CHAPTER XXIAT THE PORTTom's hunger increased as he realized that it would be impossible to get anything to eat until after considerable heavy work had been done, and he was already tired with the labors of the day; but since Sam did not complain, he would have been ashamed to speak of his own desires or needs, and followed his comrade back to where they had so hastily left the dory."It's goin' to come pretty tough on us, I reckon; but we oughter be willin' to tire ourselves a big bit, seein's this is about the best chance we'll ever have to show Uncle Ben what we're willin' to do toward squarin' up for his bein' so good to us," Sam said, as if believing his companion needed heartening, and Tom replied stoutly, forcing a smile to his lips:"Don't get it inter your head that I'm goin' to cry baby jest 'cause I can't fill myself up with things to eat. I've been hungry many a time when I didn't see any show ahead for gettin' the next day's breakfast, an' reckon I can hold out as long as you. It won't do any harm if we lay in a cargo of water. My mouth is pretty dry, an' that old pirate couldn't play any funny business with the spring."Then the boys refreshed themselves with cold water, after which they launched the dory to set about the work of hauling traps, each doing his best to make it appear that plenty of exercise was the one thing needed at that time.The catch was not as large as on the previous night, but yet they brought in so many lobsters that Sam knew from experience it would not be wise to leave such a large number in the car any length of time, and said with an air of wisdom as they neared the cove on their return:"We'd have to go to the Port even though the shanty hadn't been burned, an' if we count on gettin' there before dark it's a case of hustlin' right lively from now on. We'll take as big a cargo as can be carried in good shape, an' be off. Do you want another drink of water?""I could stow away considerable, but I reckon we'd better not stop to go to the spring. The sooner we strike the Port the sooner we'll get somethin' to eat, an' I'm growin' mighty hollow inside."It was neither a long nor a difficult task to take from the car, by aid of a gaff, as many lobsters as were needed to make up a fairly good cargo for the dory, and when this had been done the lads buckled down to the oars once more, both feeling so tired that under any other circumstances they would have believed it absolutely impossible to make the journey.With so heavy a load the boat moved sluggishly through the water, despite all their efforts, and, to add to their labor, the wind was dead ahead."It's goin' to be a long pull; but Uncle Ben says that any job can be done by stickin' at it. So don't let's look around to see how near we are, but keep on workin' the oars till we get there," Sam said with a brave effort at cheerfulness as he set the example.The lads were not inclined for conversation during the journey; both were nearly exhausted, and it required all their courage to continue at the laborious task. It really seemed as if the dory lay like a log on the water, and no matter how they tugged at the oars, which had apparently grown wonderfully heavy since morning, it seemed impossible to crawl away from the island.Tom shut his teeth tightly as he worked, while Sam, trusting that his comrade would steer the craft, kept his eyes fixed upon the bottom of the boat, striving manfully to forget that he was weary, thirsty, and hungry. The rippling of the water against the side of the dory was the only sound to be heard; the sun, although very near to setting, sent his most fervent rays across the lazy swell of the ocean as if trying to discourage the toiling lads, while the warm wind, instead of refreshing, only added to their discomfort.But, following Uncle Ben's advice, they "stuck at it" without any interval of rest, and, as a matter of course, decreased the distance between themselves and the Port by a certain number of inches with every stroke of the oars.Finally, just when the sun had sunk out of sight behind the western hills, the dory poked her nose around that point of land which formed the eastern arm, or side, of Southport harbor, and Sam said with a long-drawn sigh of relief as he pulled a trifle more vigorously at the oars:"It surely seems as if we'd been rowin' two or three days. I did think, when Uncle Ben told me I might live with him on Apple Island, that the time never could come when I'd be played out by pullin' a boat, 'cause of bein' so glad that I had a decent home once more; but if we'd been much longer rowin' over here I ain't certain as I could have stuck at it.""Don't talk about it," Tom replied with a groan. "I'm so near dead that if I stop to think I'll tumble over. It did seem a spell ago as if I was starvin'; but now I'd rather lay down an' sleep than have the best dinner that ever was cooked!"Ten minutes later the dory was made fast to the pier, and, by the rarest good fortune, the first person in Southport who learned of their arrival was Mr. Mansfield. He had just sauntered down on the wharf when Sam crawled ashore with the painter, and, as a matter of course, was curious to learn why they had come without Uncle Ben.But little time was spent in telling the story, for no sooner had Mr. Mansfield gotten an inkling of the mischief done, than he turned abruptly, almost running up the street."Now what?" Tom, who had thrown himself full length on the pier, asked with mild curiosity, being so nearly exhausted that he could not display a very lively interest in anything."I reckon he's gone to tell the folks what's been done. We'll have to wait here.""That's jest what I want to do, an' he needn't hurry back on my account, for I could stay right where I am till mornin' an' not fret myself very much."There was little need for the boys to speculate as to the reason for Mr. Mansfield's sudden departure. He returned within five minutes and at once began to ask many questions, to all of which Sam replied as well as he was able; but before having given any great amount of information his eyes closed in sleep, despite all his efforts to keep them open, and the shopkeeper exclaimed in a tone of self-reproach:"I come mighty nigh bein' a brute to keep you here talkin', when, 'cordin' to what's been said, you must have been workin' like beavers since before daybreak. Toddle up to my house an' go to bed. There ain't any chance Uncle Ben can get back within the next four an' twenty hours."Not only did Mr. Mansfield provide them with a bed, but his wife insisted on their eating a hearty meal before lying down, and when, finally, the two lads had an opportunity to crawl between the lavender-scented sheets, Tom said with a sigh of content:"It pays to get awfully tired, jest for the sake of findin' out how nice it is to go to bed."Then it was as if he had dropped into dreamland on the instant, for the words were hardly more than out of his mouth before he was breathing heavily. And Sam did not have time to realize the condition of his comrade, for he himself was lost in the blissful unconsciousness of slumber.Not until the sun had been looking in at the chamber window of Mr. Mansfield's house a full hour did the boys realize where they were, and then Sam jumped out of bed as he cried:"Just think of it, Tom, after all our work to get the lobsters here, we left them in the dory all night, an' it'll be the biggest kind of luck if any of 'em are alive now!"Very hurriedly did the boys dress, and they would have hastened out of the house on the instant if Mrs. Mansfield had not insisted on their partaking of the breakfast which had been kept so long waiting."William took care of the lobsters last night, so there's no reason why you should be in such a hurry," she said when Sam attempted to explain why they should be on the pier as soon as possible. "Captain Doak won't be brought before 'Squire Kelly till nine o'clock, an' there's nothing you can do till then.""Cap'en Doak!" Sam repeated in amazement. "Why is he to come up before the 'Squire?""Because he burned Uncle Ben's house, of course," the good woman replied sharply. "Do you suppose the people of the Port are going to allow him to carry on at such a rate? He will have a trial and be punished for what he has done, so William says."This was most pleasing news to Tom, who did not hesitate to say he "hoped the old heathen" would be sent to prison for a long time; but Sam, although believing the culprit should be punished, felt sad because the man was to answer for his misdeeds."Oh," he said, as if trying to find some excuse for the man who had abused him so long, "he ain't anywhere near so bad when he's sober.""Then it's time he was put where he can't be anything else," Mrs. Mansfield replied sharply. "I've been longing to have him brought up to answer for his tricks ever since your mother died. She, poor woman, the same as had the life worried out of her by that miserable creature!"Mrs. Mansfield was not the only person in town who believed the time had come when Captain Doak should be put where he could not give way to his appetite and his temper, as the boys learned when they went out on the street after having eaten what Tom declared was "the breakfast of their lives."The townspeople were determined that Uncle Ben's family should not longer be exposed to the vicious whims of Eliakim Doak, and the testimony of Sam and Tom, who saw him pulling away from the island shortly after the shanty had been set on fire, was sufficient to convict.The result of the fire was that the former owner of the "Sally D." received a sentence of ninety days in the county jail, in addition to paying a fine of two hundred dollars; but it was understood that if he left town at once the sentence would not be carried into effect until he showed himself again in the state.It so happened that a lumber-laden vessel was