MY FIRST CRUISE 



213 



resolutely refused to go on without 

 both anchors. 



I was beginning to work up quite an 

 enthusiasm for motor-boating* by this 

 time, and was learning how to run the 

 boat myself as fast as Billy could teach 



connecting rod we ran into Bridge- 

 port harbor on one cylinder and man- 

 aged to get a new connecting rod fitted 

 at a machine shop. It cost us a few 

 dollars, but Billy made me pay half, as 

 he claimed I was as much responsible 



Wlmm 



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m 



IN WINTER QUARTERS 



me. Sailing may be good sport, but 

 when there is a breeze there is too much 

 motion for me, and when there is no 

 breeze you get stuck miles away from 

 anywhere, but in a motor-boat you are 

 independent of breeze, and, provided 

 your gasolene holds out, you can get 

 anywhere. Only once did we have any 

 real trouble with the engine, and that 

 was when we were going along at 

 pretty near full gait, and suddenly one 

 of the connecting rods let go and be- 

 gan threshing around in the base like a 

 flail. I thought it would go through the 

 bottom of the boat and that we should 

 have to swim ashore, but Billy, who 

 was in the cabin at the steering wheel, 

 jumped aft and managed to stop the 

 engine before any serious damage had 

 been done. After tying up the broken 



for the accident as he was, and that was 

 not at all. Billy's awful mean in some 

 things, but it was his boat and he was 

 captain, so I did what I was told. 



The run across the Sound from the 

 Connecticut shore to the top of Long- 

 Island kept us on the lookout. It was 

 getting late when we started, and we 

 had to cross the tracks of the Sound 

 steamers. We passed within call of two 

 or three of them, and Billy tried to 

 scare me by running into their wakes, 

 so as to make our boat jump up and 

 down in a way that made our dishes 

 rattle. 



We got clear across without acci- 

 dent, however, and then began our 

 homeward trip, putting into a number 

 of those beautiful little harbors along 

 the coast. We fouled our propeller in 



