CHAPTER XXIVTHE AWAKENING
As the boat shot forward and her keel grated on the sand the crew were over the sides like a shot, seizing upon her in order to prevent the outgoing wave from carrying her along.
Then one by one the women and children were carried to the shore, and hurried to the shelter of the station, where a warm fire and something to drink in the way of coffee and tea would put new life in the shuddering mass.
The woman who had been so strangely agitated at sight of Darry seemed to be a lady of refinement, but she was almost perishing from the cold, and did not resist when they forced her to seek shelter.
Once she turned around and looked back to where Darry was busy; but when inside the house she swooned from exhaustion, to come to later and find Paul Singleton bending anxiously over her, with words of affection on his lips.
Meanwhile Darry was ready to again take his place with the rest, but Abner had been busy, andspoke to Mr. Frazer, who in turn engaged a stalwart fisherman to fill the vacancy caused by Tom's absence.
Although disappointed, Darry did not insist, for he knew the tax upon his young muscles had been severe, and if he failed it might throw the whole crew out of balance.
So he saw them set out again, with his heart in his eyes.
When they had vanished from view he walked nervously up and down the beach for a short time; then noticing the presence of a moving light not more than half a mile down the shore he remembered what he had heard Mr. Frazer say about the wreckers being abroad, looking for anything of value they could lay hands on.
Usually these men make their living by gathering up whatever may be cast on the beach after a vessel has gone to pieces, and thus far their calling is legitimate, but as a rule they are a bad class, and at times, when fortune frowns upon their efforts, many of their kind resort to desperate means for accumulating riches, even robbing the dead, and it was hinted in connection with Jim Dilks' crowd, going still further.
When a vessel is in danger of going to pieces, the passengers usually load themselves with what valuablesthey may possess in the hope of saving these in case they reach the shore in safety; so that these ghouls frequently find a little fortune upon the persons of the drowned travelers.
Darry had heard the crew of the lifeboat talking about these wreckers so frequently that he was more than curious with regard to them, and as he saw the lantern moving to and fro along the water's edge, now approaching and again retreating, he felt a sudden desire to look upon their methods of work. It was not a wise move on his part at all, for such men are as a rule desperate characters, and resent being spied upon, since such action savors too much of the law and justice in their eyes; but Darry was only a venturesome boy, who somehow never knew the meaning of the word fear, and a little saunter along the beach would pass away some of the time until the boat came in again.
So he started off, telling no one of his intention, though one man noticed him walk away, which fact proved fortunate in the end.
As he drew nearer the moving light he saw that, as he had suspected, it was a lantern held in the hand of a big man who was passing along as close to the edge of the water as he could, and surveying with the eye of a hawk each incoming billow, as though he expected to discover a floating form thatmust be snatched away ere it were carried out again.
But it was no errand of mercy that caused this human vulture to keep up his unceasing vigil; for should the body of a luckless passenger come ashore his first act would be to rifle the pockets rather than attempt to restore life.
Darry caught a glimpse of several other figures beyond, but their lanterns had evidently given out, so they were trusting to their eyes alone for seeing in the dark.
He had never as yet met big Jim Dilks, but something told him that this man was now before him, and he wondered if the son might not also be one of the other prowlers beyond, since he evidently possessed the same kind of savage instincts that characterized his father.
Darry had come as close as he deemed prudent when he saw the man start forward with a sudden swoop, and seizing some object from the inflowing wave drag it up on the shore.
There was no outcry to call the attention of others, for evidently this was a game of "every man for himself," though possibly a division of spoils might be made later on.
Horrified, Darry pressed closer, for he fancied he had seen a feeble movement on the part of the figuredrawn from the waves—doubtless alone and unassisted the swimmer could never have crawled out on the beach, but now that he was beyond reach of the waves, would the man who had snatched him ashore do the slightest thing to keep the spark of life from going out entirely?
