Ready About by Oliver Optic

Mr. Fred Ripples seemed to be very much surprised when he found himself in the lake instead of on the deck of the La Motte. He had come out of the cabin-window backwards, so that he could get hold of the taffrail above his head, without turning his body. The instant he placed his hand on the rail, Dory delivered the blow with his stick. He did not strike hard enough to break his hand, but only with force sufficient to make him let go.

As this hand, after he had passed out of the window far enough to reach the rail, was all that supported him, he rested upon nothing the moment he released his hold. When he went down into the water, he manifested his surprise by a loud yell. As he appeared to be alarmed, Dory was afraid he would be drowned, for the rough water was not favorable to the restoration of one's lost self-possession.