on the point of leaving the harbor bound for Cuba and on her Captain Doak took passage, thus passing out of the lives of those whom he had wronged, and from that day until now neither Uncle Ben's family, nor any citizen of Southport, has ever seen or heard of him.When the trial had been brought to an end and the angry citizens saw Eliakim leave the harbor on the Cuban-bound craft, Sam and Tom were called upon to tell over and over again the story of the previous day's good and bad happenings, and when the two lads insisted that they must set out for Apple Island in order to arrive before dark Mr. Mansfield said as he went with them to the pier:"You are to tell Uncle Ben that we of the Port will buy lumber enough to build him a regular house, an' he's to come over here after it when he gets back from Portland. Say to him that we count it our duty to make up for the mischief Eliakim has done, an' when he's ready to put up the buildin' we'll all lend a hand. I reckon we'll make it a reg'lar vacation time. You'll find that mother has sent down food enough to keep you from bein' hungry till the schooner comes back, an' it won't be any great hardship if you do have to sleep out-of-doors this night.""You've been awful good to us, Mr. Mansfield, an' we won't forget it," Sam said, as he took his seat in the dory, and Tom added:"It kinder seems as if everybody was good since Uncle Ben took us in hand, an' I'm hopin' the day'll come when I can show him how I feel on account of what he did when he started a family.""Uncle Ben Johnson is the salt of the earth, if there's sich a thing, an' the funny part of it is that it has taken us folks here at the Port so long to find it out. We've got the idee now, though, an' will keep it in mind mighty fresh."Then the journey to Apple Island was begun, the lads pulling steadily and strong after their long rest, and once outside the harbor Tom said reflectively:"I ain't so certain but that your old heathen did Uncle Ben a good turn when he set the shanty afire, 'cause now the old man will have a decent house, which is more'n would ever have come his way if he'd had to spend good money buildin' it.""That's 'cause he wants to keep all the dollars he can get to help out on raisin' a family, an' it strikes me that he's doin' it mighty fast, though I ain't certain as we can have such high times when there are a good many fellows around."Then the lads fell to discussing what would be the result after Uncle Ben's plan had been fully carried into execution, and they were not at an end of it when the dory was run up on the sand near the ruins of the shanty.Again was it time to attend to the traps, and, stopping only to catch cunners enough to serve as bait, the lads went about their task, believing that when the work was come to an end they must perforce find for themselves beds among the bushes, for it did not seem possible the "Sally" could return from Portland until another day had passed.The catch was not large on this afternoon, although the labor of hauling the pots was as great as if they had loaded the dory gunwale deep with lobsters, and the last one had been thrown into the car just as the sun sank out of sight."I reckon we'd better hustle if we count on findin' a good place for sleepin', 'cause it'll be dark in the woods. I'm—— Hello! There's the 'Sally'! Why do you s'pose she didn't go to Portland?"CHAPTER XXIIFREIGHTING LUMBEREven Uncle Ben found it difficult to remain sedate, as the head of a family should, when Sam and Tom pulled alongside. Little Joey was running fore and aft on the deck, clapping his hands as he screamed for very joy, while Mr. Rowe leaned over the rail to shout something which the lads could not understand, and the old lobster catcher tried hard to appear unconcerned, but he could hold out no longer when the boys clambered on board.Reaching out a hand to each of them he cried in a tone of triumph, as if it was no longer possible for him to keep the secret:"We got two hundred an' ten dollars for the catch, lads! Only think of that! Near to half what the 'Sally' has cost us!""An' it ain't the last two-hundred-dollar fare we'll take 'twixt now an' winter!" Mr. Rowe cried from amid the mainsail which he was trying to snug down and at the same time listen to what was being said."But how did you get back so quickly?" Sam asked. "We didn't allow to see you before to-morrow night!"Mr. Rowe could no longer attend to his work, but, emerging from the billowy folds of canvas, he cried exultantly:"We got back so soon because the 'Sally' is a reg'lar flyer! When I sailed with Eliakim I allowed she could go some, but since we've shifted her rig she don't touch the water at all—jest skims over the top like one of them 'ere flyin' fish. Why, lads, she's made as good as eleven knots ever since we parted company with you, an' if that ain't goin' some I'd like to know what you call it?""She surely is a swift craft!" Uncle Ben added emphatically, and one had only to look at his face in order to understand that a sailor's love for a beautiful vessel was taking root in his heart. "Did you lads carry a load of lobsters to the Port?""Ay, that we did, an' have only been home long enough to pull the pots," Sam replied, at a loss to know how he should break the sad news to the old man. "We had a full cargo, though I'm thinkin' we wouldn't have gone if it hadn't been for Cap'en Doak——""Has he been here again?" Uncle Ben asked in alarm.Now it was Tommy's turn to share in the story-telling, and, taking the old man by the arm, he led him aft, where a view could have been had of the shanty if it had still been standing, saying as he did so:"I reckon you can see what's been done?""What do you mean, lad? What has been done?" Uncle Ben asked impatiently, failing to note the blackened ruins."Can you see the shanty?"A cry of sorrow burst from the old man's lips, and his face suddenly paled as he understood that his home had been reduced to ashes."How did it happen, boys? How could it have burned? Wasn't you here, or did it—— No, that couldn't be, for we didn't leave any fire in the stove!""That pirate of a Doak did it, Uncle Ben!" Tommy cried passionately. "We got back just in time to see him pullin' outer the cove, an' then the shanty was in a blaze. But I'm thinkin' he won't set any more houses afire, leastways, till that vessel gets to Cuba!"As a matter of course Uncle Ben could not understand the meaning of the words and no small amount of time was spent in telling the whole story. When all the details had been given, and not until then, did Reuben Rowe speak, when, raising his hand as if taking an oath, he cried angrily:"I hope that miserable specimen of a man will know what it is to go hungry before he dies, an' if I'm anywhere around I'll chuck good grub away before givin' him the littlest bit!""Now, now, Reuben, that's bein' downright wicked," Uncle Ben cried, seizing Mr. Rowe by the arm. "We'll hope Eliakim will come in time to realize what he's about, an' turn from the evil of his ways.""Wa'al, I s'pose I'm wishin' somethin' of the same thing; but at the same time I'd like to have a hand in the turnin' of him, an' then I'll go bail he'd know it had been done!" and Mr. Rowe went back to snugging down the mainsail as if fearing he could not contain his wrath before the head of the family."Wasn't anythin' saved from the fire?" Uncle Ben asked after a long pause."Everythin' was burning when we got ashore, an' now we'll have to live aboard the schooner, I reckon," Tom replied."If the folks at the Port are goin' to furnish lumber for a new house, why not run over there to-night?" Reuben asked, ceasing work suddenly again. "The boys have 'tended to the pots an' there bein' nothin' here for us to do we may as well be savin' time.""Do as you like, Reuben, do as you like," the old man said in a sorrowful tone as he turned abruptly and went into the cabin, Mr. Rowe saying in a whisper as Uncle Ben descended the companionway:"He's takin' it mightily to heart, an' I can't say as he's to be blamed. The shanty wasn't much as houses go, but he'd built it himself, an' lived in it all his life, so to speak. It won't make any difference how good a buildin' goes up in its place, he'll allers be mournin' for the old one. Wa'al, it can't be helped now, though I do wish Eliakim hadn't been let off quite so easy. In with the anchor, lads, an' we'll make harbor off the Port before midnight. Bear a hand lively, an' perhaps it'll chirk Uncle Ben up a bit if he hears us bustlin' 'round."Not until the "Sally" was under way once more, eating up the miles on her way to Southport, did Uncle Ben come out of the cabin, and then, in the hope of cheering him ever so little, Sam went to his side, taking him by the hand."I'd try not to feel so awfully bad, Uncle Ben, for if the family grows any bigger you'd had to have another house or else left some of us out in the rain.""I know it, Sammy, I know it, but somehow I can't help feelin' mighty lonesome 'cause the shanty's gone, an' what makes it seem worse is that it wouldn't have been burned if I hadn't been so childish 'bout wantin' to go on the 'Sally's' first cruise. If I had stayed at home Eliakim never'd done sich a wicked thing.""Now that ain't certain, Uncle Ben, 'cause perhaps you'd been out pullin' pots, an' he'd had the same chance. You'll like the new house just as well after we get it built," and Sam patted the old man's hand as he would have done to soothe a distressed baby."It'll never be quite the same, Sammy boy, but I ain't got any right to brood over what can't be helped, an' I'll try mighty hard to keep it from my mind. S'pose you an' I cook supper! That'll kinder take up our attention."Little Joey came below to help the cooks, leaving Mr. Rowe and Tom to run the "Sally," and so elaborate were Uncle Ben's plans for the meal that the schooner was made fast to the dock