Chapter XXVIII. John Haynes Has a Narrow Escape

by Horatio Alger

　　John Haynes found the time hang heavily upon his hand after hiswithdrawal from the boys' volunteer company. All the boys withwhom he had been accustomed to associate belonged to it, and intheir interest could talk of nothing else. To him, on thecontrary, it was a disagreeable subject. In the pleasant springdays the company came out twice a week, and went through companydrill on the Common, under the command of Frank, or CaptainFrost, as he was now called.Had Frank shown himself incompetent, and made himself ridiculousby blunders, it would have afforded John satisfaction. But Frank,thorough in all things, had so carefully prepared himself for hisduties that he never made a mistake, and always acquitted himselfso creditably and with such entire self-possession, that hispraises were in every mouth.Dick Bumstead, too, manifested an ambition to fill his secondlieutenancy, to which, so much to his own surprise, he had beenelected, in such a manner as to justify the company in theirchoice. In this he fully succeeded. He had become quite adifferent boy from what he was when we first made hisacquaintance. He had learned to respect himself, and perceivedwith great satisfaction that he was generally respected by theboys. He no longer attempted to shirk his work in the shop, andhis father now spoke of him with complacency, instead ofcomplaint as formerly."Yes," said he one day, "Dick's a good boy. He was always smart,but rather fly-a-way. I couldn't place any dependence upon himonce, but it is not so now. I couldn't wish for a better boy. Idon't know what has come over him, but I hope it'll last."Dick happened to overhear his father speaking thus to a neighbor,and he only determined, with a commendable feeling of pride, thatthe change that had given his father so much pleasure shouldlast. It does a boy good to know that his efforts areappreciated. In this case it had a happy effect upon Dick, who, Iam glad to say, kept his resolution.It has been mentioned that John was the possessor of a boat.Finding one great source of amusement cut off, and being leftvery much to himself, he fell back upon this, and nearly everypleasant afternoon he might be seen rowing on the river above thedam. He was obliged to confine himself to this part of the river,since, in the part below the dam, the water was too shallow.There is one great drawback, however, upon the pleasure of owninga rowboat. It is tiresome to row single-handed after a time. SoJohn found it, and, not being overfond of active exertion, he wasbeginning to get weary of this kind of amusement when all at oncea new plan was suggested to him. This was, to rig up a mast andsail, and thus obviate the necessity of rowing.No sooner had this plan suggested itself than he hastened to putit into execution. His boat was large enough to bear a smallmast, so there was no difficulty on that head. He engaged thevillage carpenter to effect the desired change. He did not chooseto consult his father on the subject, fearing that he might makesome objection either on score of safety or expense, while he hadmade up his mind to have his own way.When it was finished, and the boat with its slender mast andwhite sail floated gently on the, quiet bosom of the stream,John's satisfaction was unbounded."You've got a pretty boat," said Mr. Plane, the carpenter. "Isuppose you know how to manage it?" he added inquiringly."Yes," answered John carelessly, "I've been in a sailboat beforeto-day."Mr. Plane's doubts were set at rest by John's confident manner,and he suppressed the caution which he had intended to give him.It made little difference, however, for John was headstrong, andwould have been pretty certain to disregard whatever he mightsay.It was true that this was not the first time John had been in asailboat; but if not the first, it was only the second. The firstoccasion had been three years previous, and at that time he hadhad nothing to do with the management of the boat--a veryimportant matter. It was in John's nature to be over-confident,and he thought he understood merely from observation exactly howa boat ought to be managed. As we shall see, he found out hismistake.The first day after his boat was ready John was greatlydisappointed that there was no wind. The next day, as if to makeup for it, the wind was very strong. Had John possessed aparticle of prudence he would have seen that it was no day toventure out in a sailboat. But he was not in the habit of curbinghis impatience, and he determined that he would not wait tillanother day. He declared that it was a mere "capful of wind," andwould be all the better for the purpose."It's a tip-top wind. Won't it make my boat scud," he said tohimself exultantly, as be took his place, and pushed off fromshore.Henry Morton had been out on a walk, and from the summit of alittle hill near the river-bank espied John pushing off in hisboat."He'll be sure to capsize," thought the young man in alarm. "Evenif he is used to a sailboat he is very imprudent to put out insuch a wind; I will hurry down and save him if I can."He hurried to the bank of the river, reaching