Ragged Dick

When Dick jumps into the water to save that man's son, his reward is an amazing job opportunity. The author is making an implicit argument that the way to be successful is to be in the right place at the right time.

Had Dick not decided to take the day off, he would have still been working as a shoe-shine. Although he didn't know of the reward in store for him, when he jumped into the water he determined his destiny. Without doing that, he never would have gotten the job offer, or any job offer for that matter, considering the hard times.

There is another implicit argument in the story as well. One must be ready to take the initiative and be prepaired to do something without expecting a reward. Dick didn't know about the reward; all he knew was that he was a good swimmer and the boy needed him. Someone else could have easily beat him over the side of the ferry, but Dick didn't even pause to think about it.

Dick was in the right place at the right time and was ready to put his life on the line for a total stranger for nothing. For this he was heavily rewarded, and was given a job opportunity far greater than what he had been looking for in the first place.