"Will you be certain to catch me?" he asked Father.
"I promise you I will," he answered.
Johnnie Jones knew that Father always kept his promise, so, after a moment or two, he said he was ready.
"One, two, three, jump!" said Father. And Johnnie Jones obeyed.
As soon as he touched the water he felt Father's strong arms about him, and then he did not mind going down, down, into it. In a second he came to the surface again, of course dripping wet, but without having swallowed any water, as he had remembered to hold his breath.
After the first plunge, he enjoyed taking others, and jumped into the water as many times as Father would catch him. Next day they went in bathing again, and Father carried Johnnie Jones out to the raft as before. But when the little boy was ready to jump, Father said: "To-day, I shall not catch you when you first touch the water; I shall wait until you come to the surface by yourself, and then I shall hold you up."
After he had jumped into the water, Johnnie Jones was surprised to find that he came up again just as quickly as when Father's arms had been under him. Then while Father held him he lay flat on the water and paddled himself about with his hands and feet.
In a few days the little boy learned to swim a short distance, quite alone, although he was not allowed to go into the water unless an older person were with him.
One day, before Johnnie Jones had learned to swim very well, he had an exciting experience. He was on the dock with his uncle, and a very high wind was blowing the water into waves, which dashed against the dock with a roaring sound. Indeed the waves were so noisy, that when Johnnie Jones suddenly slipped and fell off the dock, his uncle, whose back was turned, did not hear the splash.
However, a boatman at the boat-house saw Johnnie Jones fall, and he ran as fast as possible, towards the dock.