Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker, Page 4

  CHAPTER IV.

  BURTON'S ARRIVAL.

  This first day of business was the index of many days to come, andthe money rolled in rapidly. "A little while more, fellows, and wewill own half of her," said the captain, as they laid up to the pierone fine day waiting for passengers.

  "Which half, Captain," inquired the Codfish; "bow or stern?"

  "Never mind which," returned Frank. "You keep on with your superbmanagement and we will have a property here worth while. Here comesanother load for us. There's about two dollars in this for us. Hustleup, my hearties, and be ready to lend a hand, Fatty." This to Lewis,who never disturbed himself unless under orders. Lewis crawledlaboriously over the gunwale onto the float.

  "Well, well, well," said a young man of the party who had just comeupon the float. "If my eyes do not deceive me, the captain of thatocean-going motor boat is none other than my old friend, FrankArmstrong!"

  Frank, who had been fussing with the motor, raised his head. "Mr.Burton!" he exclaimed. "Glad to see you! I didn't know you werearound here."

  "I can say the same to you. How long have you been a navigator?" headded, as the party of young folks climbed aboard. "And there's Jimmyand your little fat friend. My, this is quite a reunion. Arrived onlya day or two ago."

  The boys grinned their pleasure at the meeting.

  "Do any swimming now?" said Burton as the boat got under way.

  "Oh, yes, we take the mornings for that. We do a little in athleticsup at Queen's School and we're kept in training, especially forfootball."

  "Oh, yes, you are a Freshman up there."

  "No, we are in our second year," said Jimmy proudly.

  "I beg your pardon," said Burton, laughing; "it is hard to be takenfor a Freshman when you've got away beyond that unhappy period. Now,it is fortunate, Frank, you've kept up your swimming, because I wantyou to come down to Turner's Point next week and show some of thosefellows how we used to swim down in Florida. Can you come?"

  "Can't leave my transportation job very well," replied Frank.

  "Oh, hang your transportation job! There will be no one to transportthat day. Every one will be down to the carnival. You know what acrowd we had last year, and it's going to be a bigger affair thanever. There'll be lots of people to come down from Seawall. Whydon't you run a special excursion, swim in the meet and take yourcrowd back home in the evening? There you are, business and pleasurecombined."

  "Sounds good to me," said Frank. "How about it for you, Jimmy, andyou, Codfish and Lewis?"

  "Oh, come along," said Burton. "I'll put you down, Frank, in thehundred-yard race or anything you want to go in for. They've made memaster of ceremonies again. And you will be interested to know thatyour old rival, Peters, is back at the Point and swimming better thanever. He's been practicing, he told me, hoping for the chance to getback at you. Don't you want to take another fall out of him?"

  Frank's eyes brightened. "I wouldn't mind," he added slowly. "I'mstronger than I was a year ago, but I don't know that I've improvedthe stroke you taught me."

  "I'm sure it's all right," said the buoyant Burton. "I'll come upto-morrow morning and see what you've been doing in the way of speed,and after looking you and Jimmy over I can tell the distance you canswim best. Is it a go?"

  "It's a go for me," said Frank.

  "Me, too," said Jimmy.

  "Ditto," said Lewis.

  "And how about Mr. Gleason?" said Burton.

  "The Codfish, in spite of his name, hates the water except in thebathtub," said Jimmy. "But he'd be a fine scorer, eh, Codfish?"

  "Anything the captain says is good enough for me," said the Codfish."He's the boss. I'm on a salary and under orders."

  "Well, you can be an ornament to the stake boat, or the float, oranywhere you want to be. It's settled that you are to come?" saidBurton.

  The boys nodded. Burton went back to his party and the boys gavetheir attention wholly to navigation to the end of the trip.

  "Don't forget, now; I'm going to be up your way in the morning. Beall ready in your suits," Burton called back over his shoulder, aswith his friends he left the Seawall pier.

  Next morning the boys met early at the old swimming place and weresplashing about trying various strokes, when Burton's black headshowed in the water a quarter of a mile off shore.

  "By the great horn spoon," said Jimmy, "there he is, swimming up, andit's nearly a mile from the Point."

  "He must be a wonder," said the Codfish; "I wouldn't take allthat exercise if you were to give me the _Black Duck_ and all herfeathers. But there's no accounting for tastes. I'm overcome thinkinghow much energy he is wasting." The Codfish was perched on a dry bitof rock. His raiment was as immaculate as ever, but the tone of itwas pink this morning.

  "Hello, boys," shouted Burton as he approached. "Ready, I see. Now,"as he pulled himself up on the rocks, "I want to see what you'veaccomplished since I saw you. In with you, Frank."

  Frank plunged into the water and swam a little distance, using thecrawl stroke to the best of his ability, while Burton observed himclosely.

