Beadle's Dime Novels No. 94: The Mad Skipper — page 49: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THEORY AND PRACTICE 51 “Why, papa, I was not aware that you knew enough about life-preservers to—” “You are mistaken,” he interrupted. “ Ahwost from my boyhood I have turned my attention to the study of preserving human lite; not only with medicine, in cases of sickness, but with other agents where medicine would prove of no avail. Having studied the art of swimming in books which, in con- nection with this subject, also treat of life-preservers, etc., I deem myself a tolerable good judge of the articles in ques tion.” “And yet, papa, I believe you do not know how to swim.” “ Well, yes—ahem ; it is true I never practiced swimming, but I understand the theory so well that if I should ever get beyond my depth, I should be able to keep myself afloat. by a very simple process; that is, by turning myself with ready self-possession upon my back, carefully keeping my hands down with the palms extended toward the bottom of the water, and expanding my lungs with deep inspirations of air.” “ But perhaps you would not have sufficient presence of mind to——” “‘ Nonsense, my child,” interrupted Claret, “it is in just such emergencies that the medical man shows the most cools ness and self-possession.” And in order to prove this, he-proceeded to relate a num- ber of little anecdotes of his own experience, to which the young girl, with martyr-like patience, listened without once interrupting him, When he concluded, she retired to her berth ; and the gale having by this time considerably abated, the doctor rose, refreshed himself with an unusually long and deep draught from a suspicious black bottle taken from his trunk, and then made his. way to the deck for the purpose of examining the life-buoy. Clambering rather awkwardly upon the round-house, he loosened the long rope to which the buoy was attached, and was on the point of dragging the in- strument to the deck, so as to scrutinize it by the light of the lantern hung up in the mizzen rigging, when a sudden heavy roll of the ship caused him te lose his balance, and fall with the buoy into a large mincing-tub lashed to the quarter-deck and filled with salt water. Considerably affected by the liquor ‘which he had taken, and his eyes being parte. covered connmicloooks. conn