at Southport before supper had been made ready.It was so late in the evening that the citizens of Southport were not abroad to note the arrival, and, therefore, the "family" had no visitors.It was Mr. Mansfield who discovered next morning that the "Sally" was in the harbor, and he came over the rail before a single member of the "family" had opened his eyes."I was allowin' to find you all in the dumps, when I saw the 'Sally' at the dock; but I reckon you ain't takin' it so terrible hard, Uncle Ben, seein's how you can sleep so long," the shopkeeper cried as he entered the cabin without ceremony, and the old lobster catcher replied almost cheerily:"It did strike me kinder hard at first, William, for I'd got to have a mighty friendly feelin' for the old shanty, but if the family never has any greater misfortune than that, God will be good to us.""I reckon you're right, as you allers are, Uncle Ben. Now, instead of thinkin' 'bout what's gone up in smoke, we'll look ahead to the house you're goin' to have. We here at the Port allow to chip in for the lumber, an' as soon as it has been freighted to the island, we're countin' on havin' a regular old-fashioned raisin' bee, to help you put it together. Are you ready to take on a load now?""The sooner the better," Uncle Ben replied, as if almost ashamed to accept the gift. "I'm hopin' everybody knows that we'll be mighty grateful for what's bein' done, an' if ever I get the chance to do——""You've had the chance, an' taken right hold of it, Uncle Ben. It has made us feel like small potatoes to see you tryin' to gather into a family them who needed a home, an' now we're goin' to have a share in the scheme. We'll set right about haulin' the lumber, an' I reckon the first horse-load will be here by the time you've had breakfast."It surely seemed as if every man and horse in Southport was engaged in loading the schooner, and it was hardly more than noon, thanks to the many pairs of willing hands, before the "Sally" had as much aboard as it was deemed wise to take on the first trip.The afternoon was less than half spent when the "family" were on Apple Island once more, with their schooner riding at anchor in the little cove, and now, indeed, was it necessary that every member do his utmost in the way of work. Sam and Tom set off to haul the traps, while Uncle Ben, Reuben and even little Joey, labored industriously throwing the lumber overboard that it might be rafted to the shore.It was considerably past midnight when this day's work was ended, and a more weary crew never turned into the "Sally D.'s" bunks, to be awakened next morning at daybreak that they might return to the Port for another cargo.And so this work was kept up until all the lumber was freighted. There had been no neglect of the lobster industry, even when the two boys were so tired that it seemed impossible for them to pull the dory around the island, and, as a matter of course, no fishing had been indulged in, even though all knew it might well be that they could get another large catch of mackerel. Sam had indeed proposed that they fish one forenoon out of every two, hauling the pots in the night; but to this Uncle Ben would not listen."You boys are already doin' more work than might well be expected of men, an' I don't count on drivin' willin' horses to death for the sake of gettin' a few more dollars," the old lobster catcher said, very decidedly. "Next week the folks from the Port are comin' over to stay quite a spell, an' what with feedin' them, lookin' after the traps, an' takin' a turn now an' then at carpenterin', I'm allowin' you'll have your hands full. Early Monday mornin' you two lads are to go over with Reuben after them as are willin' to help us, an' I reckon then is the time we'd best empty our car of lobsters."Therefore it was that the "Sally D." lay in the cove several days, serving the family as a home, and as Uncle Ben had planned so was it done. When the schooner made Southport early on the following Monday morning, they found waiting for them so many of the citizens that Sam was greatly alarmed lest he and Tom would not be able to cook food enough, even though they worked every moment of the time.The good people of the Port had no idea of allowing Uncle Ben to feed such an army, but had ready on the pier what Tom called a "reg'lar stack" of provisions to be put on board, and there was no question but that they counted on enjoying themselves during such time as the new house was being built.Among the belongings on the pier was a large canvas tent, in which the workmen were to sleep, and Sam said, as he and Tom were helping stow the goods on the "Sally's" deck:"What worries me is that Uncle Ben will get terribly mixed up with so many people loafin' 'round.""I reckon he'll keep himself straight when he sees the house goin' up. Leastways, he's got a mighty good idee of what's goin' to happen, for I heard him tell Mr. Rowe that he an' us two better try to get three or four bushels of clams to-night, if we can pull the pots in time. Clam diggin' is about the only part of Apple Island that I don't like," Tommy added ruefully, "an' these folks will eat a terrible big pile, I'm thinkin'.""Then you don't count on doin' it?""Don't count on doin' it? Say, Sam, what do you take me for? Do you think I wouldn't do anythin' Uncle Ben wanted, whether I liked it or not? If he asked me to stand on my head so's to hang dish-towels on my feet, you'd see me upside down from mornin' till night.""Get on there with that dunnage!" Mr. Rowe called from the quarter-deck, for he was playing the part of captain to perfection, on this morning when he had as spectators nearly every person in Southport. "Bear a hand lively, you boys, for I'm wantin' to get under way mighty quick!"This served to remind the merrymaking carpenters that they also must bear a hand. In a twinkling the stores and tent were on the schooner's deck, while half a dozen men seized each halyard, running up the canvas in a jiffy, and the "Sally" sailed out of the harbor with the jolliest lot of passengers that could have been found in a month's search.CHAPTER XXIIITHE FAMILY HOMEThe men of Southport, who had awakened to the knowledge that Uncle Ben's scheme of giving a home to boys who needed and were willing to work for one, had come to Apple Island intending to do all they could toward building such a house as would provide for the needs of the future, but at the same time they counted on mixing a good deal of pleasure with their labor.They behaved more like lads out for a holiday than staid, respectable citizens of a "slow" town. It seemed to have been agreed that the "family" should not be allowed to do any more work than was absolutely necessary, for when Uncle Ben and the boys made ready to carry the visitors ashore in the dories Mr. Mansfield said in a tone of command:"All you who live here on the island are to keep your fingers out of this job, except when it can be proven that you are really achin' to work. We'll get this truck ashore, set up the tent, an' put our dunnage inter it. I reckon that'll be enough for one day. In the mornin' we'll begin buildin', an' the family are to keep on with the reg'lar business same's if we wasn't here.""But we can set you ashore, William," Uncle Ben said pleadingly."You'll do nothin' of the kind, Benny. If there ain't anythin' better to be done go up on the cliffs an' watch us put things to rights.""Then I allow now's the time when we'd better get about the clam-diggin', an' we'll need a pile of 'em if we're to feed sich a crowd," Uncle Ben said with what was very like a sigh because his visitors were bent on working instead of pleasuring."They'll be doin' mighty well to eat up all the stuff that was put aboard at the Port," Sam suggested, hoping that it might not be thought necessary to provide so very much in the way of provisions, for clam-digging was not to his liking."I allow they've got stores enough," Uncle Ben replied placidly; "but out here they'll be lookin' for clams an' lobsters, to say nothin' of fried cunners, an' we must see to it that they ain't disappointed."Now, as any one who has tried it knows full well, there is nothing like sport in the task of digging clams, and to Sam it was the most disagreeable work that could be performed; but he set about it with a thoroughly good imitation of cheerfulness, because it was Uncle Ben who had given the word of command, and he was eager to show his gratitude for what the old man had done in his behalf. When the clam-diggers returned to the cove, their baskets filled to overflowing, the tent had been set up, the goods brought from the Port stowed away in it, and the volunteer carpenters were exploring the island, shouting and laughing like a party of schoolboys out on a holiday."It seems jest like a circus," Tommy said in a whisper to Sam, while little Joey begged that he might go nearer the tent to see it more plainly. "Say, wouldn't you like to get inside?""Yes, but perhaps they wouldn't like to have us snoopin' 'round. I reckon we'd better stay aboard the 'Sally' when there isn't any work to be done ashore, an' besides, you an' I won't have time to fool very much if we've got to cook for this whole crowd.""Hello, Uncle Ben!" Mr. Mansfield shouted from a distance. "Send your cooks up to the tent an' let 'em overhaul our stores to get what's needed for supper! I reckon it would be easier for all hands if you brought the cookstove from the 'Sally,' an' did the cookin' under canvas, eh?"Much to the delight of the cooks, and particularly to little Joey, it was finally decided that this should be done, and during that afternoon Sam and Tommy stood over the stove making clam chowder, and frying cunners as fast as Mr. Rowe could catch them, until it really seemed as if they had prepared food enough to provide every man, woman and child in Southport with at least one