  "'Tisn't quite right. Look," and the coach dived off the rock andshot over to Frank. "You ought to bring your hand clear out of thewater. Don't reach too far and don't let it go too deep; just like apaddle, you remember. Your leg kick is good. Get your arms right andthere will be nothing to it."

  Frank tried to follow the instructions as well as he could, and hisefforts pleased his instructor, who shouted from his perch on therock to which he had returned: "Fine, fine, that's the way; nowonly one breath to half a dozen strokes; you waste too much timebreathing."

  "Same as me," commented the Codfish from his perch.

  Frank finished his lesson, and Jimmy and Lewis were sent in for someinstruction. Burton began to call for the crawl stroke, but bothboys confessed they had never been able to learn it very well. Theydisliked burying their faces in the water, and so got along muchbetter with the old overhand and breast strokes.

  Burton tried to show them just how it was done, and was in thewater and out of it half a dozen times coaching, but neither of theswimmers caught the idea.

  "Well, never mind, let it go to-day and swim me a hundred yards, thethree of you. Frank, you take the crawl, and let the other two usewhat they want to. Get ready, go!"

  The boys splashed into the water each in his different way, Frankeasy and graceful, Jimmy determined but rather clumsy, and Lewis likea walrus.

  "See how Frank pulls away from them," said Burton, now left alonewith the Codfish. "That boy is a wonder in the water. Why, they'renot any match for him at all, and only last year both of them couldbeat him. That's what comes of sticking to a thing. Frank wasdetermined to learn that stroke and he got it. The others thoughtthere was nothing in it and didn't try hard."

  The swimmers reached the other side of the little rocky inlet andwere heading back towards the starting point, with Frank well in thelead, but he slowed up and finished easily, while the others pulledthemselves up on the rocks almost exhausted.

  "We're no match for Frank at all," said Jimmy, puffing. "He has amotor attached to him somewhere."

  "It is the motor of perseverance, my son," said Burton. "You woulddo better in a long race, I think. Did you ever swim an eighth of amile--the 220 yards?"

  "Yes, but not in a race," answered Jimmy.

  "You'll be as good as any of the rest of them at the distance, soI'll put you down for the 220 race. And Lewis, we'll put him in forthe plunge."

  "What's that?" said Lewis.

  "Just like this," and suiting the action to the word Burton sprangfrom his rock, put his hands before him as he flew through the air,struck the water cleanly as a knife, and after disappearing a momentfrom view came to the top floating. His body traveled rapidly forwardin a straight line, arms and legs held rigidly extended and the faceburied. Fifty feet from the rock, when his momentum had about ended,he turned over on his back and raced back to the starting point."That's the way you do it," he said, as he climbed up, s
haking thewater out of his hair. "Let's see you try it, Lewis."

  "It's easy," said Lewis, and took the dive. He landed flat as apancake, nearly knocking all the breath out of his body, stretchedout his arms and legs, as he had seen Burton do, but didn't movefive feet from the point where he struck the water. After lying onhis face and imagining himself traveling forward, he looked up,disgusted, to note what little progress he had made, only to see hiscompanions howling with laughter.

  "Isn't so easy as it looks, is it?" said Burton. "But keep at it."He illustrated again, and Lewis, after one or two attempts, readilycaught the idea. As there was no work to the job of plunging, he tooka fancy to it, and before the morning's coaching was over was doingpretty well.

  "There," said Burton finally, jumping up, "that's all the time I cangive you this morning. All of you work every morning, but don't dotoo much. You have a week before the meet comes off. See you later."

  "Can't we come a little way with you?" said Frank.

  "Sure, glad to have you," and Frank and Jimmy took the water withBurton. They headed out clear of the rocks and turned down the shoreat a distance of perhaps a hundred yards from land. Lewis and theCodfish walked leisurely down the sand, watching the three heads asthey bobbed along in the waves.

  "You ought to take every chance you can get," said Burton, as thethree swam easily side by side, "to swim longer distances. There's notelling how handy it might come in, supposing you were pitched off aboat some day. The way to do, is to take it easy like we are now anduse all your strokes. When you get tired with one, take another. Thatchange rests you almost as much as stopping. Use one arm over first,and then another," illustrating as he went along, "and if you getvery tired, turn over on your back and float a while with your handswell over your head like this." Again he illustrated.

  The three swam on for two or three hundred yards, the boys drinkingin the instruction of the expert and trying to put into practice allthat he was telling them. Little did they think that they would needall and more than they were able to show in the way of strength andendurance in a short time.

  "Well, good-by, boys; I've got to make time now," shouted Burton."Maybe I'll see you before the meet, but if I don't, remember it isThursday week at four o'clock. Be sure to come," and he was gone in acloud of spray kicked up by his arms and legs as he started on hislong swim down the shore.

  "Good-by," echoed both boys, and with quickened pace they drew towardthe shore and soon joined Lewis and the Codfish.