"YOU LUBBERS!" CAPTAIN EPH SCREAMED."YOU LUBBERS!" CAPTAIN EPH SCREAMED.
"If I had, I'd pull this 'ere dory all the way to the mainland for the sake of reportin' 'em as a crew of lunatics what ought'er be lockedup before they drown themselves! It was some pleasure craft, manned by a lot of idjuts who most likely think they are sailormen because of once havin' sailed a toy boat in a wash-tub," and Captain Eph took up the oars again. "I reckon we'll let that put an end to our fishin' for this day."
Sidney was by no means sorry to go back to the ledge; he had begun to realize what deadly dangers might lurk behind that dense, gray vapor, and was eager to be in the comparative security of the light-house once more.
Captain Eph did not cease scolding at the "imitation sailors," as he called them, until the bow of the dory was run into the narrow channel between the rocks, where Mr. Peters could be dimly seen at work on the motor boat.
"Did you find out what steamer that was which went past here a little while ago?" Mr. Peters asked without raising his head, and the old keeper remained silent, as if he had cause for complaint against the first assistant.
Then Captain Eph proceeded to haul the dory up into the cement boat-house, by the aid of the windlass, Sidney assisting to the best of his ability, and Mr. Peters repeated the question.
Not until the fish had been laid out on the rocks ready for cleaning,and the boat properly cared for, did the keeper speak, and then he told the whole story to his assistant, concluding by saying:
"The master of that 'ere craft ought'er lose his certificate, an' spend the rest of his nat'ral life in jail, to prevent him from doin' mischief. The idee of cruisin' 'round here without knowin' where this light was!"
"Most like he got mixed up by the fog, an' was goin' it blind," Mr. Peters suggested so calmly that Captain Eph really lost his temper, and cried angrily:
"If you don't hold your tongue, Sammy, I shall begin to think you're almost as big a fool as the cap'n of that 'ere steamer!" and having thus apparently relieved his mind, the keeper marched stiffly toward the tower.
"Chafin' under the collar, eh, lad?" Mr. Peters said with a smile, to Sidney. "I allow he's had reason to get riled, an' it did him a whole lot of good to blow off on me. Wa'al, I'm glad I gave him the chance, for it didn't hurt a little bit, an' he'll feel a heap better."
Then Mr. Peters turned his attention once more to the work in hand, and Sidney was doubtful as to whether he should follow the keeper, or remain where he was, until Uncle Zenas came out of the tower, saying as heapproached the lad:
"That 'ere fool steamer has riled Cap'n Eph so bad that I don't reckon there's any chance he'll raise his hand towards cleanin' these fish, an' the whole brunt of the work falls on me, as it allers does. Come with me, Sonny, if you've got nothin' better to do, an' I don't reckon you have, 'cause there's precious little goin' on 'round here, 'cept when the inspector comes."
"How often does he visit you?" Sidney asked, thinking it necessary to do something toward starting a conversation.
"He makes a reg'lar inspection of every blessed thing four times a year, an' sometimes the tender comes oftener to pay us off; but we can't really count on that last."
"Don't you ever go to the mainland on a vacation?"
"Oh, bless you, yes, every once in a while. I was off three years ago last July, an' the year before that Cap'n Eph went; but Sammy sticks here pretty close. He allows that it makes a man flighty to go gallivantin' 'round as much as I do, but I tell him he's so flighty already that he couldn't well be any worse."
"Could you go oftener if you wanted to?"
"Bless you, lad, yes, so long as two were left behind to look after thelight; but 'cordin' to my idee we're away as much as is good for us."
"Don't you ever get lonesome, especially in the winter, when no one can land on the ledge?" Sidney asked, and Uncle Zenas replied as if in surprise.
"Why should we? Ain't three of us enough for company? When all hands get to loafin' 'round the kitchen I think it's reg'larly crowded. The fact of the matter is, Sonny, we don't really have time for anything of that kind. What with keepin' the place cleaned 'cordin' to the rules an' regerlations, an' doin' the odd chores, about all the time is so took up we couldn't be lonesome if we wanted to; but we don't."
Uncle Zenas had been industriously cleaning the fish while talking, and the task was nearly finished when, after a long time of silence, Sidney asked timidly:
"Had you just as soon tell me why all the crew call me 'Sonny,' when my right name is Sidney?"
