first. They kickedthemselves along in fine style.
"Keep your feet down," said the governor; "don't let them come above thesurface, and don't splash. Mark, you are not drawing your knees up, youare only lifting your heels; it makes all the difference."
He then made them hold on to the rail in the deepest water they couldfathom--standing himself between them and the deeper water--and afterletting their legs float, ordered them to kick there, but to keep theirarms straight and stiff, not to attempt to progress, only to practisethe kick. The object was that they might kick deep and strong, and notget into a habit of shallow kicking, as they might while walking ontheir hands on the sand. All that lesson they had to do nothing butkick.
In a day or two they were all in the water again, and after apreliminary splashing, just to lot off their high spirits--otherwisethey would not pay attention--serious business began.
"Now," said the governor, "you must begin to use your arms. You arehalf-independent of touching the bottom already--you can feel that youcan float without your feet touching anything; now you must try to floataltogether. You know the way I use mine."
They had seen him many times, and had imitated the motion on shore,first putting the flat hands together, thumb to thumb; the thumbs intheir natural position, and not held under the palm; the tips of thethumbs crossing (as sculls cross in sculling); the fingers together, butnot squeezed tight, a little interstice between them matters nothing,while if always squeezed tight it causes a strain on the wrist. Theflat hands thus put together held four to six inches in front of thebreast, and then shot out--not with a jerk, quick, but no savage jerk,which wastes power--and the palms at the extremity of the thrust turnedpartly aside, and more as they oar the water till nearly vertical.
Do not attempt a complete sweep--a complete half-circle--oar them roundas far as they will go easily without an effort to the shoulders, andthen bring them back. The object of not attempting a full sweep is thatthe hands may come back easily, and without disturbing the water infront of the chest and checking progress, as they are apt to do. Theyshould slip back, and then the thumbs being held naturally, just as youwould lay your flat hand on the table, they do not meet with resistanceas they do if held under the palm. If the fingers are kept squeezedtight together when the hands are brought back to the chest, should theyvary a hair's breadth from a level position they stop progress exactlylike an oar held still in the water, and it is very difficult to keepthem absolutely level. But if the fingers are the least degree apart,natural, if the hand inclines a trifle, the fingers involuntarily openand the water slips through, besides which, as there is no strain, thehands return level with so much greater ease. The thrust forward is soeasy--it is learnt in a moment--you can imitate it the first time yousee it--that the bringing back is often thought of no account. In fact,the bringing back is _the_ point, and if it be not studied you willnever swim well. This he had told them from time to time on shore, andthey had watched him as he swam slowly by them, on purpose that theymight observe the manner. But to use the arms properly on shore, whenthey pass through air and meet with no resistance, is very different tousing them properly in the water.
Bevis had to stand facing the shore in water as deep as his chest; thento stoop a little--one foot in front of the other for ease--till hischin nearly rested on the surface, and then to strike out with his arms.He was not to attempt anything with his feet, simply to stand and trythe stroke. He put his flat hands together, pushed them out, and oaredthem round as he had often done on land. As he oared them round theypushed him forward, so that he had to take a step on the bottom; theymade him walk a step forward. This he had to repeat twenty times, thegovernor standing by, and having much trouble to make him return hishauds to his chest without obstructing his forward progress.
Bevis became very impatient now to swim arms and legs together; he wassure he could do it, for his arms, as they swept back, partly lifted himup and pushed him on.
"Very well," said the governor. "Go and try. Here, Mark."
He took Mark in hand, but before they had had one trial Bevis hadstarted to swim, and immediately his head went under unexpectedly, sothat he came up spluttering, and had to sit on the rail till he couldget the water out of his throat. While he sat there in no good temperMark had his lesson. The governor then went for a swim himself, beingrather tired of reiterating the same instructions, leaving them topractise. On his return--he did not go far, only just far enough torecover his patience--he set them to work at another thing.
Bevis had to go on his hands on the bottom as he had done before, andlet his limbs float behind. Then he was told to try striking out withthe right hand, keeping the left on the sand to support himself. He didso, and as his arm swept back it pushed him forward just as an oar woulda boat. The next time he did it he kicked with his legs at the samemoment, and the impetus of the kick and the motion of his right armtogether lifted his left hand momentarily off the bottom, and sent himalong. This he did himself without being told, the idea of doing sowould occur to any one in the same position.
"That's right," said the governor. "Do that again."
Bevis did it again and again, and felt now that he was three-partsswimming; he swam with his legs, and his right arm, and only justtouched the bottom with his left hand. After he had repeated it six orseven times he lifted his left hand a little way, and made a quarterstroke with it too, and then jumped up and shouted that he could swim.
Mark had to have his lesson some yards away, for Bevis had so splashedthe water in his excitement that it was thick with the sand he haddisturbed. Bevis continued his trials, raising his left arm a littlemore every time till he could very nearly use both together. They werethen both set to work to hold on to the rail, let their limbs float, andstrike out with one arm, alternately left and right, kicking at the samemoment. This was to get into the trick of kicking and striking out withthe hands together. Enough had now been done for that morning.
They came up again the next day, and the governor left them this timealmost to themselves to practise what they had learnt. They went ontheir hands on the sand, let their limbs float, and by degrees began tostrike out with both hands, first lifting the left hand a few inches,then more, till presently, as they became at home in the water, theycould nearly use both.
The next time they bathed the governor set Bevis a fresh task. He wasmade to stand facing the shore in water as deep as his chest, then tolean forward gently on it--without splash--and to strike out with bothhis arms and legs together. He did it immediately, at the first trial,but of course stood up directly. Next he was told to try and make twostrokes--one is easily made, but the difficulty is when drawing up theknees and bringing the hands back for the second stroke. The chin isalmost certain to go under, and some spluttering to follow. Bevis didhis best, and held his breath, and let his head go down well till hedrew some water up his nostrils, and was compelled to sit on the railand wait till he could breathe properly again.
Mark tried with exactly the same result. The first stroke when the feetpushed from the ground was easy; but when he endeavoured to draw up hisknees for the second, down went his head.
The only orders they received were to keep on trying.
Two days afterwards they bathed again, but though they asked thegovernor to tell them something else he would not do so, he ordered themto try nothing but the same thing over and over again, to face the shoreand strike out. If they liked they could push forward very hard withtheir feet, if it was done without splash, and the impetus would lastthrough two strokes, and help to keep the body up while they drew uptheir knees for the second stroke. Then he went for a swim across tothe Nile and left them.
They tried their very hardest, and then went on their hands on the sandto catch the idea of floating again. After that they succeeded, but sonearly together that neither could claim to be first. They pushed offfrom the ground hard, struck out, drew up their knees and recoveredtheir hands, and made the second stroke. T
hey had to hold their breathwhile they did it, for their mouths _would_ go under, but still it wasdone. Shouting to the governor to come back they threw themselves atthe water, bold as spaniels dashing in, wild with delight.
"You can swim," said the governor as he approached.
"Of course we _can_," said Bevis, rushing out in the field for a danceon the sward, and then back splash into the water again. That morningthey could hardly be got away from it, and insisted on bathing next daywhether convenient or not, so the governor was obliged to accompanythem. This time he took the punt, and let them row him to thebathing-place. The lake was too deep there for poling. They had beenin boats with him before, and could row well; it is remarkable thatthere is nothing both boys and girls learn so quickly as rowing. Themerest little boy of five years old will learn to handle an oar in asingle lesson. They grounded the punt and undressed on the sward wherethere was
Bevis: The Story of a Boy Page 18