TONY HAMILTON — HERO.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 68, 21 March 1934, Page 16

TONY HAMILTON — HERO.

HOW THE BETSY JANE WAS SAVED.

GOOD CONCLUSIONS SUPPLIED BY COMPETITORS.

Dear Boys and Girls, — In the story published in these pages a fortnight ago, Tony Hamilton and his young brother were left in an unenviable position. With the barge drifting helplessly in the darkness, with every rock, every craft afloat in that part of the river, with the very bank itself spelling danger, the twelve-year-old son of the barge owner could be forgiven if he knew panic when the full realisation of his position came to him. Barges are reputedly clumsy craft, and Tony undoubtedly had his work cut out to save the ship and his brother. Some competitors added to Tony Hamilton's troubles by running the Betsy Jane into a storm, whilst others, with kinder thought, sent the boat drifting into calm waters where it could be secured with comparative ease. The majority of contributors saw the wisdom of staying aboard the boat and endeavouring to keep it stationary in some way. A distress signal was also indicated, and many and varied were the means suggested. It is highly improbable that rockets would be carried upon a barge, but one competitor overcame this difficulty by providing the hero with a parcel of fireworks for a birthday present. Audrey de Berry, who captured the first prize, took the trouble of finding out something about Troy atnd the route over which the barges travel. • In her entry Tony did the sensible thing by tieing a bell to the ship's rail in such a way that it would ring constantly and attract attention, then tried to steer the boat for some lights which he could see in the distance. It might be expected that Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton would not rest until they had found the "barge when once they discovered it had drifted, and Tony was found by a rescue party in the early hours of the morning. Ronald Mayhill, who captured second place, contrived to get the Betsy Jane into a stretch of rough water and showed that he had some knowledge of yaching by improvising a sea anchor with the help of an old bucket used for feeding the horses upon the barge. It was Kathleen Warren's idea to provide Tony with a small rowing boat as a birthday present, and in this making him row to safety. According to Joan Pain's ending the barge drifted close to the bank, and Tony swam a horse ashore with a rope. In the conclusion supplied by the author of the story, Tony improvised a sail and steered the barge to safety. Whilst boys and girls used their imaginations to conjure up methods of rescue, they did not allow them full play, and consequently the majority of endings did not create t impossible situations. Judging by the entries received, most Budgetites would be quite dependable if called upon to act in such an emergency— that is if one can think as well in the scene of action as one can upon paper. ■^ >J Another interesting competition has / j/ /T . been arranged for next week. For full particulars see the announcement which appears elsewhere on lliis page. m—