Before Dick succeeded in getting to sleep he firmly resolved to relieve his father’s shoulders of some of the burden by shifting for himself, but just how he proposed to go about it was even to his own active mind an enigma. CHAPTER II "THE OLDEST BRANCH OF THE SERVICE" When Dick ran down the wharf the next morning he found Gordon and several other boys there already. He was later than he had intended; unless an early start was made their sport would be spoiled. Black-fish bite well only on the flood tide, and the row to Black Ledge, situated at the mouth of the broad river, near the entrance to the spacious harbor, was a distance of at least four miles. In order to better their time Dick and Gordon invited Donald Barry and Robert Meade, two boys of their own age, to join them and help man the oars, while Tommy Turner, a freshman at Bankley, was impressed as coxswain of the crew. Lusty strokes soon carried them away from the landing out into the sparkling waters of the river. Tommy Turner, though not a "big boy," knew his duties as coxswain, so he set his course diagonally for the opposite bank. Already the tide had turned, and to go directly down-stream would have meant loss of more time, while under the shelter of the left bank of the river the current and wind were not so strong as out in mid-channel. With expertness born of much experience he guided the little round-bottomed craft in and out amidst the river traffic. The swell from an outward-bound excursion steamer caused the rowboat to rock and toss, but not a single "crab" or unnecessary splash did the rowers make as they bent their backs gladly to their task. "Those farmers from up state on board the _Sunshine_ thought we would all be swamped sure," remarked Tommy, laughingly. "I’d like to bet that half of them never saw blue water before in their lives." Dick, stroking the crew, only grinned appreciatively at Tommy’s sally, but Donald Barry called out from his place as bow oar: "Don’t get too cocky, Tommy, for if they knew you had never learned to swim, they might well have felt uneasy about you." "I’ll learn some day, fast enough," answered Tommy, slightly chagrined at Donald’s remark, "but in the meantime, Don, if you would feather your oar better maybe the wind against it wouldn’t be holding us back so much." Tommy Turner was always ready with a "come back," as the boys expressed it, and for a while nothing more was said. Suddenly the coxswain, who had been gazing fixedly ahead for some time, gave a loud shout. "Say, fellows, the fleet is coming in! I thought I couldn’t be mistaken when I saw all that smoke way out there, and now it’s a sure thing."