A line connected the mules with the boat, which was drawn slowly and steadily through the water.

James felt the responsibility of his situation.

It was like going to sea on a small scale, though the sea was but a canal.

At all events, he felt that he had more important work to do than if he were employed as a boy on one of the lake schooners.
James was at this time fifteen; a strong, sturdy boy, with a mass of auburn hair, partly covered by a loose-fitting hat.

He had a bright, intelligent face, and an earnest look that attracted general attention.
Yet, to one who saw the boy guiding the patient mule along the tow-path, it would have seemed a most improbable prediction, that one day the same hand would guide the ship of State, a vessel of much more consequence than the humble canal-boat.
There was one comfort, at any rate.