1. The audience is interested and supportive of Tyrese.
2. They have more education than Douglass and are willing to teach him.
Explanation:
When Tyrese dove in and started swimming with his opponents, the people became attentive to his “steady progress” and silently waited and wished for all swimmers to make it to the end, including Tyrese, which indicates that the audience was interested and supportive of Tyrese.
This conclusion is supported by the fact that Douglass saw the boys as “teachers” from whom he could learn to read. And as he mentions, “With their kindly aid,” he succeeded in his goal of reading.