Helena"! She was tethered
by a rope to the rock, and could not escape without help. The tide
was rising, and the rock barely visible above the water. In a few
minutes my dog would be drowned. No boat was near at hand, and
there was nothing for it but that I should swim out to the rescue,
so I had to strip there on the jetty and plunge in. The swim was a
long one, and I reached the rock only just in time. The dog had
been marooned on that little island, but Tom Kinlay had fastened up
the boat and gone home, caring nothing, and neither of the other
lads dared so far offend him as to attempt to rescue poor Selta
without his permission.
As I sat fishing on the pier, I was thinking of Kinlay's attitude
towards me, and wondering if I should ever be able to hold my own
against him in our outdoor intercourse as easily as I certainly
could hold it in our class at school. But soon I was interrupted by
feeling another twitch at my line. I hauled in another sillock; and
having now completed my two dozen fish, I gathered them and my
lines together, thrust my fishhooks into my trousers' pocket, and
went off to school, only staying a few minutes on the way to give
the fish to my sister Jessie, and get my slate and books in
exchange.
Chapter II. Andrew Drever's School
Our schoolhouse was situated on the braeside above the main street
of Stromness.
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