“Shore thing!” grinned Mose.
“And didn’t you make anything for supper?” worried Paul.
“Jes’ peep in dat po’ch cupboard!” ordered Mose.
“Hurrah! That means ice-cream,” shouted Billy, for Mose always placed the ice-packed freezer out on the back stoop where the melting ice could drain off to the ground.
After an hour of rest, Fred called a class in First-Aids.
Ladders were placed against the bungalow roof and the Fireman’s Lift was practised—Dudley being the willing victim who hung limp and helpless in a faint when the brave fireman found him and carried him down from the roof to safety.
Then the Shaefer method of resuscitation of a drowning person was practised upon Edith. Poles were then run through sweaters and an improvised stretcher made for Paul who was supposed to have been badly injured in a battle. Billy and Dudley were the Red Cross men who carried the groaning soldier away and unexpectedly dumped him out upon the grass.
When serious practice had turned into a frolic, Fred called them all to sit down and rest, but such a thing was impossible for healthy active boys. However, they were stretched out upon the flat rock when Paul asked a question.
“Fred, how long do you think it will take me to swim a hundred yards? By the end of the month, do you think?”
“If you quit fooling and ’tend strictly to work you may. But we have not tried to swim much before this, as the water has been too cold. We can remain in longer, however, as the weather grows warmer.”