"Wa'al, I can't say, 'cept that Cap'n Eph is allers talkin' 'bout his little Sonny, what died ever so many years ago, an' when he gave the name to you, it come kind'er nat'ral for Sammy an' me to use it."
Sidney dimly understood that Captain Eph had done him a great favor by calling him Sonny, and from that moment, while he remained on Carys'Ledge, he felt in a certain degree slighted when any other name was bestowed upon him.
Uncle Zenas explained that only a few of the fish would be cooked at once, while the remainder were to be put into pickle until the sun shone, when, spread out on the rocks, they could be cured.
"Then they'll be somethin' worth talkin' about," the cook said as Sidney helped him carry into the tower such of the morning's catch as were to be served for dinner. "Folks ashore will eat most anything that looks like a salt fish, an' think it's jest what it ought'er be, the poor, ignorant things! I'll show you some with pork scraps that'll make your eyes water, if you stay here long enough."
At this point Captain Eph came down from the upper portion of the tower looking as calm and contented as before the experience on the shoal, and, noting the change, Uncle Zenas asked as he set about frying the fish:
"Feel better now?"
"Indeed I do," the keeper replied emphatically. "I've writ down in the log all I know about the lubbers what came so near stavin' in our dory, an' if the Board don't do somethin' toward stoppin' sich recklessness, it'll be because they don't care anything 'bout Government property an' them as are hired to look out for it."
"But how can anything be done when you don't know the name of thesteamer?" Uncle Zenas asked in perplexity, and Captain Eph replied sharply:
"It ain't for me to show the Government how things should be done. I've let the Board know how they came near to losin' a light keeper, an' it's their business to put a stop to sich fool work as runnin' full speed between the buoy an' the ledge. Wa'al, Sonny," and the keeper turned toward Sidney, "what's your idee of deep-sea fishin'?"
"There's lots of fun in it; but I believe that I'd rather not go out again while the fog is so thick."
"The fog ain't half so bad as imitation sailormen; but it isn't likely we'll need to go again very soon, because Uncle Zenas has got all the fish he can take care of for quite a spell. We'll have fresh cod for dinner, corned cod for breakfast, an' so on till there's a chance for boiled salt cod with plenty of pork."
When a lad is eager to be of assistance to those around him, there is always ample opportunity, and during the remainder of this day Sidney found something with which to occupy his time. More than once was he able to render valuable service in the work of repairing the boat; Uncle Zenas declared that the lad had "helped him out wonderfully," and Captain Eph discovered that the visitor's penmanship was very much more legible than his own, therefore the "report" to the Board relative tothe coming of a boat belonging to the schoonerWest Windwas copied neatly, with much advantage, so far as the general appearance of the document was concerned.
At the supper table Mr. Peters announced that his task would be completed by noon of the next day, and proposed that Sidney try the motor to make certain it was in running order.
"Don't undertake to leave the cove, Sonny," Captain Eph said quickly, "unless it so be that this 'ere fog mull lifts, in which case I'll go with you."
"I'll undertake to run that boat to the mainland, fog or no fog!" Mr. Peters cried. "Do you mean to say, Cap'n Eph, that you allow to wait for clear weather before we take your report ashore?"
"If you can run the motor, Sammy, you're at liberty to make the trip any time you please; but I won't allow Sonny to take chances," the keeper said very decidedly.
"Perhaps you think I can't be trusted to steer for him even in fair weather?" Mr. Peters cried impatiently.
"So far as runnin' a boat from here to the mainland, I'd trust you, Sammy, in any weather, day or night, for there's nobody who could do it better; but for all that, when Sonny runs the motor, I shall be at thehelm every time, for I ain't takin' any chances."
"Do you mean to say I can't go ashore with him?"
"Not a bit of it, Sammy. In fair weather there's no reason why both of us shouldn't leave the light, so long as Uncle Zenas stays on duty; but Sonny don't go away from this ledge without me, until his own father comes after him, an' then all hands of us'll be sorry to part with the little shaver."
Captain Eph spoke in a tone which told his comrades that he would not listen to any argument, and Mr. Peters looked as if he was on the verge of a fit of the sulks, when Uncle Zenas said placidly, probably with the idea of restoring good humor:
"I think it would be a proper plan for both of you to go; by startin' in the mornin' after the lantern is cleaned, you should be back by noon, an' if two are ashore, we can get a lot of shoppin' done. There are a good many things I'm needin' that the Board don't furnish."
