The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-04-16

1 as soon as Bill cast off his side. the whole sail bellied up like a balloon and soon I was Hopping helplessly underneath it.
 He extracted me with word or two of apology, and started to brush | off my new spring golf suit. It would have been all right if he had not used last years paint brush. the tip of which had been dipped accidentally into one of the cans he brought with him.
 "Oh, is'll come off all right" he observed, as I ruefully surveyed the triple streaks across my coat. Rub the goods together when it is a iit- tlo drier. Then if 1t don't come off I'll pay the cleaner for taking 1t off. Sorry it happened but you know WI at boats are"
 l began to suspect that I did, and I wasn't keen for any further knowl- edge. However, by this time Bill was under the boat with one of the cans. applying the sticky composition to the cracks between the boards
 'I wish you'd come under here a minute and give me hand" he said presently. T want somebody to go ahead of me with a putty knife and clean the mud out of the seams so this composition will flow in smoothly"
 I hesitated. but I went. Bill was a fine fellow, and I couldn't roughly refuse to help him little.
 There was more mud on the cams than I expected there would be. In deed I was unable to see how any of it had been left on the bottom of the bay after Bilfs boat had been along and mopped it up I wasn't used to a putty knife, but presently I got the hang of 1t, and became in tcrested. Had l known that the mud was half tar, and that I was grind ing it into an impalpable black pow der which was sitting down all over me. my interest might have waned But I didn't find that out till after ward.
 It occurred to me that the clean ing of the seams was going to take IT ore than the 20 minutes allotted for the whole job of launching. But l figured that I could join the boys on the tenth hole. and maybe get in full 27 anyway. So I stuck
 Bill followed right along after me, lying, as I was, flat on his back. and moving with a slow snake like movement. We got all the seams cleaned and filled by and by, and then as I was about to crawl out, he said
 Stay right where you are. We've got to sandpaper her now to get ready for the bottom paint
 He handed me some sheets of sand paper and taught me how to use them This time it was apparent that the dust was coming down. It was bright red dust, and it stuck. But it was pleasant to see how nice and bright my sandpaper was mak ing the bottom of the boat, so l con tinued till I was wearied out. It must have been noon when we got her sandpapered. I was about to make my apologies for leaving him in the lurch and hurry home when his little boy arrived with the nnessnse that he was wanted at home on the telephone.
 "You begin to slap on the paint" said Bill. "I'll be right back. It Is easy. Just put it on any old way but don't go over the water line" I painted and painted and painted. IL really was fascinating. when you got at it. By and by 1t began to rain a little and looked at my watch. It was o'clock and no Bili. The rain streaked my face and tho black and red paint on 1t must have made me look like a sort of dirty barber pole. My hands were so en- crusted with paint that had diff- culty spreading my fingers apart. Also my clothes were an entirely