Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-31

Wcro
dumped from his canoe he might "ga.
the hang of it" and In time become !
fine swimmer.
1t was not long before Mr.. Also,
found an opportunity to learn to swirl
by this heroic process. He was mad
ding along one day in canoe. rot :,
in a beautiful bathing suit, when an
oarsman came pulling toward hin,
The mans back being to Norman ~
did not see him.
There's a singular tendency In ysb,.
cles directed by noyices to run into
those things that they are expected IA
avoid. At any rate Norman used b,q
paddle to take the boat IN the direction
opposite to the one he intended. Tbo
noses of the two boats sheered agaIne,
each other, and the canoe went over.
Mr.. Alsop sank out of sight. He ss,s
afterward that he thought OF q e5od
many things in the few moments b.
was beneath the surface. He though
of Miss Damon and wished he coz
exchange all the prizes he had tak@o
at school and college for the abiity "a
go quietly down, then rise quickly srd
point of safety. But in spite Of good
deal of kicking, or, rather writhi-z.
be continued to sink.
The oarsman, feeling a Jar, turned
his head aside and saw a man In bath.
ing rig coming to the surface, a canoe
upside down and a paddle some dis
lance from both. Not thinking that
man In such an aquatic outfit would
need assistance, he pulled away.
For a month Alsop had been teaching
Miss Damon a peculiar stroke in the
water invented by himself That is, be
thought he was teaching her, while
she was trying to get him beyond that
initial point where a beginner feels he
can keep himself for a few seconds
from going under. She had succeeded
so far that, his life being the stake, be
was able to swim the five feet that
separated him from the canoe. By a
herculean effort he reached it and
chung to it, folding his arms about it
lovingly.
All this happened within a quarter
of a mile from the shore, where Miss
Damon was sitting with a book on her
lap, trying to make up one Of several
conditions that stood in the way Of her
graduation, for If she failed TO get
husband it was expected that she
would have to teach. There was moth
ing easy in the book, but to step into
the water, "accoutered as she was"
swim out to Norman Alsop and push
the canoe, with him clinging to it.
ashore was just too simple for any
thing. He spoke not a word till he was
on terra firma; then, shaking his fist
at the man who had upset him, now
too far to hear him. he said:
You COMPOUNDED fool, If I didn't
know more about handling a boat than
you do, I'd stick to dry land"
Miss Damon sympathized with her
friend, who went to the hotel TO dress
for dinner, while she, after putting on
dry clothes, recommended endeavoring
to get into her stupid head a problem
in geometry.
1t must not be supposed that during
this period when Norman Alsop was
trying to learn athletics and Miss Da-
mon was trying to make up a multi
tude of conditions he showed nothing
him. If Miss Damon helped him out
of the water he helped her with the
subjects she was trying to make up.
This he did by rendering them so IN
teresting to her that she not only IN
derstood them, but could not forget
them. Though Alsop did not recognize
the value of his instruction nor Miss
Damon that she had done something
in pushing him ashore
each admired the others requirements
Miss Damon could not understand why
her friend could not do Il little thing
like swimming, something Il fish had
no trouble in doing, and Alsop could
not understand why his explanation 70
her of the moons phases was failure
but neither attached any importance 10
the others defect.
When Julia Damon went home IL
and informed her aunt that
she had captured n man who nae
swept his university clean OF prizes
the good lady was dumfounded.
How about your school conditionsi
she asked after her astonishment ma
worn of
up conditions when I'm going TO marry
I valedictorianE
Just So replied the aunt.
Norman Alsop is now 4 professor III
- university. He has written SONIC
works that have gwen
him high rank as an author. WDeh
are heaped upon him DC
;hrugs his shoulders and says:
I'm dead failure. I've never even
,een able to learn to swim. II you
want capability so TO my wife. There
re lots OF real things she can do We.
As for me, can't do anything real
an only float on an ideal ocean.
And yet when persons mate theH
friends say, what miSalliance pF
ween n learned man and fool! o.
That's a fine match; they have tH7
anne tastes"
Alsop reveres his wife for her gus
nd she looks up to him as superl"
Intellectual being.
4