Captain Eph suggested that a list be made of the articles needed, and Sidney wrote as the others directed, until Mr. Peters forgot that he had been displeased at the idea of Captain Eph's making one of the party,and laid so many plans for the "outing" that a full week would not have sufficed to carry them all into execution.
That night Sidney tried to persuade the keeper to sleep in his own room, and let him use one of the beds on the upper floor; but Captain Eph was so emphatic in his refusal that the lad could do no less than hold his peace.
He did not sleep very soundly on this night, however, because of being eager to go on watch with the keeper. It seemed as if he awakened every ten minutes, and strained his ears to detect any sound which betokened the changing of the watches, while twice he crept softly to the head of the stairs to make certain Captain Eph was yet in bed.
It seemed to the lad like a piece of rare good luck that he chanced to be awake when it was time for the keeper to go on duty, and then, dressing hurriedly, he crept up to the watch-room, enjoying it hugely when the old man started in surprise as his footstep sounded on the floor.
"Didn't think I could waken, did you?" he cried gleefully, and Captain Eph took him in his arms as he replied:
"I didn't allow you should, if I could help it, because there's no reason for you to turn out so early."
"But I had rather; it makes it seem as if I was of some use here,instead of being a loafer."
"Bless your soul, Sonny, you'd be of use if you didn't do more than let us old shell-backs look at you," and Captain Eph seated himself in the chair, rocking the lad as if he had been a baby. "You never can know how much good it has done us to have you here. If it wasn't for the sore heart I know your father has this minute, I'd thank God you got lost in the fog, an' pray that you might never find your way off this 'ere ledge so long as I lived."
"You're mighty good to me," Sidney said, at a loss for words.
"It's me who's gettin' all the good out of it," Captain Eph replied with a vain attempt to speak in a careless tone. "Say, you don't mind if I rock you here on my knee while there's nobody by to see us, do you, Sonny? You put me in mind of a little shaver who spent a good many hours in my lap an' it kind'er makes me feel better to put my arms around you."
"Mind it, of course I don't, except that I'm glad to have you hold me," Sidney cried, guessing something of that which was in the old man's heart, and laying his head on the keeper's shoulder.
The clock which regulated the flashing of the light ticked loudly; the boom of the surf against the black reef sounded like distant thunder; but Captain Eph heard nothing save the soft breathing of the lad afterhe fell asleep, and saw nothing save the face of the "little shaver" against which he pressed his lips from time to time, while his eyelids glistened in the lamp-light as if they had been wet with dew.
Mr. Peters was not mistaken as to the time when he would finish the taskof repairing the motor boat, and at the dinner-table on the day after Captain Eph and Sidney had had such a narrow escape from being run down in the fog, he announced that his work was at an end.
"She's in as good a condition as I can ever put her, an' outside of a reg'lar ship carpenter, I'd like to see the man who would do a neater job. When she's had a coat of paint, it would puzzle a Quaker lawyer to make out to tell that she'd ever been stove."
"There's one thing I like about our Sammy," Uncle Zenas said in a confidential tone to Sidney. "He'll never be hung because of not blowin' his own horn loud enough, an' that's really the fact."
"On this 'ere ledge a man has got to speak for himself, else there's danger of forgettin' whether or no he's alive," Mr. Peters replied in a placid tone. "It ain't often I get a chance for horn-blowin', owin' to the noise you an' Cap'n Eph make about yourselves. What do you say tohavin' a try at the motor, Sonny?"
Sidney looked toward Captain Eph inquiringly, and the latter replied.
"I can't see as there's anything to hinder, pervidin' you don't run outside the cove. All you want to know is whether it's in workin' order, an' that shouldn't take many minutes. If it so be that we do run over to the mainland, it's my opinion that the voyage can be begun within the next twenty-four hours, for this 'ere fog storm is about at an end, 'cordin' to the looks of things."
Therefore it was that as soon as Sidney had eaten dinner he went to the narrow opening in the rocks where the motor boat was moored at such a distance from the foot of the ways that there could be no danger the waves would dash her against the timbers.
Mr. Peters hauled the little craft in so that the lad could leap aboard from the rocks, and while he examined the motor according to the instructions of theWest Wind'sengineer, Captain Eph and Uncle Zenas came down on the reef as spectators.
It was not necessary to spend many minutes in order to learn if the machinery was in working order. When Sidney applied the spark which ignites the gas, the screw immediately began to revolve, and he had nodifficulty in sending her ahead or astern at will.