hearty meal.The "Sally" was almost forgotten by the boys in the novelty of the tent; but before another day had passed they were decidedly of the opinion that it was much more easy to perform the duties of cooks in the snug cabin of the schooner, than on shore under canvas.Next morning the visitors set about their task in earnest, and not only Uncle Ben, but all his family, were astonished to learn that it was the intention of the volunteer carpenters to build a large house, in which should be not less than eight bedrooms in addition to kitchen and sitting-room."I'm allowin' that your family is bound to grow mighty fast, as soon as folks get the idee of what you're about, an' so long as we're goin' to put up a new house, it's no more'n common sense to make it big enough to take care of as many as you may adopt," Mr. Mansfield said in reply to Uncle Ben's remonstrance against the erection of what he called a "reg'lar hotel.""But I shan't have anythin' to put inter the rooms," the old lobster catcher added almost mournfully."I'm allowin' the women folks will look after that part of it, Uncle Ben," Mr. Mansfield replied. "Now there's mother, she told me to put up sich a house as would shelter all the homeless youngsters you might pick up for the rest of your life, an' she allowed that the Southport Sewin' Circle had agreed to see you had furniture enough to make it look comfortable. We're goin' to put a cellar under the whole buildin', for we've got rocks in plenty for the wall. Then you must have a wood-shed that'll hold fuel for six months of fires, an' them cooks are to be put inter quarters that'll make their eyes stick out. Sammy Cushing is quite a hand at mixin' up somethin' good to eat, an' I'm kinder anxious to see what sort of a fist he can make of it with everythin' convenient to hand."It was useless for Uncle Ben to protest. The citizens of Southport had decided what was needed, and accompanied their decision with lumber sufficient to carry it into execution. Mr. Mansfield and Deacon Stubbs had even gone so far as to make rough plans for the new house, and the others were determined these should be adhered to so far as might be possible.Therefore it was that the visitors worked as had been agreed upon; Tom and Sam were kept busy from morning until night cooking food, and little Joey found it quite as much as he could do to carry to the tent the wood chopped by Mr. Rowe. Uncle Ben hauled the pots and acted as ship-keeper for the "Sally," lying at anchor in the cove, when, as Reuben said, "she oughter be out chasin' mackerel." Every person on the island was busy during all the hours of daylight, save on the Sabbath, from the day the work was begun on the family home until it was so nearly completed that all the meals were served in what Mr. Mansfield had called the sitting-room."Talk 'bout swell houses!" Tom said one evening when he and Sam were privately inspecting the building. "It's goin' to knock the spots outer everythin' 'round here, an' yet I'm thinkin' Uncle Ben had rather have the old shanty back.""'Course he had, 'cause he built that himself; but jest wait till he gets the hang of livin' in a place like this, an' then he'll be contented as a kitten."The kitchen was roomy and pleasant, as Mr. Mansfield had promised, and it really seemed to Sam and Tommy that their labors as cooks were lightened fully one-half by the many conveniences, chief of which was a plan of Deacon Stubbs' for bringing water by pipes direct from the spring into the house."It's the biggest thing anywhere 'round these parts," Tommy said in a tone of approbation on a certain evening when the people from Southport had retired to the tent, and the "family" were alone in the new kitchen."You could get a big crowd of boys in here, by stowin' 'em snug.""That's jest it, Tommy, that's jest it," Uncle Ben replied, and his tone was so mournful that the others looked at him in surprise."You see I kinder allowed that we'd go slow in pickin' up the family, so's to make certain of gettin' boys that were most in need of a home; but now we've got sich a big house, it stands us in hand to fill it up as soon as the work can be done. I've been thinkin' that I oughter hunt 'round right away to find enough for the rooms—that is, when we've got somethin' in the way of furniture to put in 'em.""Better go slow an' sure," Mr. Rowe said in a tone of caution. "One or two lads who didn't care whether they stuck by the rules an' regerlations would knock the whole scheme inter a cocked hat.""That's it, Reuben, that's jest it, an' yet what'er we goin' to do with this big ark of a house?""Leave her jest where she is, Uncle Ben," Mr. Rowe replied sagely. "In the first place, even if every room was filled chock-a-block with beds an' chairs you couldn't take care of a raft of boys yet a while. We've got to get settled down inter runnin' shape first. The 'Sally' must earn for us what'll buy provisions for the winter, else the family would go hungry durin' cold weather. I'd say that if we got to goin' by next spring it would be the most any crew could do. Then we'll shove the schooner inter some big port, like Boston or New York, an' I'll guarantee you can take your pick of lads."Uncle Ben was forced to admit that there was a deal of sound common sense in Mr. Rowe's remarks, and he said in his usual placid manner, as he led the "family" to bed on board the "Sally," after the evening devotions:"I reckon we'll let it go your way, Reuben, an' trust to its bein' the proper thing.""Proper! It ain't anythin' else, unless you're willin' to take the chances of breakin' the whole thing up. We'll be gettin' ready from now till spring, an' then we'll fill that 'ere house as full of boys as a pod is full of peas."Then came the day when the men from Southport declared that their work was done. The big tent was taken down and stowed aboard the "Sally." Such of the provisions as had not been consumed—and there was a large amount, so generously had Mr. Mansfield outfitted the party—was carried into the cellar of the new house and all was in readiness for the return trip to Southport."I'm allowin' that we've done the best we knowed how," Deacon Stubbs said, as he halted on the beach, preventing any from getting into the waiting dories, "an' all that's left for us men to do is give a name to what we've built. I move, fellow citizens, that we call this 'ere structure 'Uncle Ben's Retreat.'""Second the motion!" Mr. Mansfield cried at the full strength of his lungs, and by way of showing that the motion had been carried, the visitors gave three such hearty cheers that, as Mr. Rowe said, "the lobsters in the cars must have got quite a surprise."Uncle Ben seemed to think it necessary some one should be left to guard the new dwelling, but Mr. Mansfield declared that the whole family must go with them to Southport, for the ladies of the Sewing Circle had already insisted that they must be present when a plan, for the "housewarming" was decided upon."Now that we've got rid of Eliakim Doak, there ain't a man on this 'ere coast mean enough to harm so much as a shingle on the roof," the shopkeeper said emphatically, "an' mother has set her heart on havin' all hands of you down to the church vestry this evenin'."Then Apple Island was temporarily abandoned, and within ten minutes after the "Sally D." sailed into Southport harbor Uncle Ben and his family were being escorted by nearly the entire population, as it then seemed, to the vestry, where a dinner was being made ready for those who had just arrived.Not until evening were the details of the "housewarming" decided upon; but before that time came Tommy admitted to Sam and little Joey that he was almost sorry the good people of Southport had come to understand that Uncle Ben's work was the broadest kind of a charity and should be encouraged."I've been tryin' to get outside a little of what everybody offered me, till it seems as if I couldn't even wiggle," Tom said mournfully. "Before I struck Uncle Ben it seemed as if it would be the biggest kind of a thing if I could have enough to eat one day; but I'm beginnin' to feel as if it didn't pay to be too much of a pig."Tom did not suffer to such an extent, however, that he failed of doing his full duty toward the cake and ice cream which were served in the vestry during the evening; but Reuben Rowe noted the fact that he was ready and even eager to go when Uncle Ben announced that it was time those belonging on Apple Island should be aboard the "Sally D." for the night."It beats all how folks have changed in this 'ere town since the day I shipped with Eliakim Doak," Mr. Rowe said in a thoughtful tone when the "family" were reviewing the events of the day before getting into the schooner's bunks. "I'm allowin', Uncle Ben, that you owe a good deal of this 'ere friendly feelin' to Cap'en Doak, for if he hadn't tried to do all the harm he could, the people wouldn't have waked up to the idee that your scheme was the best ever.""We owe it all to the good Lord, Reuben. He 'moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,' an' that's the right kind of a line to keep in mind, lads, when you're feelin' down to the heel because things don't go exactly as you'd have 'em. I figgered an' figgered, tryin' to think up a plan for startin' a family, without seein' my way clear, when lo an' behold, the whole plan is pushed ahead in a far bigger way than I counted on, without my raisin' a hand, so to speak."CHAPTER XXIVTHE "HOUSEWARMING"
CHAPTER XXI
AT THE PORT
Tom's hunger increased as he realized that it would be impossible to get anything to eat until after considerable heavy work had been done, and he was already tired with the labors of the day; but since Sam did not complain, he would have been ashamed to speak of his own desires or needs, and followed his comrade back to where they had so hastily left the dory.
