ce 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.

Meantime Johnnie Jones sank down into the water, and came up to the
surface again. The brave little fellow remembered what to do. He closed
his mouth, and holding one hand over his nose, he paddled with the
other, until he was able to grasp the dock, against which the wind was
blowing him. He held on bravely, never opening his mouth to cry, nor
taking his hand from his face.

In less than a minute, though it seemed much longer to Johnnie Jones,
his uncle and the boatman had drawn him from the water. He was not in
the least harmed by his unexpected bath because he had remembered, even
while he was falling, the proper thing to do.

Mother stripped off his wet clothing, and after she had rubbed him until
he was all in a glow, she wrapped him in blankets so that he should not
take cold.

Johnnie Jones went to sleep. When he awoke he felt very well, and was
glad when he heard Father say: "You were a brave boy and I am proud of
you."

Johnnie Jones's uncle was sorry he had been so careless as to turn his
back when the wind was blowing such a gale, and promised that it should
never happen again.

Johnnie Jones was more careful, too, and had no further trouble in the
water. Every day, Father gave him a swimming lesson, and before the time
came to return to the city, Johnnie Jones felt very much at home in the
water. He could swim very well, and could float, lying flat on his back,
but another summer passed before he had quite learned to dive.