imed Ernest; "now I must go home
and read as hard as I can to make up for lost time."

"You will read all the better, as I said, and come as often as you can;
we will do our best to get back so that you may not lose all the day."
This was said by Ellis as they parted.

The next time Ernest came down to sail in the "Fairy" he found Arden,
whom Ellis, having met at Ryde, had invited to join them. Arden was a
very nice little fellow; the only and treasured child of his father and
mother, and had always been delicately nurtured; too delicately, I
suspect, for he had been prevented from engaging in many of the manly
exercises which are so important in fitting a boy to meet the rough
usage of the world. He could thus neither climb nor swim, and as Ellis
said, was very much like a fish out of water on board a boat, though he
was very unlike one in the water. He was, however, now anxious to
remedy some of his defects, and finding sailing pleasant, was glad to
accompany Ellis whenever he asked him.

The old schoolfellows got on board, as merry and happy as lads who feel
conscious that they have been working hard and doing their duty can be.
Those, I hold, who are viciously employed and neglecting their duty can
never be happy. The wind was from the same quarter as the last time
Ernest was on board, though there was rather more of it. The "Fairy"
having been got under way, stood over to the north shore, and then
tacked and stood towards Cowes. As she bounded buoyantly over the
waves, the spirits of the three schoolfellows rose high. Ernest added
considerably to his stock of nautical knowledge, while Arden was
exercising his muscles by climbing up the rigging, hanging on to the
shrouds by his hands, and swinging himself backwards and forwards. All
this time the breeze freshening, the gaff-topsail had just been stowed;
old Hobbs was at the helm, and Ellis himself was to windward, when
Arden, in the pride of his newly-acquired accomplishment, as he was
running forward on the lee-side, as he said, to take a swing on the
shrouds, his foot slipped, he lost his balance, and before he could
clutch a rope, over the slight bulwarks he went, head foremost into the
water. Ernest was sitting on the same side of the little vessel. Quick
as thought, before Ellis, who had been looking to windward, knew what
had happened, or Arden could cry out, Ernest sprang overboard. He knew
that every instant would increase the difficulty of savi