were pretty thick pals anyhow, and he
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