The boys were eager to enter on this, their first real detail, and, in the rush to gain the deck of the tug, young Potter slipped from the rail and fell with a mighty splash into the water.

"Man overboard!" bawled his nearest mate, and "Man overboard!" echoed one hundred and fifty voices.
There was a scramble for the side, and the tug's deck hand, assisted by several of our fellows, fished Potter from the river with a boat hook.
"Hereafter, please ask permission before you leave the ship," facetiously remarked the officer in charge.
"Humph! as if I meant to do it," grunted Potter, wringing the East River from his duck shirt.
We caught our first view of the "Yankee" as we steamed past the cob dock at the yard.

We were favorably impressed at once.

She is a fine-looking ship, large, roomy, and comfortable, with lines which show that she is built for speed.

As her record is twenty knots an hour, the latter promise is carried out.