He saw Jim Dilks bend eagerly down.
Closer still Darry pressed, unconscious in his eagerness to see that he was placing his own life in danger.
The man who would not hesitate to rob the dead might go even further in order to conceal his crime.
He saw Jiw Dilks hurriedly search through the pockets of the figure, transfer a number of articles to his own person, and then with a growl lift the body in his arms, giving it a toss that once more sent it afloat.
The terrible nature of this act brought out a half-stifled cry from the watching boy, and the wrecker, startled, wheeled to see him there.
He darted upon him like a wolf, and ere Darry could lift a hand to save himself he was struck a severe blow on the head.
After that he knew nothing more.
When he opened his eyes later he found himself in the life-saving station, and for a minute or so wondered what had happened, for as he started torise there was a severe pain in his head, and he sank back with a sigh.
Then it all seemed to pass before him.
Again he could see the savage face of big Jim, as he turned like a sheep-killing dog caught in the act, and once more Darry shivered with the terrible thought that life had not wholly departed from the wretched passenger from the ill-fated steamer at the time the wrecker tossed him back into the merciless sea.
Who had found him, and brought him here, when evidently the lawless man had intended that he should share the fate of the doomed passenger, and thus forever have his lips sealed?
Someone must have heard him sigh, for there was a movement close by, and his eyes took in the eager face of Paul Singleton.
"Bully for you, Darry! We were getting mighty anxious about you, but I can see you're all right now. It has been hard to keep Abner at his duty watching the shore. Every little while he appears at the door to ask if you have recovered your senses yet. Why, he couldn't be more fond of you if you were his own Joe," said Paul, running his hand tenderly over the boy's forehead.
"I don't understand how I got here," declared Darry; "the last thing I remember was being struckby the fist of that brute, big Jim Dilks. He had just robbed a passenger from the wreck. I saw him pull the body out of the water, clean out the pockets, and then throw the poor fellow back again. And, Mr. Singleton, it's a terrible thing to say, but I'm most sure there was life still in the body of the man he robbed when he tossed him back!"
"The scoundrel, I wouldn't put it past him a particle. And that isn't the first time he and his gang have done the same thing either. But their time has come, Darry. Even now I chance to know that the government has sent agents down here to make arrests, urged on by the women of Ashley, and before another day rolls around all of those rascals will be in the toils. You may be called on to give evidence against Dilks. But please forget all about this gruesome matter just now, my dear boy. There is something else of a vastly different nature that awaits you—some delightful intelligence, in fact."
Paul paused to let the half-dazed lad drink in the meaning of his words.
"Oh! Mr. Singleton!" he began.
"No, from this hour let it be Paul—Cousin Paul, in truth. You know, I said I wanted you to look upon me as an elder brother, but now it seems that we are actually related, and that I am your full-fledged cousin."
"My cousin! Oh! what can you mean?" gasped the bewildered Darry.
"I'll tell you without beating around the bush, then. You are no longer the poor homeless waif you used to believe yourself."
"No, that is true, thanks to dear old Abner and Nancy," murmured Darry, loyal to his good friends in this hour.
"But there is someone who has a better claim upon your affection than either Abner or Nancy, kind-hearted though they undoubtedly are. It is your own mother, Darry!" exclaimed the young man, leaning over closer as he said that word of magic.
"Mother! My mother! How sweet that sounds! But tell me how can this be? Who am I, and where is she? How did you find it out, and, oh! Paul, are yousure, quite sure? A disappointment after this would be hard to bear."
"Have no fears, Darry, there is no longer the slightest shadow of a doubt. The minute my aunt set her eyes on that crescent-shaped mark on your arm she knew beyond all question that Heaven had granted her prayers of years, and in this marvelous way restored her only child to her again. She saw you leap overboard to save that little child, and she recognized in your face the look she remembered so well as marking the countenance of her husband,now long since dead. She says you are his living picture as a boy."