"I reckon there's no great need of your spendin' very much time over that end of the business," the keeper said in a tone of satisfaction. "You an' Sammy had better give the engine a thorough cleanin', an' when that has been done I'll try to answer the questions you asked this mornin' about the light, if you come up into the lantern."
Then Captain Eph went back to the tower, and when the two were busily engaged obeying orders, Mr. Peters asked curiously:
"What did the cap'n mean, Sonny, about answerin' your questions?"
"I wanted to know about the lens," Sidney replied. "I can't understand why it is any better to have all those glass rings around the light, which make so much work for the cleaners, than it would be if it was one solid globe."
"So Cap'n Eph thinks he can explain all that, does he?" Mr. Peters said with a queer gurgle in his throat, much as if he were choking. "Wa'al, all I can say is, if he does, it'll be a good deal more'n I've ever heard of his doin' yet. He'll spin a lot of stuff 'bout bendin' the rays, an' after he gets through you won't know quite as much as you did before."
Because he did not understand the meaning of Mr. Peters' remark, Sidneyremained silent, and shortly after, the motor having been cleaned thoroughly, he went into the lantern, where he found the keeper awaiting him.
Captain Eph had before him several open books, as if he had been refreshing his memory on the subject of lenses, and immediately Sidney appeared, he said, in an apologetic tone:
"I don't count on bein' able to give you the idee as to the work of the lenses sich as a man ought'er; but I'll try my best, an' if I fail you won't be any worse off than you are now. In the first place this 'ere is what is known as a light of the first order, meanin' the most powerful in the service, an' the lens alone cost about eight thousand dollars. The middle part of the lens is made up of what's known as 'refractors,' which, 'cordin' to my way of tellin' it, are rings of glass makin' a hollow cylinder six feet in diameter, an' thirty inches high. Below it, as is printed here," and Captain Eph pointed with his thumb to one of the open books, "are six triangular rings of glass, ranged in a cylindrical form, an' above it, a crown of thirteen rings of glass, formin' by their union a hollow cage composed of polished glass, ten feet high, an' six feet in diameter, like this 'ere," and Captain Eph waved his hand toward the brilliant apparatus before them, a picture ofwhich is given here.
"But what is the need of making it out of so many pieces?" Sidney asked. "Why wouldn't it be just as well to cover the lamp with a globe, such as is on a house-lamp?"
"That, Sonny, is the hard part of explainin' the business, because I don't know so much about it as I ought'er; but I've heard the inspector talk somethin' like this: The flame of the lamp sends its rays in all directions—up, down, an' sideways; an' what's wanted is to get the light streamin' out in a straight line all around, so the top an' bottom of this 'ere glass cage is put on to bend the rays till they go in the same direction as those in the middle of the flame. 'Cordin' to the inspector, when a ray of light strikes a prism of glass, it turns toward the base, as you'll see in this—wa'al, I don't hardly know what to call it—that I've been drawin' so's you'll understand what the inspector means by bendin' the rays. You'll notice that, except in the middle, the prisms are each set at a different angle, an' with a space between 'em, which allows of catchin' every ray from the lamp—"
"Are you ever comin' down to your supper, or do you count on lettin' all this 'ere food, that's taken me so long to shape up, go to waste jest because you want'er talk 'bout what you don't understand?" was the cryfrom the kitchen, and Captain Eph said hurriedly as he gathered up the books:
"I reckon we'll have to finish this 'ere talk some other time, for Uncle Zenas does surely seem to be gettin' nervous. He's a mighty handy man 'round a light-house; but I do wish he'd get over bein' so dreadful particular about all hands settin' down to the table the very instant a meal is ready. There are times, like this, when I'd rather linger a little; but I don't dare to on account of his bein' so particular."
Although Captain Eph and Sidney made all possible haste to descend, the cook called out twice more before they could get into the kitchen, and the keeper said soothingly:
"Now, now, Uncle Zenas, you must give a man time to come down-stairs, an' Sonny an' me couldn't have got here any sooner unless we'd tumbled down, which wouldn't have been convenient or comfortable."
"I like to have folks at the table when things are ready," Uncle Zenas replied tartly, and Captain Eph said with a wink at Sidney:
"Then you ought'er give us a little warnin'. Sing out when you begin to put things on the table, an' you'll find us here an' waitin', the same as Sammy is now."
