The Mount Holly news., 1916-01-18
She WENT SAILING
BY oREN M,NEIL.

one girl In ten ever does. At 4:05
Miss Blythe rose languidly from her
seat. At 4:06 she yawned At 4:08
she took down an old skirt from a
nook In the closet and proceeded to
get into it. At Ais she had changed
her slippers for pair of stout walk
ing shoes. At 4.18 she had hunted up
her old hat. At exactly 4:2O she an
peared before her mother downstairs
and said:
Il am going sailing for about an
hour"
But your brother Fred has gone to
town"
THAT makes no difference. I can
sail boat as well as he can"
"Why, Blythe, you haven't been out
with him more than three times!"
"But wasn't watching all the time
to see how 1t was done? Poof All
you've got to do is to watch the wind. .
"But wish you wouldn't go. Neither
Fred nor your father may be home be-
fore midnight"
While l shall be back within two
hours. There's fine breeze, and it
will blow the cobwebs away. So long,
mother! Don't worry about yours
| truly"
1t looks as easy as pie to sail boat
In the first place. you want the wind
not too much nor too little If the wind
isn't right to sail up or down the lake,
then sail across it. Don't think the
breezes must be made to your order.
You stumble into the boat and raise
the sail. It doesn't make such great
difference about the stumble. but 1t is
imperative about the sail When 1t is
up you make the halyards fast and go
to the stern and take the tiller.
Attached to the bottom Of the sail
Ia boom, and attached to this boom
is rope called sheet. It Is no more
q sheet than you are, but the sailor
who first called 1t must have grown
tired of calling everything rope, and
SO made change. The boatman holds
the free end of this sheet in his hand
SO that in case of sudden gust he can
slack away and spill the wind and pre-
vent an upset
This was one Of the several things
that Miss Blythe had not taken notice
Of when she went sailing with her
brother. With charming assurance
she went sailing away, and she
chuckled with glee at the thought Of
how she would crow over Fred
OF Tiger island, young Mr.. Walter
<rE, l.
He had come down from the city for
the late fall sport, and had not the
slightest suspicion that Cupid was
going to spread net for him There
are no halyards or ropes or sheets or
sails about fishing. All you have to
do is to throw baited hook over, and
by and by foolish bass comes along
and gulps 1t down and you pull him
in.
Mr.. Dayton was fishing away, and
his thoughts were not even remotely
on the feminine sex when he was
aroused by a woman's voice calling
out:
"Oh, ohl Please get out Of my wayl"
He looked up to see sailboat bear
ing down on him and girl twisting
the helm one way and the other Her
craft was so close at hand that all he
could do was to seize an oar and pre-
pare to fend her off. His craft was
struck glancing blow, the best he
could do, and as the other drifted away
he called out:
They shouldn't have let you come
out with that boat!"
"And they shouldn't have let youi"
was the spirited reply.
Don't you know that the wind is
rising and becoming gusty9"
What Of it?'
your sheet has been made fast, and
the first heavy gust will upset your
boatl"
She did not even look his way.
There goes a girl who needs a
strong hand!" muttered the young
man, as he kept down the bay.
There Is young man who thinks
he is very clever" was the comment
of the girl as she left him behind.
1t was true that the wind was rising
and becoming gusty, and therefore
sailing was unsafe for a novice, but
Miss Blythe wanted that young man
to understand that she could manage
things without his advice.
Providence looks after foolish girls
as well as foolish men. 1t looked after
this one as her boat yawed this way
and that, and it clouded up and the
sun got lower and lower. She would
have cut her voyage short. but for
the action Of Mr. Dayton. His was a
motor boat. and after awhile he said
to himself:
"That girl is going to get In trouble,
sure enough. I'll pull up the anchor
and drift down, SO I'll be closer at
hand when am needed"
The girl looked back after a while
and saw what he was up to and said
to herself:
"Oh-ho! He is getting ready to play
the rescuer and the hero, is he? Well,
/ shall disappoint him"
BY the time she was ready to turn
back the wind had increased threefold. |
She had seen her brother bring the
boat about, but had not mastered the
trick herself. She must try II, how
ever. With a prayer that 1t might be
a success, she moved the tiller over
and the next moment the craft was
keeling over and she was screaming |
for help. The man in the motor boat |
was not far away, and within two min
utes he was pulling very wet and
much h-bedraggled form to seat In his
boat. For the next five minutes he was
busy righting her boat and making 1t
fast for tow. and then he turned to
her to be greeted with:
II suppose you are glad it hap
pened?"
at was silly thing for you to do,
knowing nothing Of the management
of sailboat!" he slowly answered.
'But you know all about it!" was
fired at him.
Il have run sailboat for years"
did you begin as soon as you were
weaned?"
1t was long time before he spoke
again, and then he said:
"There is a shooting jacket on the
seat beside you If you feel chilly put |
it on will get you home as soon as
possible"
She opened her lips to say some
thing, but just then the engine of the |
motor boat went dead" Mr.. Dayton |
gave expression to his feelings of as
tonishment, and thereby gave away |
the fact he wasn't much acquainted |
with motor boats and their way Of |
stopping to rest every few minutes.
What is it7' asked Miss Blythe.
Engine out Of order!"