“Say, fellows, do you remember what it was the old Admiral said to George Gray about Captain Craven after he had told him the story?”
“I remember,” answered Chippie, “it was something about how the Captain had been doing the same thing every day, all his life, and so he was all prepared to do it then.”
“How’s that?” asked Bill.
“Why, you know, he had to take an oath—the same as we do—and he had been working hard to do his duty and keep his oath in all his work, no matter what it was,” said Tom.
“And so,” Dick went on, “when it suddenly was his duty to get drowned to save the other fellow—why, he just kept right on, doing his duty, and got drowned!”
“Oh, I see,” said Bill, with a little shiver. “Was he friendly with the water?”
“He was friendly enough not to run away from it, anyway!” answered Chippie.
“I say we put that all down in the Charter,” exclaimed Dick.
“Dick!” said Billy earnestly, “I wish we could talk to your Dad about that, and see what he’d say. You know you said I might see him sometime!”
“That’s a grand idea,” chimed in Chippie. “We’ll ask him to come down to the next meeting! What do you think, Dick?”