Harry had put on dry clothes, and after a short and easy row glided
under the Spuyten Duyvel railway bridge, and found themselves on the
broad and placid Hudson. They rowed on for nearly a mile, and then,
having found a little sandy cove, ran the boat aground, and went ashore
to rest. After a good swim, which all greatly enjoyed, including Harry,
who said that his recent bath at Farmersbridge ought not to be counted,
since it was more of a duty than a pleasure, they sat down to eat a nice
cold lunch of ham sandwiches that Mrs. Wilson had kindly prepared; and
when they were no longer hungry they stretched themselves lazily in the
shade.

"Well, boys," said Harry, "we made a big mistake at the bridge; but we
learned something, and we won't get the boat swamped that way again."

"I'm awfully obliged to Harry for jumping in after me," said Joe; "but
it's the first time I ever heard of a captain jumping over after a
sailor. When a sailor falls overboard, the captain just stands on the
deck and looks around, kind of careless like, while the second mate and
four sailors jump into a boat and pick the man up. That's the way it's
done; for I know a fellow that saw a man fall overboard on a steam-ship,
and he said that was how the captain did."

"All right," said Harry; "I won't jump in for you again, Joe. The fact
is, boys, I oughtn't to have done it without waiting to find out whether
there was really anything the matter with Joe. I'll tell you what we'll
do. Joe is a first-rate swimmer, and we'll make a rule that whenever
anybody is to jump into the river for anything, Joe shall do it. What do
you say?"

"Oh, I'm willing enough," said Joe. "I don't care who jumps, as long as
the captain don't. It won't look well for the captain to be all the time
jumping overboard to pick somebody up."

"A better rule," remarked Tom, "would be that no fellow shall fall
overboard."

"I move to amend that," cried Jim, "by forbidding any accidents to
happen to any of us."

"But you can't do that," said Tom, who never understood a joke.
"Accidents never would happen if people could help themselves."

"Well," said Harry, "if the rest of you will agree not to fall
overboard, I'll promise that the captain sha'n't spend all his time in
jumping after you. But if you are all ready, we'd better start on.
There's a nice little breeze, and we can rest in the boat."

By this time Harry's shirt and trousers, which had been wrung out and
hung up on