"I remember some lady seizing hold of my arm after they dragged me aboard the lifeboat, but at the time I believed it must be the mother of the child, and I was anxious to get back to my place, for the boat might upset with one oar missing. And that was—my mother?"
How softly, how tenderly, he spoke the word, as though it might be something he had only dared dream about, and had difficulty in realizing now that he could claim what nearly all other boys had, a parent.
"Yes, that was my dear Aunt Elizabeth. I wired her away down in South America, where she was visiting cousins, and it has taken her quite a while to get here. She had to change steamers twice, and meant to come back here from New York by rail, when a strange freak of fortune sent that vessel upon the reef, and placed you in the lifeboat that went to the rescue. After this I shall stand in awe of the mysterious workings of Providence, since this beats anything I ever heard of. I could see something familiar in your looks, and after hearing your story sent for her on a chance. That was why I dared not tell you any more than I did. If I had only known about the history of that scar on yourarm I would have been positive. She asked me immediately about it, and when I told her it was surely there she fainted again."
"My mother! how strange it seems. Go on please, Paul," murmured the boy, reaching out and possessing himself of the other's hand, as though its touch gave him assurance that this was not one of his tantalizing dreams.
"I went in search of you, and one of the men told me he had seen you walking down the beach, as though attracted by the light which he believed was a lantern carried by a wrecker, perhaps the feared Jim Dilks. I engaged him to accompany me, and securing a lantern we hurried along. And Darry, we found you just in time, for the sea was carrying you out. I believe that wretch must have cast you into the water just as he did the body of the passenger."
"Then I owe my life to you—Cousin Paul?"
"If so it only squares accounts, for I guess I'd have gone under out there on the sound only for your coming in time. But Darry, do you think you feel strong enough to see your mother? I forced her to lie down in the little room beyond, but she cannot sleep from the excitement."
"Yes, oh! yes. Please bring her. I shall be a long time understanding it all, and trying to realizethat I am truly awake. To think that I really have a mother!"
Darry drew a long breath, and followed Paul with eager eyes as he went through the doorway into the other room.
It was dawn now.
In more senses than one the day had come to Darry.
He heard low voices, and then someone came through the door, someone whose eyes were fastened hungrily upon his face.
Darry struggled to sit up, and was just in time to feel a pair of arms around his neck and have his poor aching head drawn lovingly upon the bosom of the mother whom he had not known since infancy.
CHAPTER XXVCONCLUSION
Later on, in fragments, Darry learned the whole story. It was all very wonderful, and yet simple enough.
The old man whom he remembered so well, and who had told him to call him uncle, was in reality a brother of his mother.
He had quarreled with his sister Elizabeth's husband, after abusing his kindness, and to cancel what he called a debt, had actually stolen the only child of the man he had wronged and hated.
An old story, yet happening just as frequently in these modern days as in times of old, for men have the same passions, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Everything that money could do was done to find the man and the little boy he had kidnapped, but he proved too cunning for them all, and although several times traces were found of his being at some foreign city, when a hunt was made he had again vanished.
So the years came and went, and the child's mother was left a widow.
Hope never deserted her heart, though it must have grown fainter as time passed on, and all traces of the wicked child-stealer seemed swallowed up in mystery.
Paul had known of her great trouble, and it was the remarkable resemblance of Darry to a picture he had seen of his uncle Rudolph as a boy that first startled him.
Then came the story about the waif, and this gave him strong hopes that by the wonderful favor of Providence he had been enabled to come across the long-lost boy, his own cousin.
Their happiness was subdued, for there had been lives lost in the storm, a number of passengers and crew having been swept from the deck of the steamer by the giant waves before the coming of the life savers.
As the storm subsided by noon, our little party, increased by Abner's presence, was enabled to cross the still rough sound in the staunch motor-boat of Paul, and to Nancy's amazement appeared at her humble little home.
