“It’s this way, you see,” he told them all, when they had led him up on the porch of the cottage, and gathered around for good advice. “I’ve told the Admiral that he may leave you here alone any time, and we’ll all keep an eye on you. Tom and he were down to the Point awhile back, and had a talk.”
“And he told us he was going back to the hotel,” said Polly.
“Well, he changed his course. He says to me, ‘Cap’n, do you think they’ll be able to handle a lot of yachts alone?’ And I told him, ‘Leave ’em to me, sir, with an easy conscience. I’ll keep my mind on them, and so will Mrs. Carey, and so will the children. And as for handling the boats, why, Lord love you, there ain’t nothing over fifteen foot in the lot.’ My Nancy here runs all over the bay in Tom’s knockabout, the Pirate, and her own catboat. She’s been out around the Point too, alone, in fair weather. And she’s only thirteen. Tom is going on sixteen, and I guess betwixt the two of them, you’ll turn into able seamen, and learn how to handle a boat. If you don’t, they won’t sink anyhow. You want to learn how to swim, every girl jack of you, first of all. What would you do out in the bay if the boat took a notion to stand on her beam ends, and ship a lot of water clean over into the cockpit? I’m a believer in swimming. It’s a good deal like unto the Kingdom of Heaven, I’m thinking. Learn how to swim first, and all these things shall be added unto you.” He smiled around at the circle of young faces, and rose. “Come on, Nancy. Mother’ll have supper piping hot, and she’ll give us pickles if we’re late.”
“Oh, please wait just a minute,” begged Polly. “We have so much to ask you, you know. You believe in prevention first, don’t you?”
“Prevention first,” answered the Captain, a trifle gravely. “Indeed I do, indeed I do; with over a thousand youngsters dying off every year at our summer resorts, just from carelessness in swimming and handling boats when they don’t know how to do either one right. Why, if I had my way, I’d take every land lubber in the lot, and put them through a course of sprouts, so they could qualify for a volunteer life saver ever after. Yes, I would.”
“I can’t swim,” said Sue, ruefully. “And Polly and Kate and Ted can only paddle around a little, and they think they could save all of us.”
“Then not one of you can go out in a yacht alone until you can all swim like a school of tommycods,” said the Captain, positively. “If I’m to be responsible for this station, I’m going to have things shipshape and seamanlike. To-morrow morning every one of you be ready at ten sharp, and Nancy and I’ll be over and teach you how to keep your chins out of water, anyway. And not one boat shall Tom bring over until you have learned.”
“Captain,” asked Polly, seriously, leaning forward with her chin on her palms, “Did anything ever happen to make you feel that way?”
The Captain eyed her whimsically.
“Found me out, didn’t you? Well, I don’t care. I’ll tell you about it, and maybe it will make you keep an eye on the buoys and signal lights. I used to have a knockabout called the Three Widows—”