Uncle Zenas made no reply to this remark, and it surely seemed as if the incident was closed when Captain Eph asked that the food might beblessed to them.
"I'm lookin' for clear weather to-morrow," Mr. Peters said as if he expected to be contradicted, and much to his surprise the keeper said promptly:
"So am I. 'Cordin' to the way I figger it out, the wind'll haul to the west'ard when the tide turns, an' this smother will be well out to sea by sunrise."
"An' s'posin' it all turns out as you predict, what about our goin' ashore?" Mr. Peters asked.
"I'll agree to it if it so be Uncle Zenas is willin' to keep ship alone," the keeper replied. "If the winddoeshaul 'round, it won't be any great hardship if you an' the cook turn out an hour earlier than usual, so's we can get the lantern put to rights early."
"You can call all hands at three o'clock, so far as I'm concerned," Uncle Zenas interrupted, "an' then I'll be so far along with my end of the work that I can give you a lift in the lantern."
"I don't reckon there's any great need of turnin' out quite so early as that; but Sammy might wake me an hour sooner than usual, so's he could get somethin' of a nap, an' we'll make it all hands 'bout four o'clock."
And thus it was arranged when Sidney went to bed, hoping most fervently that he might waken in time to share the watch with Captain Eph; but itso chanced that he did not open his eyes until nearly three o'clock next morning, much to the disappointment.
He hurried into the watch-room as soon as possible, however, and there found the keeper studying over the drawing he had made for the purpose of showing how the rays of light were "bent."
"What are you doing, sir?" Sidney asked laughingly.
"Tryin' to figger this thing out so's to understand it myself," the captain replied grimly. "I put it to you same's I'd heard the inspector talk, but what puzzles me is why the light should go toward the thick end of the prism any quicker than the other way."
Captain Eph had before him all the books of the library which might aid in the work, and Sidney found the problem so interesting that it seemed as if he had no more than begun before Uncle Zenas' voice was heard from the room below, as he said petulantly:
"It strikes me if I was standin' watch I'd know when it was four o'clock. How do you ever expect to get off on your voyage early, Ephraim Downs, if you can't keep better run of the time than this?"
"All right, Uncle Zenas, all right! If you'll call Sammy we'll get ourodd chores done up before sunrise," the keeper cried, and the cook replied:
"He'd ought'er be awake by this time; I've turned him clean over twice, an' count on pullin' him out bodily if he don't make some kind of a move before I count five."
The sound of a heavy body striking the floor below told that Mr. Peters had "moved," and Sidney cried in surprise:
"If you'll believe it, I'd almost forgotten that we might go ashore this morning. Has the fog cleared away?"
"Every blessed drop of it went to sea when the tide turned, jest as I allowed; but I got so mixed up about the lens that it went straight out'er my mind. Now it's a case of gettin' things inter shape with a hustle."
Sidney went into the kitchen, believing he could be of more service there than anywhere else, and, thanks to the will with which the crew worked, the start was made in considerably less than an hour after sunrise.
"Lay in all the stores that you've got on the list, for there's no knowin' when you'll have another chance." Uncle Zenas cried as, the voyagers having taken their places, he pushed the bow of the boat out from the rocks.
Sidney reversed the screw until the little craft was clear by the ledge,and then sent her ahead at a fair rate of speed, Captain Eph acting as helmsman.
"There's some sense in goin' ashore this fashion," Mr. Peters said as he lay back in the bow, resting his head on his hands. "If we had a craft like this, I'd feel like takin' a day off every once in a while; but when a man is obleeged to pull a lumberin' old dory a dozen miles or more, it don't seem like takin' much of a rest."
"You go ashore as much as is good for you, Sammy," Captain Eph said gravely. "I don't approve of gallivantin' 'round very much, an' it ain't sich a great spell since you was off duty three whole days."
"That was more'n two years ago," Mr. Peters replied in an injured tone.
"Wa'al, I'll agree it was, an' what do you want? To go away every time the moon changes? If you do, it would be a good idee to look up a different job from tendin' one of the most important lights on this 'ere coast."
Sidney, fearing lest the keeper and his assistant might come to sharp words on the subject of vacations, put an end to the dispute by proposing to show how fast the boat could run when all the power wasapplied; but Captain Eph had no desire to try experiments.