"It's goin' to come pretty tough on us, I reckon; but we oughter be willin' to tire ourselves a big bit, seein's this is about the best chance we'll ever have to show Uncle Ben what we're willin' to do toward squarin' up for his bein' so good to us," Sam said, as if believing his companion needed heartening, and Tom replied stoutly, forcing a smile to his lips:
"Don't get it inter your head that I'm goin' to cry baby jest 'cause I can't fill myself up with things to eat. I've been hungry many a time when I didn't see any show ahead for gettin' the next day's breakfast, an' reckon I can hold out as long as you. It won't do any harm if we lay in a cargo of water. My mouth is pretty dry, an' that old pirate couldn't play any funny business with the spring."
Then the boys refreshed themselves with cold water, after which they launched the dory to set about the work of hauling traps, each doing his best to make it appear that plenty of exercise was the one thing needed at that time.
The catch was not as large as on the previous night, but yet they brought in so many lobsters that Sam knew from experience it would not be wise to leave such a large number in the car any length of time, and said with an air of wisdom as they neared the cove on their return:
"We'd have to go to the Port even though the shanty hadn't been burned, an' if we count on gettin' there before dark it's a case of hustlin' right lively from now on. We'll take as big a cargo as can be carried in good shape, an' be off. Do you want another drink of water?"
"I could stow away considerable, but I reckon we'd better not stop to go to the spring. The sooner we strike the Port the sooner we'll get somethin' to eat, an' I'm growin' mighty hollow inside."
It was neither a long nor a difficult task to take from the car, by aid of a gaff, as many lobsters as were needed to make up a fairly good cargo for the dory, and when this had been done the lads buckled down to the oars once more, both feeling so tired that under any other circumstances they would have believed it absolutely impossible to make the journey.
With so heavy a load the boat moved sluggishly through the water, despite all their efforts, and, to add to their labor, the wind was dead ahead.
"It's goin' to be a long pull; but Uncle Ben says that any job can be done by stickin' at it. So don't let's look around to see how near we are, but keep on workin' the oars till we get there," Sam said with a brave effort at cheerfulness as he set the example.
The lads were not inclined for conversation during the journey; both were nearly exhausted, and it required all their courage to continue at the laborious task. It really seemed as if the dory lay like a log on the water, and no matter how they tugged at the oars, which had apparently grown wonderfully heavy since morning, it seemed impossible to crawl away from the island.
Tom shut his teeth tightly as he worked, while Sam, trusting that his comrade would steer the craft, kept his eyes fixed upon the bottom of the boat, striving manfully to forget that he was weary, thirsty, and hungry. The rippling of the water against the side of the dory was the only sound to be heard; the sun, although very near to setting, sent his most fervent rays across the lazy swell of the ocean as if trying to discourage the toiling lads, while the warm wind, instead of refreshing, only added to their discomfort.
But, following Uncle Ben's advice, they "stuck at it" without any interval of rest, and, as a matter of course, decreased the distance between themselves and the Port by a certain number of inches with every stroke of the oars.
Finally, just when the sun had sunk out of sight behind the western hills, the dory poked her nose around that point of land which formed the eastern arm, or side, of Southport harbor, and Sam said with a long-drawn sigh of relief as he pulled a trifle more vigorously at the oars:
"It surely seems as if we'd been rowin' two or three days. I did think, when Uncle Ben told me I might live with him on Apple Island, that the time never could come when I'd be played out by pullin' a boat, 'cause of bein' so glad that I had a decent home once more; but if we'd been much longer rowin' over here I ain't certain as I could have stuck at it."
"Don't talk about it," Tom replied with a groan. "I'm so near dead that if I stop to think I'll tumble over. It did seem a spell ago as if I was starvin'; but now I'd rather lay down an' sleep than have the best dinner that ever was cooked!"
Ten minutes later the dory was made fast to the pier, and, by the rarest good fortune, the first person in Southport who learned of their arrival was Mr. Mansfield. He had just sauntered down on the wharf when Sam crawled ashore with the painter, and, as a matter of course, was curious to learn why they had come without Uncle Ben.
But little time was spent in telling the story, for no sooner had Mr. Mansfield gotten an inkling of the mischief done, than he turned abruptly, almost running up the street.
"Now what?" Tom, who had thrown himself full length on the pier, asked with mild curiosity, being so nearly exhausted that he could not display a very lively interest in anything.
"I reckon he's gone to tell the folks what's been done. We'll have to wait here."
"That's jest what I want to do, an' he needn't hurry back on my account, for I could stay right where I am till mornin' an' not fret myself very much."
There was little need for the boys to speculate as to the reason for Mr. Mansfield's sudden departure. He returned within five minutes and at once began to ask many questions, to all of which Sam replied as well as he was able; but before having given any great amount of information his eyes closed in sleep, despite all his efforts to keep them open, and the shopkeeper exclaimed in a tone of self-reproach:
"I come mighty nigh bein' a brute to keep you here talkin', when, 'cordin' to what's been said, you must have been workin' like beavers since before daybreak. Toddle up to my house an' go to bed. There ain't any chance Uncle Ben can get back within the next four an' twenty hours."
Not only did Mr. Mansfield provide them with a bed, but his wife insisted on their eating a hearty meal before lying down, and when, finally, the two lads had an opportunity to crawl between the lavender-scented sheets, Tom said with a sigh of content:
"It pays to get awfully tired, jest for the sake of findin' out how nice it is to go to bed."
Then it was as if he had dropped into dreamland on the instant, for the words were hardly more than out of his mouth before he was breathing heavily. And Sam did not have time to realize the condition of his comrade, for he himself was lost in the blissful unconsciousness of slumber.
Not until the sun had been looking in at the chamber window of Mr. Mansfield's house a full hour did the boys realize where they were, and then Sam jumped out of bed as he cried:
"Just think of it, Tom, after all our work to get the lobsters here, we left them in the dory all night, an' it'll be the biggest kind of luck if any of 'em are alive now!"
Very hurriedly did the boys dress, and they would have hastened out of the house on the instant if Mrs. Mansfield had not insisted on their partaking of the breakfast which had been kept so long waiting.
"William took care of the lobsters last night, so there's no reason why you should be in such a hurry," she said when Sam attempted to explain why they should be on the pier as soon as possible. "Captain Doak won't be brought before 'Squire Kelly till nine o'clock, an' there's nothing you can do till then."
"Cap'en Doak!" Sam repeated in amazement. "Why is he to come up before the 'Squire?"
"Because he burned Uncle Ben's house, of course," the good woman replied sharply. "Do you suppose the people of the Port are going to allow him to carry on at such a rate? He will have a trial and be punished for what he has done, so William says."
This was most pleasing news to Tom, who did not hesitate to say he "hoped the old heathen" would be sent to prison for a long time; but Sam, although believing the culprit should be punished, felt sad because the man was to answer for his misdeeds.
"Oh," he said, as if trying to find some excuse for the man who had abused him so long, "he ain't anywhere near so bad when he's sober."
"Then it's time he was put where he can't be anything else," Mrs. Mansfield replied sharply. "I've been longing to have him brought up to answer for his tricks ever since your mother died. She, poor woman, the same as had the life worried out of her by that miserable creature!"
Mrs. Mansfield was not the only person in town who believed the time had come when Captain Doak should be put where he could not give way to his appetite and his temper, as the boys learned when they went out on the street after having eaten what Tom declared was "the breakfast of their lives."
The townspeople were determined that Uncle Ben's family should not longer be exposed to the vicious whims of Eliakim Doak, and the testimony of Sam and Tom, who saw him pulling away from the island shortly after the shanty had been set on fire, was sufficient to convict.
The result of the fire was that the former owner of the "Sally D." received a sentence of ninety days in the county jail, in addition to paying a fine of two hundred dollars; but it was understood that if he left town at once the sentence would not be carried into effect until he showed himself again in the state.
It so happened that a lumber-laden vessel was on the point of leaving the harbor bound for Cuba and on her Captain Doak took passage, thus passing out of the lives of those whom he had wronged, and from that day until now neither Uncle Ben's family, nor any citizen of Southport, has ever seen or heard of him.
