“No, not a stroke,” muttered Jack.
“Thought so,” reiterated Tidball. There was another silence. Then Jack said, with an uneasy laugh:
“There’s no doubt but that you can, though.”
“Me? Yes, I can swim like a shark. Down in Jonesboro we learn when we’re a year old. Comes natural to us coasters.”
“It was lucky you were there this afternoon,” said Jack.
“Oh, some one else would have gone in, I guess!”
“He—he didn’t—he wasn’t drowned, was he?”
“The kid? No, but plaguy near it. He’s all right now, I guess. Teach him a lesson.”
“Did the bridge go?” asked Jack after a moment, merely to break another silence.
“No, water was going down when I left. Guess I’m in the way, though, ain’t I?”