"Fair an' softly, Sonny, is the best. I've never had much to do with this kind of a craft, an' shouldn't feel overly easy to know you was tryin' to shove her, for nobody can tell what may happen. Let her go along easy-like, 'cause we've got time enough an' to spare 'twixt this an' sunset."
Therefore it was that the boat was kept down to two-thirds the speed which could readily have been maintained, and at the end of two hours she had arrived at a little settlement which to Sidney looked very small and mean; but to Captain Eph and Mr. Peters was almost a metropolis.
When the boat had been made fast to the dock, and the first assistant had clambered ashore, the keeper whispered in Sidney's ear:
"I reckon, Sonny, you'll see a good many things you'd like to have, an', comin' away from the schooner as you did, it ain't likely you've got any great amount of money with you. Now jest take this, an' then you can hold your end up with Sammy, for I expect he'll try to make a terrible big showin' when we go into the shops."
"I don't want a thing, sir, indeed I don't," Sidney replied as he squeezed the old keeper's hand, but without taking the silver pieces which were in it.
"Mr. Peters can make all the showing of money he likes, and it won'tmake me feel queer."
"But I'd rather you was kind of independent, Sonny, an' it would do me a heap of good if you took it."
Sidney began to understand that Captain Eph would consider it a privilege to supply him with money, and he compromised the matter by saying:
"There isn't a thing that I would be likely to want, sir; but if I should see anything, I'll ask you to buy it for me."
"Will you really an' truly, Sonny?"
"Indeed I will, sir," the lad replied, and then the two joined Mr. Peters on the wharf.
The first assistant led the way up through the one street of the settlement as if he believed the new uniform he wore would cause a great deal of excitement, and he was, in fact, the center of attraction while he remained on shore, for even the children of the village had heard of the three old cronies who kept the light on Carys' Ledge, holding to their duties so closely as to visit the mainland no oftener than once in two or three years.
Captain Eph, with the list of wants in his hand, stopped at the shop in which was the post-office, where he mailed the report with strict injunctions to the postmaster to "see that it left town the first thingin the mornin'," and then began purchasing the supplies, stopping every now and then to ask Sidney in a whisper if he "hadn't seen something he wanted."
Mr. Peters had a little list of his own, much to the surprise of the keeper, who had supposed that all the purchases were to be made from the common purse, and it was not until nearly noon that the business was finished.
The postmaster gave the three customers an urgent invitation to take dinner with him; but Captain Eph pleaded that it was of the utmost importance they get back to the ledge before dark, and at once began to carry his stores to the wharf.
The motor boat was well loaded when the last package had been put on board, and Mr. Peters, who seemed bent on keeping his goods separate from the others, said as he stowed them snugly in the bow:
"I reckon it's well we didn't buy anything more, else we'd had to make two trips in order to carry 'em all. Uncle Zenas will keep himself busy for the next two months cookin' up fancy dishes, 'cordin' to the stuff he ordered. I thought one spell you was goin' to clean the shop out."
"I bought what we agreed on yesterday, an' reckoned that made up the lot; but it seems you wasn't satisfied," Captain Eph said, much as if he was accusing the first assistant of some misdemeanor.
"Oh yes I was; everything you had on the list hit me to a T, for I'm willin' to stand my part of the expense if Uncle Zenas wants to spread himself as a cook, 'cause I can eat my full share three times every day," and Mr. Peters indulged in a gurgling spell, such as always caused Sidney considerable alarm.
"Then what did you need that the rest of us mustn't know anything about?" Captain Eph asked sternly. "When Sonny an' me saw that you wanted to be so terrible private over what you was buyin', we went out on the sidewalk, so's to let you have your fling."
"Yes, I noticed that," Mr. Peters replied, as he continued to stow his goods in the bow with the utmost caution, as if they might be injured in case the motor boat shipped a little water; but he did not make any explanations.
"When you get through fiddlin' with your—whatever it is you bought—we'll get under way," and Captain Eph spoke sharply, as if he was irritated, whereupon Sidney took his station in front of the motor, ready to start the screw when the word should be given; but before the first assistant could reply, even if he had been intending to do so, the postmaster came down on the wharf, moving at a rapid pace as if his business was urgent.
"I reckon you wanted that letter to go in the next mail, eh?"
"Sure, an' there mustn't be any mistake about it, for it's my official report, an' nobody knows what might happen to the Light-House Board if it didn't get to the inspector on time."