it out of breath.John was by this time some distance out. The wind had carried himalong finely, the boat scudding, as he expressed it. He wascongratulating himself on the success of his trial trip, when allat once a flaw struck the boat. Not being a skillful boatman hewas wholly unprepared for it, and the boat upset.Struggling in terror and confusion, John struck out for theshore. But he was not much of a swimmer, and the suddenness ofthe accident had unnerved him, and deprived him of hisself-possession. The current of the river was rapid, and he wouldinevitably have drowned but for the opportune assistance of Mr.Morton.The young man had no sooner seen the boat capsize, than he flungoff his coat and boots, and, plunging into the river, swamvigorously toward the imperiled boy.Luckily for John, Mr. Morton was, though of slight frame,muscular, and an admirable swimmer. He reached him just as John'sstrokes were becoming feebler and feebler; he was about to giveup his unequal struggle with the waves."Take hold of me," he said. "Have courage, and I will save you."John seized him with the firm grip of a drowning person, andnearly prevented him from striking out. But Mr. Morton's strengthserved him in good stead; and, notwithstanding the heavy burden,he succeeded in reaching the bank in safety, though with muchexhaustion.John no sooner reached the bank than he fainted away. The greatdanger which he had just escaped, added to his own efforts, hadproved too much for him.Mr. Morton, fortunately knew how to act in such emergencies. Bythe use of the proper remedies, he was fortunately brought tohimself, and his preserver offered to accompany him home. Johnstill felt giddy, and was glad to accept Mr. Morton's offer. Heknew that his father would be angry with him for having the boatfitted up without his knowledge, especially as he had directedMr. Plane to charge it to his father's account. Supposing thatSquire Haynes approved, the carpenter made no objections to doingso. But even the apprehension of his father's anger was swallowedup by the thought of the great peril from which he had justescaped, and the discomfort of the wet clothes which he had on.Mr. Morton, too, was completely wet through, with the exceptionof his coat, and but for John's apparent inability to go homealone, would at once have returned to his boarding-house toexchange his wet clothes for dry ones.It so happened that Squire Haynes was sitting at a front window,and saw Mr. Morton and his son as they entered the gate and cameup the graveled walk. He had never met Mr. Morton, and wassurprised now at seeing him in John's company. He had conceived afeeling of dislike to the young man, for which he could notaccount, while at the same time he felt a strong curiosity toknow more of him.When they came nearer, he perceived the drenched garments, andwent to the door himself to admit them."What's the matter, John?" he demanded hastily, with acontraction of the eyebrows."I'm wet!" said John shortly."It is easy to see that. But how came you so wet?""I've been in the river," answered John, who did not seemdisposed to volunteer any particulars of his adventure."How came you there?""Your son's boat capsized," explained Mr. Morton; "and, as youwill judge from my appearance, I jumped in after him. I shouldadvise him to change his clothing, or he will be likely to takecold."Squire Haynes looked puzzled."I don't see how a large rowboat like his could capsize," hesaid; "he must have been very careless.""It was a sailboat," explained John, rather reluctantly."A sailboat! Whose?""Mine.""I don't understand at all.""I had a mast put in, and a sail rigged up, two or three dayssince," said John, compelled at last to explain."Why did you do this without my permission?" demanded the squireangrily."Perhaps," said Mr. Morton quietly, "it will be better topostpone inquiries until your son has changed his clothes.Squire Haynes, though somewhat irritated by this interference,bethought himself that it would be churlish not to thank hisson's preserver."I am indebted to you, sir," he said, "for your agency in savingthe life of this rash boy. I regret that you should have gotwet.""I shall probably experience nothing more than temporaryinconvenience.""You have been some months in the village, I believe, Mr. Morton.I trust you will call at an early day, and enable me to follow upthe chance which has made us acquainted.""I seldom make calls," said Mr. Morton, in a distant tone. "Yet,"added he, after a pause, "I may have occasion to accept yourinvitation some day. Good morning, sir.""Good morning," returned the squire, looking after him with anexpression of perplexity."He boards at the Frosts', doesn't he, John?" asked SquireHaynes, turning to his son."Yes, sir.""There's something in his face that seems familiar," mused thesquire absently. "He reminds me of somebody, though I can'trecall who."It was not long before the squire's memory was refreshed, and heobtained clearer information respecting the young man, and theerrand which had brought him to Rossville. When that informationcame, it was so far from pleasing that he would willingly havepostponed it indefinitely.