"
"Did you sit on my stomach and choke me?" the Boy asked.
"I set on yer and mashed the water out, but I didn't choke you."
"I thought the Old Scratch had me!"
For an hour they talked in awed whispers of Sin and Death and Trouble
and then the blood of youth shook off the nightmare.
They were alive and unhurt. They were all right and it was a good joke.
They swore eternal secrecy. The day was yet young and it was a glorious
one. Their clothes were wet and they had to be dried before night. That
settled it. They would strip, hang their clothes in the hot sun and
wallow in the sand and play in the shallow water until sundown.
"And besides," Austin urged, "this here's a warnin' straight from the
Lord--me and you must learn ter swim."
"That's so, ain't it?" the Boy agreed.
"It's what I calls a sign from on high--and it pints right into the
creek!"
They agreed that the thing to do was to heed at once this divine
revelation and devote the whole Sabbath day to the solemn work--in the
creek.
They found a beautifully sunny spot with an immense sand bar and wide
shallow safe waters. They carefully placed their clothes to dry and
basked in the bright sun. They practiced swimming in water waist deep
and Austin learned to make three strokes and reach the length of his
body before sinking.
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