“Look!” cried Billy.
Donald felt of a sudden that he must do this thing. Therefore why not do it courageously? He leaped; but this new courage had not come in time. He made the ledge, but he fell an inch short of a firm footing. So for a moment he tottered, between falling forward and falling back. Then he caught the branch of an overhanging shrub, and with this saved himself. When he turned, Job had the punt in safety; but he was breathing hard, as if the strain had been great.
“’Twas not so hard, was it, b’y?” said Job.
“No, sir,” said Donald.
“I told you so,” said Billy Topsail to Jimmie Grimm.
“Good b’y!” Jimmie declared, as he hoisted the sail for the homeward run.
Donald cast the net line loose from its mooring, and saw that it was all clear. His father let 60 the punt sweep in again. It is much easier to leap from a solid rock than from a boat, so Donald jumped in without difficulty. Then they rowed out to the buoy and hauled the great, dripping net over the side.
It was well they had gone out, for before morning the ice had drifted over the place where the net had been. More than that, Donald North profited by his experience. He perceived that if perils must be encountered, they are best met with a clear head and an unflinching heart.
“Wisht you’d been out t’ see me jump the day,” he said to Jimmie Grimm, that night.
Billy and Jimmie laughed.