When the trial had been brought to an end and the angry citizens saw Eliakim leave the harbor on the Cuban-bound craft, Sam and Tom were called upon to tell over and over again the story of the previous day's good and bad happenings, and when the two lads insisted that they must set out for Apple Island in order to arrive before dark Mr. Mansfield said as he went with them to the pier:
"You are to tell Uncle Ben that we of the Port will buy lumber enough to build him a regular house, an' he's to come over here after it when he gets back from Portland. Say to him that we count it our duty to make up for the mischief Eliakim has done, an' when he's ready to put up the buildin' we'll all lend a hand. I reckon we'll make it a reg'lar vacation time. You'll find that mother has sent down food enough to keep you from bein' hungry till the schooner comes back, an' it won't be any great hardship if you do have to sleep out-of-doors this night."
"You've been awful good to us, Mr. Mansfield, an' we won't forget it," Sam said, as he took his seat in the dory, and Tom added:
"It kinder seems as if everybody was good since Uncle Ben took us in hand, an' I'm hopin' the day'll come when I can show him how I feel on account of what he did when he started a family."
"Uncle Ben Johnson is the salt of the earth, if there's sich a thing, an' the funny part of it is that it has taken us folks here at the Port so long to find it out. We've got the idee now, though, an' will keep it in mind mighty fresh."
Then the journey to Apple Island was begun, the lads pulling steadily and strong after their long rest, and once outside the harbor Tom said reflectively:
"I ain't so certain but that your old heathen did Uncle Ben a good turn when he set the shanty afire, 'cause now the old man will have a decent house, which is more'n would ever have come his way if he'd had to spend good money buildin' it."
"That's 'cause he wants to keep all the dollars he can get to help out on raisin' a family, an' it strikes me that he's doin' it mighty fast, though I ain't certain as we can have such high times when there are a good many fellows around."
Then the lads fell to discussing what would be the result after Uncle Ben's plan had been fully carried into execution, and they were not at an end of it when the dory was run up on the sand near the ruins of the shanty.
Again was it time to attend to the traps, and, stopping only to catch cunners enough to serve as bait, the lads went about their task, believing that when the work was come to an end they must perforce find for themselves beds among the bushes, for it did not seem possible the "Sally" could return from Portland until another day had passed.
The catch was not large on this afternoon, although the labor of hauling the pots was as great as if they had loaded the dory gunwale deep with lobsters, and the last one had been thrown into the car just as the sun sank out of sight.
"I reckon we'd better hustle if we count on findin' a good place for sleepin', 'cause it'll be dark in the woods. I'm—— Hello! There's the 'Sally'! Why do you s'pose she didn't go to Portland?"
CHAPTER XXII
FREIGHTING LUMBER
Even Uncle Ben found it difficult to remain sedate, as the head of a family should, when Sam and Tom pulled alongside. Little Joey was running fore and aft on the deck, clapping his hands as he screamed for very joy, while Mr. Rowe leaned over the rail to shout something which the lads could not understand, and the old lobster catcher tried hard to appear unconcerned, but he could hold out no longer when the boys clambered on board.
Reaching out a hand to each of them he cried in a tone of triumph, as if it was no longer possible for him to keep the secret:
"We got two hundred an' ten dollars for the catch, lads! Only think of that! Near to half what the 'Sally' has cost us!"
"An' it ain't the last two-hundred-dollar fare we'll take 'twixt now an' winter!" Mr. Rowe cried from amid the mainsail which he was trying to snug down and at the same time listen to what was being said.
"But how did you get back so quickly?" Sam asked. "We didn't allow to see you before to-morrow night!"
Mr. Rowe could no longer attend to his work, but, emerging from the billowy folds of canvas, he cried exultantly:
"We got back so soon because the 'Sally' is a reg'lar flyer! When I sailed with Eliakim I allowed she could go some, but since we've shifted her rig she don't touch the water at all—jest skims over the top like one of them 'ere flyin' fish. Why, lads, she's made as good as eleven knots ever since we parted company with you, an' if that ain't goin' some I'd like to know what you call it?"
"She surely is a swift craft!" Uncle Ben added emphatically, and one had only to look at his face in order to understand that a sailor's love for a beautiful vessel was taking root in his heart. "Did you lads carry a load of lobsters to the Port?"
"Ay, that we did, an' have only been home long enough to pull the pots," Sam replied, at a loss to know how he should break the sad news to the old man. "We had a full cargo, though I'm thinkin' we wouldn't have gone if it hadn't been for Cap'en Doak——"
"Has he been here again?" Uncle Ben asked in alarm.
Now it was Tommy's turn to share in the story-telling, and, taking the old man by the arm, he led him aft, where a view could have been had of the shanty if it had still been standing, saying as he did so:
"I reckon you can see what's been done?"
"What do you mean, lad? What has been done?" Uncle Ben asked impatiently, failing to note the blackened ruins.
"Can you see the shanty?"
A cry of sorrow burst from the old man's lips, and his face suddenly paled as he understood that his home had been reduced to ashes.
"How did it happen, boys? How could it have burned? Wasn't you here, or did it—— No, that couldn't be, for we didn't leave any fire in the stove!"
"That pirate of a Doak did it, Uncle Ben!" Tommy cried passionately. "We got back just in time to see him pullin' outer the cove, an' then the shanty was in a blaze. But I'm thinkin' he won't set any more houses afire, leastways, till that vessel gets to Cuba!"
As a matter of course Uncle Ben could not understand the meaning of the words and no small amount of time was spent in telling the whole story. When all the details had been given, and not until then, did Reuben Rowe speak, when, raising his hand as if taking an oath, he cried angrily:
"I hope that miserable specimen of a man will know what it is to go hungry before he dies, an' if I'm anywhere around I'll chuck good grub away before givin' him the littlest bit!"
"Now, now, Reuben, that's bein' downright wicked," Uncle Ben cried, seizing Mr. Rowe by the arm. "We'll hope Eliakim will come in time to realize what he's about, an' turn from the evil of his ways."
"Wa'al, I s'pose I'm wishin' somethin' of the same thing; but at the same time I'd like to have a hand in the turnin' of him, an' then I'll go bail he'd know it had been done!" and Mr. Rowe went back to snugging down the mainsail as if fearing he could not contain his wrath before the head of the family.
"Wasn't anythin' saved from the fire?" Uncle Ben asked after a long pause.
"Everythin' was burning when we got ashore, an' now we'll have to live aboard the schooner, I reckon," Tom replied.
"If the folks at the Port are goin' to furnish lumber for a new house, why not run over there to-night?" Reuben asked, ceasing work suddenly again. "The boys have 'tended to the pots an' there bein' nothin' here for us to do we may as well be savin' time."
"Do as you like, Reuben, do as you like," the old man said in a sorrowful tone as he turned abruptly and went into the cabin, Mr. Rowe saying in a whisper as Uncle Ben descended the companionway:
"He's takin' it mightily to heart, an' I can't say as he's to be blamed. The shanty wasn't much as houses go, but he'd built it himself, an' lived in it all his life, so to speak. It won't make any difference how good a buildin' goes up in its place, he'll allers be mournin' for the old one. Wa'al, it can't be helped now, though I do wish Eliakim hadn't been let off quite so easy. In with the anchor, lads, an' we'll make harbor off the Port before midnight. Bear a hand lively, an' perhaps it'll chirk Uncle Ben up a bit if he hears us bustlin' 'round."
Not until the "Sally" was under way once more, eating up the miles on her way to Southport, did Uncle Ben come out of the cabin, and then, in the hope of cheering him ever so little, Sam went to his side, taking him by the hand.
"I'd try not to feel so awfully bad, Uncle Ben, for if the family grows any bigger you'd had to have another house or else left some of us out in the rain."
"I know it, Sammy, I know it, but somehow I can't help feelin' mighty lonesome 'cause the shanty's gone, an' what makes it seem worse is that it wouldn't have been burned if I hadn't been so childish 'bout wantin' to go on the 'Sally's' first cruise. If I had stayed at home Eliakim never'd done sich a wicked thing."
"Now that ain't certain, Uncle Ben, 'cause perhaps you'd been out pullin' pots, an' he'd had the same chance. You'll like the new house just as well after we get it built," and Sam patted the old man's hand as he would have done to soothe a distressed baby.
"It'll never be quite the same, Sammy boy, but I ain't got any right to brood over what can't be helped, an' I'll try mighty hard to keep it from my mind. S'pose you an' I cook supper! That'll kinder take up our attention."
Little Joey came below to help the cooks, leaving Mr. Rowe and Tom to run the "Sally," and so elaborate were Uncle Ben's plans for the meal that the schooner was made fast to the dock at Southport before supper had been made ready.
