A kind of sandal, shaped somewhat like the
palettes, was fastened tightly to each foot. When rigged for a swim,
Benjamin presented a very singular appearance, and the boys looked on
astonished.
"That is _you_, all over, Ben," exclaimed Fred; "no one in creation
except you would ever have thought of such an apparatus. But I
wouldn't wish myself in the water with such a rig. You are a sort of
skipper on legs, now."
"I do not expect to skip much on the water, but I expect to swim much
faster with this device than would be possible without it," replied
Benjamin.
"It is different from what I thought it was from your description,"
said John Collins, who had been looking on with particular interest.
"It looks as if you might do something with it. Go ahead, Ben, sink or
swim, spread your sails and prove that your ingenuity is genuine."
Benjamin plunged into the water, and a more interested and excited
company did not watch Robert Fulton when he started up Hudson river
with his new steamer, eighty years later, than watched him with his
new mode of swimming. He struck right out into deep water easily, and
moved forward much more rapidly than he ever did before, the cheers
and shouts of the boys making the welkin ring. Taking a circuit around
the pond for a fair trial, the boys had a good opportunity to watch
every movement and to judge of the practicability of such an
invention.
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