“I think that’s right,” replied Mr. Gray, “and it would be a good thing to put it in the Charter, because it shows that each one of us can be preparing every day to do whatever may be required of us in an emergency.”
“‘Be Prepared’ is the Boy Scout motto, sir,” said Chippie.
“I know it is,” continued Mr. Gray, “and ‘Be Prepared’ is the motto to act upon every day of our lives, if we want to be strong enough to say: ‘After you, Pilot’, when we get our chance.”
“I see that, sir,” answered Bill, “but if you want to have grit in the water, you have to be friendly with it; and what I wanted to know was, whether Captain Craven was friendly with the water, and if that was the reason he did not mind drowning?”
Mr. Gray thought for quite a while before answering this question; and, while they were waiting in silence for his answer, the boys listened to the lapping of the little waves on the beach near by.
“Of course you know, Bill, no one can say for certain just what passed through that man’s mind; but I, for my part, would say that he had done lots of things in his life that were harder to do than just dying, and that there was no reason for his not feeling friendly with the water. I think he did.”
“It makes me shiver,” said Bill, “to think of getting drowned, in spite of the fact that I am able and willing to swim in deep water any time; it’s being friendly with the water that’s helped me to get my balance, but—Captain Craven—he knew he was going to drown, so what was the use of his keeping his balance?”
“I guess, Bill, that Captain Craven loved the water because he had conquered all fear of it years ago, if he ever had any, and some of the happiest times of his life had been spent in doing his duty at sea. But I’m thinking that he had another habit that prepared him for this emergency. If he hadn’t been drowned at that time he would have reported to Admiral Farragut, his superior officer, every detail of the explosion; and now,—when there was no possibility of reporting to the Admiral,—he may have thought to himself, ‘this drowning will be over in a few minutes, and then I’ll report to the Great Captain, whose child I am and whose will is my duty, wherever I see it.’”
“Won’t you come to another of our meetings some time, sir?” asked Tom after a pause.
“That I will,” answered Dick’s father, “and I tell you what it is, boys; I won’t forget this meeting in a hurry, either!”