It was so late in the evening that the citizens of Southport were not abroad to note the arrival, and, therefore, the "family" had no visitors.
It was Mr. Mansfield who discovered next morning that the "Sally" was in the harbor, and he came over the rail before a single member of the "family" had opened his eyes.
"I was allowin' to find you all in the dumps, when I saw the 'Sally' at the dock; but I reckon you ain't takin' it so terrible hard, Uncle Ben, seein's how you can sleep so long," the shopkeeper cried as he entered the cabin without ceremony, and the old lobster catcher replied almost cheerily:
"It did strike me kinder hard at first, William, for I'd got to have a mighty friendly feelin' for the old shanty, but if the family never has any greater misfortune than that, God will be good to us."
"I reckon you're right, as you allers are, Uncle Ben. Now, instead of thinkin' 'bout what's gone up in smoke, we'll look ahead to the house you're goin' to have. We here at the Port allow to chip in for the lumber, an' as soon as it has been freighted to the island, we're countin' on havin' a regular old-fashioned raisin' bee, to help you put it together. Are you ready to take on a load now?"
"The sooner the better," Uncle Ben replied, as if almost ashamed to accept the gift. "I'm hopin' everybody knows that we'll be mighty grateful for what's bein' done, an' if ever I get the chance to do——"
"You've had the chance, an' taken right hold of it, Uncle Ben. It has made us feel like small potatoes to see you tryin' to gather into a family them who needed a home, an' now we're goin' to have a share in the scheme. We'll set right about haulin' the lumber, an' I reckon the first horse-load will be here by the time you've had breakfast."
It surely seemed as if every man and horse in Southport was engaged in loading the schooner, and it was hardly more than noon, thanks to the many pairs of willing hands, before the "Sally" had as much aboard as it was deemed wise to take on the first trip.
The afternoon was less than half spent when the "family" were on Apple Island once more, with their schooner riding at anchor in the little cove, and now, indeed, was it necessary that every member do his utmost in the way of work. Sam and Tom set off to haul the traps, while Uncle Ben, Reuben and even little Joey, labored industriously throwing the lumber overboard that it might be rafted to the shore.
It was considerably past midnight when this day's work was ended, and a more weary crew never turned into the "Sally D.'s" bunks, to be awakened next morning at daybreak that they might return to the Port for another cargo.
And so this work was kept up until all the lumber was freighted. There had been no neglect of the lobster industry, even when the two boys were so tired that it seemed impossible for them to pull the dory around the island, and, as a matter of course, no fishing had been indulged in, even though all knew it might well be that they could get another large catch of mackerel. Sam had indeed proposed that they fish one forenoon out of every two, hauling the pots in the night; but to this Uncle Ben would not listen.
"You boys are already doin' more work than might well be expected of men, an' I don't count on drivin' willin' horses to death for the sake of gettin' a few more dollars," the old lobster catcher said, very decidedly. "Next week the folks from the Port are comin' over to stay quite a spell, an' what with feedin' them, lookin' after the traps, an' takin' a turn now an' then at carpenterin', I'm allowin' you'll have your hands full. Early Monday mornin' you two lads are to go over with Reuben after them as are willin' to help us, an' I reckon then is the time we'd best empty our car of lobsters."
Therefore it was that the "Sally D." lay in the cove several days, serving the family as a home, and as Uncle Ben had planned so was it done. When the schooner made Southport early on the following Monday morning, they found waiting for them so many of the citizens that Sam was greatly alarmed lest he and Tom would not be able to cook food enough, even though they worked every moment of the time.
The good people of the Port had no idea of allowing Uncle Ben to feed such an army, but had ready on the pier what Tom called a "reg'lar stack" of provisions to be put on board, and there was no question but that they counted on enjoying themselves during such time as the new house was being built.
Among the belongings on the pier was a large canvas tent, in which the workmen were to sleep, and Sam said, as he and Tom were helping stow the goods on the "Sally's" deck:
"What worries me is that Uncle Ben will get terribly mixed up with so many people loafin' 'round."
"I reckon he'll keep himself straight when he sees the house goin' up. Leastways, he's got a mighty good idee of what's goin' to happen, for I heard him tell Mr. Rowe that he an' us two better try to get three or four bushels of clams to-night, if we can pull the pots in time. Clam diggin' is about the only part of Apple Island that I don't like," Tommy added ruefully, "an' these folks will eat a terrible big pile, I'm thinkin'."
"Then you don't count on doin' it?"
"Don't count on doin' it? Say, Sam, what do you take me for? Do you think I wouldn't do anythin' Uncle Ben wanted, whether I liked it or not? If he asked me to stand on my head so's to hang dish-towels on my feet, you'd see me upside down from mornin' till night."
"Get on there with that dunnage!" Mr. Rowe called from the quarter-deck, for he was playing the part of captain to perfection, on this morning when he had as spectators nearly every person in Southport. "Bear a hand lively, you boys, for I'm wantin' to get under way mighty quick!"
This served to remind the merrymaking carpenters that they also must bear a hand. In a twinkling the stores and tent were on the schooner's deck, while half a dozen men seized each halyard, running up the canvas in a jiffy, and the "Sally" sailed out of the harbor with the jolliest lot of passengers that could have been found in a month's search.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE FAMILY HOME
The men of Southport, who had awakened to the knowledge that Uncle Ben's scheme of giving a home to boys who needed and were willing to work for one, had come to Apple Island intending to do all they could toward building such a house as would provide for the needs of the future, but at the same time they counted on mixing a good deal of pleasure with their labor.
They behaved more like lads out for a holiday than staid, respectable citizens of a "slow" town. It seemed to have been agreed that the "family" should not be allowed to do any more work than was absolutely necessary, for when Uncle Ben and the boys made ready to carry the visitors ashore in the dories Mr. Mansfield said in a tone of command:
"All you who live here on the island are to keep your fingers out of this job, except when it can be proven that you are really achin' to work. We'll get this truck ashore, set up the tent, an' put our dunnage inter it. I reckon that'll be enough for one day. In the mornin' we'll begin buildin', an' the family are to keep on with the reg'lar business same's if we wasn't here."
"But we can set you ashore, William," Uncle Ben said pleadingly.
"You'll do nothin' of the kind, Benny. If there ain't anythin' better to be done go up on the cliffs an' watch us put things to rights."
"Then I allow now's the time when we'd better get about the clam-diggin', an' we'll need a pile of 'em if we're to feed sich a crowd," Uncle Ben said with what was very like a sigh because his visitors were bent on working instead of pleasuring.
"They'll be doin' mighty well to eat up all the stuff that was put aboard at the Port," Sam suggested, hoping that it might not be thought necessary to provide so very much in the way of provisions, for clam-digging was not to his liking.
"I allow they've got stores enough," Uncle Ben replied placidly; "but out here they'll be lookin' for clams an' lobsters, to say nothin' of fried cunners, an' we must see to it that they ain't disappointed."
Now, as any one who has tried it knows full well, there is nothing like sport in the task of digging clams, and to Sam it was the most disagreeable work that could be performed; but he set about it with a thoroughly good imitation of cheerfulness, because it was Uncle Ben who had given the word of command, and he was eager to show his gratitude for what the old man had done in his behalf. When the clam-diggers returned to the cove, their baskets filled to overflowing, the tent had been set up, the goods brought from the Port stowed away in it, and the volunteer carpenters were exploring the island, shouting and laughing like a party of schoolboys out on a holiday.
"It seems jest like a circus," Tommy said in a whisper to Sam, while little Joey begged that he might go nearer the tent to see it more plainly. "Say, wouldn't you like to get inside?"
"Yes, but perhaps they wouldn't like to have us snoopin' 'round. I reckon we'd better stay aboard the 'Sally' when there isn't any work to be done ashore, an' besides, you an' I won't have time to fool very much if we've got to cook for this whole crowd."
"Hello, Uncle Ben!" Mr. Mansfield shouted from a distance. "Send your cooks up to the tent an' let 'em overhaul our stores to get what's needed for supper! I reckon it would be easier for all hands if you brought the cookstove from the 'Sally,' an' did the cookin' under canvas, eh?"
Much to the delight of the cooks, and particularly to little Joey, it was finally decided that this should be done, and during that afternoon Sam and Tommy stood over the stove making clam chowder, and frying cunners as fast as Mr. Rowe could catch them, until it really seemed as if they had prepared food enough to provide every man, woman and child in Southport with at least one hearty meal.
