70 The Life Worth Living 



another hour and then sent the launch to 

 tow him in. He was quiet and humble for 

 twenty-four hours. 



Last summer that same boy brought his 

 mother home through a wild, stormy night, 

 over miles of coaming seas in a naphtha 

 launch. He sat quietly in the stern, ran the 

 engine, and steered the boat without a com- 

 pass over twelve miles of black, crooked, 

 foaming channel without once running 

 ashore. He was only fourteen and his 

 mother is a good sailor, but more than once 

 the winds heard him say with quiet author- 

 ity: 



"Come, come, Mamma, don't be silly; 

 there's not the slightest danger." 



Next morning his mother looked at him 

 long and tenderly with softened eyes. She 

 had not met him before. 



There is nothing like a boat to develop a 

 boy's executive ability, and his self-reliance 

 within the limits of reason. Watch him 



