The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1907-04-26
Seleet Stnrp.
A BOY Who SAVED FIVE LIVES.

A record of five lives saved during his
first season s swimming shows how useful
the art of swimming may be to a boy.
Frank Duffy lives near the foot of South
9th street, Brooklyn. There is an old
wharf at the end of the street-a rotting
old wharf no longer used On this sunny,
deserted old pier the boys of the neighbor-
hood congregate and skylark in the water.
At certain hours they 90 in swimming.
The term thigh tide and Glow tide
are not in use on this pier. Instead, the
boys say ''clean water and 'dirty wa
ter" a big sewer pours its muddy stream
into the river at this point. At low tide
the boys will not 60 in. They wait for
high tide, and they keep track of its-rise
and fall with all the precision of old fish
ermen. Sometimes at 8 or 10 o clock at
night the cry "Clean water!' in long
drawn cadence, will run along the foot of
South 9th street, and from all round about
the boys come focking, like the children
after the ''Pied Piper of Hamelin Town. y
Mothers protest in vain. Boys have even
been known to slip out of bed on hot
summer night, jerk trousers over night
shirt and skin away to that magic cry of
"Clean waterr' Some boys stay in the
whole six hours of ''clean water.
Nevertheless, Frank Duffy had lived
at No. 81 South 9th street for four years
without learning to swim. He can't tell
why. He just didn't. There are many
other boys in the neighborhood who have
never learned. A year ago, in September,
he went to Sheepshead Bay for several
successive Sundays with a number
of other boys. They hired boat and
amused themselves by diving from it in
water wings. This apparatus is something
like life saving belt, with big pads on
either side The whole is blown up like
bicycle tire, and will support mans
body in the water Frank padded about
in the water twice with the wings. The
third day he drove as usual but the wings
had been improperly fastened, and he
found himself in the water without them.
1t was cup to- him to swim, and he swan
as naturally as if he had been swimming
all his life. He swan little more before
cold weather came, and last spring started
swimming regularly at the foot Of South
9th street.
On September II, while standing on
the pier, he noticed a boys head go down.
The head did not come up, and there was
strong presumption that it was under log
that bumped lazily on the tide. Flinging
off his coat, but fully accoutred otherwise,
Frank sprang in and swan to the log. He
saw the boy under the log, grabbed his
foot and dragged him to the surface. The
boy, Herman Hurdis, had swallowed so
much water that he was nearly unconcious
and almost drowned. Frank took him to
shore with one hand; then he proceeded to
stand him on his head to let the salt water
run out At this the Hurdis boy came to
life and objected Justify Then Frank tried
to roll him to get the water out. But the
Hurdis boy would not permit that, and
ungratefully tried to kick his rescuer in the
stomach. So Frank abandoned the effort
in disgust.
1t was his busy day, however. He had
no sooner ceased his course of first aid to
the injured than he saw another boy trying
to drown himself. This was Charles
Schmidt, who lived just across the street
from Frank. The Schmidt boy felt him
self being carried out by the tide and be-
gan to scream. Young Duffy plunged in
again and brought his second trophy to the
shore. As he set him down on the pier,
he said in disgust
"Say! can't keep dis ting up all day.
Can you kids keep in your depth You'd
better tie string round you and hitch it
to de dock when you go in swimmin'.'
The crowd gathered around Frank and
began to congratulate him on his double
achievement. But that young hero re-
sponded grimly:
"Dat's all right, but look at me pants!
Me mother II know I've been in de water
for fair. I'll need life savin' committee
meself when l get home.
He started dejectedly for home, but at
this point Mrs. Hurdis appeared, added