The "Sally" was almost forgotten by the boys in the novelty of the tent; but before another day had passed they were decidedly of the opinion that it was much more easy to perform the duties of cooks in the snug cabin of the schooner, than on shore under canvas.
Next morning the visitors set about their task in earnest, and not only Uncle Ben, but all his family, were astonished to learn that it was the intention of the volunteer carpenters to build a large house, in which should be not less than eight bedrooms in addition to kitchen and sitting-room.
"I'm allowin' that your family is bound to grow mighty fast, as soon as folks get the idee of what you're about, an' so long as we're goin' to put up a new house, it's no more'n common sense to make it big enough to take care of as many as you may adopt," Mr. Mansfield said in reply to Uncle Ben's remonstrance against the erection of what he called a "reg'lar hotel."
"But I shan't have anythin' to put inter the rooms," the old lobster catcher added almost mournfully.
"I'm allowin' the women folks will look after that part of it, Uncle Ben," Mr. Mansfield replied. "Now there's mother, she told me to put up sich a house as would shelter all the homeless youngsters you might pick up for the rest of your life, an' she allowed that the Southport Sewin' Circle had agreed to see you had furniture enough to make it look comfortable. We're goin' to put a cellar under the whole buildin', for we've got rocks in plenty for the wall. Then you must have a wood-shed that'll hold fuel for six months of fires, an' them cooks are to be put inter quarters that'll make their eyes stick out. Sammy Cushing is quite a hand at mixin' up somethin' good to eat, an' I'm kinder anxious to see what sort of a fist he can make of it with everythin' convenient to hand."
It was useless for Uncle Ben to protest. The citizens of Southport had decided what was needed, and accompanied their decision with lumber sufficient to carry it into execution. Mr. Mansfield and Deacon Stubbs had even gone so far as to make rough plans for the new house, and the others were determined these should be adhered to so far as might be possible.
Therefore it was that the visitors worked as had been agreed upon; Tom and Sam were kept busy from morning until night cooking food, and little Joey found it quite as much as he could do to carry to the tent the wood chopped by Mr. Rowe. Uncle Ben hauled the pots and acted as ship-keeper for the "Sally," lying at anchor in the cove, when, as Reuben said, "she oughter be out chasin' mackerel." Every person on the island was busy during all the hours of daylight, save on the Sabbath, from the day the work was begun on the family home until it was so nearly completed that all the meals were served in what Mr. Mansfield had called the sitting-room.
"Talk 'bout swell houses!" Tom said one evening when he and Sam were privately inspecting the building. "It's goin' to knock the spots outer everythin' 'round here, an' yet I'm thinkin' Uncle Ben had rather have the old shanty back."
"'Course he had, 'cause he built that himself; but jest wait till he gets the hang of livin' in a place like this, an' then he'll be contented as a kitten."
The kitchen was roomy and pleasant, as Mr. Mansfield had promised, and it really seemed to Sam and Tommy that their labors as cooks were lightened fully one-half by the many conveniences, chief of which was a plan of Deacon Stubbs' for bringing water by pipes direct from the spring into the house.
"It's the biggest thing anywhere 'round these parts," Tommy said in a tone of approbation on a certain evening when the people from Southport had retired to the tent, and the "family" were alone in the new kitchen.
"You could get a big crowd of boys in here, by stowin' 'em snug."
"That's jest it, Tommy, that's jest it," Uncle Ben replied, and his tone was so mournful that the others looked at him in surprise.
"You see I kinder allowed that we'd go slow in pickin' up the family, so's to make certain of gettin' boys that were most in need of a home; but now we've got sich a big house, it stands us in hand to fill it up as soon as the work can be done. I've been thinkin' that I oughter hunt 'round right away to find enough for the rooms—that is, when we've got somethin' in the way of furniture to put in 'em."
"Better go slow an' sure," Mr. Rowe said in a tone of caution. "One or two lads who didn't care whether they stuck by the rules an' regerlations would knock the whole scheme inter a cocked hat."
"That's it, Reuben, that's jest it, an' yet what'er we goin' to do with this big ark of a house?"
"Leave her jest where she is, Uncle Ben," Mr. Rowe replied sagely. "In the first place, even if every room was filled chock-a-block with beds an' chairs you couldn't take care of a raft of boys yet a while. We've got to get settled down inter runnin' shape first. The 'Sally' must earn for us what'll buy provisions for the winter, else the family would go hungry durin' cold weather. I'd say that if we got to goin' by next spring it would be the most any crew could do. Then we'll shove the schooner inter some big port, like Boston or New York, an' I'll guarantee you can take your pick of lads."
Uncle Ben was forced to admit that there was a deal of sound common sense in Mr. Rowe's remarks, and he said in his usual placid manner, as he led the "family" to bed on board the "Sally," after the evening devotions:
"I reckon we'll let it go your way, Reuben, an' trust to its bein' the proper thing."
"Proper! It ain't anythin' else, unless you're willin' to take the chances of breakin' the whole thing up. We'll be gettin' ready from now till spring, an' then we'll fill that 'ere house as full of boys as a pod is full of peas."
Then came the day when the men from Southport declared that their work was done. The big tent was taken down and stowed aboard the "Sally." Such of the provisions as had not been consumed—and there was a large amount, so generously had Mr. Mansfield outfitted the party—was carried into the cellar of the new house and all was in readiness for the return trip to Southport.
"I'm allowin' that we've done the best we knowed how," Deacon Stubbs said, as he halted on the beach, preventing any from getting into the waiting dories, "an' all that's left for us men to do is give a name to what we've built. I move, fellow citizens, that we call this 'ere structure 'Uncle Ben's Retreat.'"
"Second the motion!" Mr. Mansfield cried at the full strength of his lungs, and by way of showing that the motion had been carried, the visitors gave three such hearty cheers that, as Mr. Rowe said, "the lobsters in the cars must have got quite a surprise."
Uncle Ben seemed to think it necessary some one should be left to guard the new dwelling, but Mr. Mansfield declared that the whole family must go with them to Southport, for the ladies of the Sewing Circle had already insisted that they must be present when a plan, for the "housewarming" was decided upon.
"Now that we've got rid of Eliakim Doak, there ain't a man on this 'ere coast mean enough to harm so much as a shingle on the roof," the shopkeeper said emphatically, "an' mother has set her heart on havin' all hands of you down to the church vestry this evenin'."
Then Apple Island was temporarily abandoned, and within ten minutes after the "Sally D." sailed into Southport harbor Uncle Ben and his family were being escorted by nearly the entire population, as it then seemed, to the vestry, where a dinner was being made ready for those who had just arrived.
Not until evening were the details of the "housewarming" decided upon; but before that time came Tommy admitted to Sam and little Joey that he was almost sorry the good people of Southport had come to understand that Uncle Ben's work was the broadest kind of a charity and should be encouraged.
"I've been tryin' to get outside a little of what everybody offered me, till it seems as if I couldn't even wiggle," Tom said mournfully. "Before I struck Uncle Ben it seemed as if it would be the biggest kind of a thing if I could have enough to eat one day; but I'm beginnin' to feel as if it didn't pay to be too much of a pig."
Tom did not suffer to such an extent, however, that he failed of doing his full duty toward the cake and ice cream which were served in the vestry during the evening; but Reuben Rowe noted the fact that he was ready and even eager to go when Uncle Ben announced that it was time those belonging on Apple Island should be aboard the "Sally D." for the night.
"It beats all how folks have changed in this 'ere town since the day I shipped with Eliakim Doak," Mr. Rowe said in a thoughtful tone when the "family" were reviewing the events of the day before getting into the schooner's bunks. "I'm allowin', Uncle Ben, that you owe a good deal of this 'ere friendly feelin' to Cap'en Doak, for if he hadn't tried to do all the harm he could, the people wouldn't have waked up to the idee that your scheme was the best ever."
"We owe it all to the good Lord, Reuben. He 'moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform,' an' that's the right kind of a line to keep in mind, lads, when you're feelin' down to the heel because things don't go exactly as you'd have 'em. I figgered an' figgered, tryin' to think up a plan for startin' a family, without seein' my way clear, when lo an' behold, the whole plan is pushed ahead in a far bigger way than I counted on, without my raisin' a hand, so to speak."
CHAPTER XXIV
THE "HOUSEWARMING"