. St. Nicholas [serial] . yfor a boy like you. Spose youcan hanle it if the wind getsup ? I m not afraid, said Tom,muzzling the desire to boast ofhis greatest accomplishment. Besides, I ve just got to go;it s a — a matter of business,you know. It might be dangrous;Chokoty gets pretty rough insome o these summer storms,urged the farmer; but Tom wasnot to be daunted. I 11 risk it, all the same,if you re not afraid to trustme with the boat, he insisted. The old man made no further difficulties. Just hold on till I get my hat and a lantern,he said; and Tom waited on the door-step. A few minutes la
. St. Nicholas [serial] . yfor a boy like you. Spose youcan hanle it if the wind getsup ? I m not afraid, said Tom,muzzling the desire to boast ofhis greatest accomplishment. Besides, I ve just got to go;it s a — a matter of business,you know. It might be dangrous;Chokoty gets pretty rough insome o these summer storms,urged the farmer; but Tom wasnot to be daunted. I 11 risk it, all the same,if you re not afraid to trustme with the boat, he insisted. The old man made no further difficulties. Just hold on till I get my hat and a lantern,he said; and Tom waited on the door-step. A few minutes later they were standing on arude pier at the lake-edge, and Tom was look-ing askance at a flat-bottomed, blunt-endedaffair called by courtesy a skiff. In his imagin- ings he had pictured himself skimming acrossthe lake in a canoe or light boat, pulling along, swinging thirty or thereabout, andmaking the six miles in considerably less thanan hour. The misshapen bateau, with singlewooden thole-pins in lieu of rowlocks, and. the big engine came to a stand just opposite the embers of the fire. clumsy home-made sweeps with leather loops,was quite another matter. Yet he would notreconsider, though the hospitable farmer urgedhim again. No; I m much obliged, and you re verykind, but I 11 try it, he said stoutly, payingthe boat-hire and dropping aboard the bateau. 902 TOM JARNAGAN, JUNIOR. [Aug. I dont believe it s going to rain much ; and,anyway, I ve got to make it — rain or shine. The farmer handed him the oars and shovedthe bateau into clear water. If ye ve got to,ye ve got to, I spose. I 11 leave the lanterndown here a spell, so t ye can have it to steerby. Good night to ye, an good luck. Tom shipped the heavy oars, fitted himselfuncomfortably between the thwart and the foot-brace, which were too far apart, and swung theclumsy craft into line with the lantern and thelights of Richville. As he did so a sharp gustflung a dash of rain in his face, and the treeson the bay shore bega
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidstnicholasserial292dodg
