Page:Zodiac stories by Blanche Mary Channing.pdf/279

262 a very swift current, and he had never gone rowing on it without his father in the boat.

But he put the conviction of his naughtiness out of his head. He had been on his good behavior all the afternoon, and he felt a wild desire to make up for it now. He put his hands to his neck and tore off the linen collar. His pretty suit followed; everything was flung in a heap on the bank, Jack rapidly undressing a few feet away. Then the boys sprang into the water with a laugh.

"Oh—but it's cold enough!" cried Bobby. "Let's strike out hard, and get warm!"

They were both good swimmers, but Jack was the better. At first it was great fun. Swimming was wonderfully easy when the current helped so much; but when they tried to turn and swim the other way—it was a very different matter. They struggled and struggled, and yet it