She heard the story of Darry's great good fortune with mingled emotions, for while she could not but rejoice with him in that he had found a mother,still, in a way, it seemed to the poor woman as though she had been bereaved a second time, for she was beginning to love the boy who had come into her life to take the place of Joe.
Still, the future appeared so rosy that even Nancy could not but feel the uplift, and her face beamed with the general joy as she bustled around and strove to prepare a supper for her guests.
In the village they had heard news.
Jim Dilks and several of his cronies were in the hands of the United States authorities, having been arrested on serious charges.
Later on they were convicted of using false beacons in order to lure vessels on the reefs for wicked purposes, and of robbing the dead cast up on the shore.
A more serious charge could not be proven, though few doubted their innocence.
Darry, or as he was compelled to call himself now, Adrian Singleton, being summoned to give evidence, helped to send the big wrecker to his well-earned solitude by telling what he had seen on the night of the last storm, and as some jewelry was found in his possession, which was identified by the wife of a passenger who lost his life, and whose body was washed up on the beach later on, there was no difficulty in securing his conviction.
As for his profligate son, he was not long in following the elder Dilks to confinement, being caught in some crime that partook of the nature of robbery, and was sent to a reformatory, where it is to be hoped he may learn a lesson calculated to make him a better man when he comes forth.
Since these happenings took place only a few years back, young Jim is still in confinement; his boon companions Sim Clark and Bowser vanished from Ashley and doubtless sought congenial surroundings in Wilmington, where they could pursue their destiny along evil lines until the long arm of the law reached out and brought them to book.
True to his word, Paul saw to it that Abner Peake was placed in charge of the big farm he owned, not a great distance away from Ashley, and here the former life saver and his family have every comfort their simple hearts could wish for, so that they count it the luckiest day of their lives when the cabin boy of the lost brigantine,Falcon, was washed up on the beach out by the life-saving station.
About once a year Abner visits his old chums out on the beach, spending a couple of days in their company and reviving old times, but on such occasions they often see him sitting by himself under the shelter of some old remnant of a former wreck, his calm blue eyes fixed in an absent-minded fashionupon the distant level horizon of Old Ocean, and at such times no one ventures to disturb him, for well they know that he is holding silent communion with the spirit of poor little Joe, who went out with the tide, and was seen no more.
Somewhere upon that broad, lonely ocean his little form has found a resting place, and so long as he lives must Abner drop a tear in his memory whenever he sets eyes upon his watery shroud.
But the Peakes are happy, and the twins are growing up to be buxom children.
There is another little laughing Peake now, a boy at that, and at last accounts Darry—it is hard to call him by any other name—heard that he is destined to be christened Joseph Darry Peake.
After all, Paul and Darry did have a chance to spend some part of the winter cruising together on the sound, although our hero later on decided that he must start in to make himself worthy of the position which was from this time to be his lot, and enrolled at an academy where his fond mother could be near him, and have a home in which he might find some of the happiness that fate had cheated him out of for so long.
No one who knows the youth doubts that he has a promising future before him, and many prophesythat he will eventually make a more famous lawyer than his father was before him.
Often Darry loves, when by himself, to look back to the days that are no more, and at such times he thinks with gratitude of the friends whom a kindly Providence raised up for him in his time of need.
Among these he never fails to include Captain Harley, the skipper of theFalcon, whose widow Darry had communicated with while he was still under the roof of the life saver's home, and whom he later on met personally, as she came on to hear all he could tell about her lost husband.
And the brave life savers on that desolate Carolina beach have not been forgotten by the grateful mother of the boy they had adopted, for during each winter there always comes a huge box filled with such warm clothing as men in their arduous and dangerous profession greatly need.
At Christmas holidays Darry, Paul and Mrs. Singleton make it a point to spend a week at Ashley, during which time they live again the stirring scenes of the past, and find much cause for gratitude because of the wonderful favors that were showered upon them in that locality.
THE END