"When you was at the store I forgot to ask if anythin' had gone wrong over on the ledge. It kind'er seemed as if there was somethin' out'er the reg'lar, else you wouldn't be in sich a pinch to send a report," and the postmaster looked inquiringly from one to the other.
"Nothin' wrong as I knows of," Captain Eph replied, much as if he was making a great mental effort to recall to mind anything of an alarming nature that had taken place on the ledge.
"Let me see," and the postmaster rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It must be quite a spell since any of you folks came ashore, ain't it?"
"The first assistant was here a leetle more'n two years ago."
"Yes, yes, I knew it was as long ago as that. Let me see, he didn't have that boy with him then, did he?"
"I reckon not; leastways, not to my knowledge," and Sidney understood that Captain Eph was growing impatient.
"I didn't know but he had jest joined your crew, an' then agin I said tomyself, seein's you was in sich a stir about gettin' the report off, it might be there's been a wreck out that way lately, though we haven't been havin' any bad weather since the light-house tender was there last."
Captain Eph made no reply, and Mr. Peters began to re-stow his packages, working so industriously that no one could have expected him to join in the conversation.
"That must be a new boat you've got?" the postmaster continued in a questioning tone. "Does the Government furnish motor boats nowadays?"
"This 'ere ain't a Government craft," Captain Eph said curtly, and then he asked Mr. Peters, "Ain't you ready yet, Sammy?"
"Everything is stowed, an' what ain't I can look after while we're runnin'."
The keeper cast off the hawser, and took his seat in the stern-sheets, while the postmaster walked slowly along the dock as the boat swung out with the current, when he said inquiringly:
"Then there ain't nothin' gone wrong at the ledge? An' I reckon you've taken the boy on to kind'er help you out in the work, eh?"
"Carys' Ledge lays jest where it did when I first took charge of the light, an' if anything had gone wrong you wouldn't see us here, 'causewe'd be there tryin' to put it to rights," Captain Eph said more sharply than before, and he nodded to Sidney as if ordering him to start the engine.
The lad believed he understood the mute command, and an instant later the little craft was moving swiftly away, but not at such a pace as to prevent them from hearing the postmaster cry:
"If anything has gone wrong, an' I can do you a good turn, let me know, for I'm only too glad to oblige my neighbors."
Captain Eph shut his mouth tightly as if to keep back angry words, and when the little craft was a mile or more from the wharf, he said to Mr. Peters:
"I hope, Sammy, you'll let this be a lesson to you. Now you can get an idee of how it sounds when a man tries to pry into other folks' affairs."
"What do you mean by that?" and the first assistant looked up quickly from the survey of his private stores. "Do you mean to hint that I go 'round pryin' into your business?"
"You most generally want to know what's goin' on, an' I've noticed that you contrive to find out."
"Perhaps you didn't do any pryin' when you was so keen to see what I'd been buyin'," Mr. Peters retorted, and in the hope of keeping peacebetween these two old friends by changing the subject of the conversation, Sidney asked:
"Why wasn't you willing the postmaster should know what had happened at the ledge, sir?"
"Because, Sonny, I wouldn't encourage sich pryin'," Captain Eph replied gravely. "The man ought'er had sense enough to know that the keeper of a first order light don't run 'round tellin' everything he knows. Perhaps if he'd come right out an' asked who you was, I might have told him; but when he beat about the bush, guessin' this and guessin' that, I made up my mind he shouldn't know the least little thing about what was goin' on at the ledge."
"The amount of it is that we go ashore so seldom folks think nothin' less'n an earthquake would fetch us out, an' that's why they're so terribly curious," Mr. Peters said in a thoughtful tone, and Captain Eph asked sharply:
"Is it in your mind that you don't have enough furloughs?"
"Not a bit of it," and Mr. Peters spoke emphatically. "I never go to town that I don't wonder how people can manage to live there, 'cause it's so dreadfully lonesome. Out on the ledge we have somethin' to do, an' can see more or less, 'cept when the fog shuts down, but ashore allthey have to look at are the houses, an' I can't figger out why folks will stay there."
Having thus given good evidence that Carys' Ledge was to him an ideal place in which to live, Mr. Peters turned all his attention to the re-stowing of his purchases, and Captain Eph watched him suspiciously, until Sidney asked:
"How long do you suppose it will be, sir, before my father hears where I am?"
"It's all owin' to when a letter can get there, Sonny. You may make up your mind that the Board will send word the quickest way possible, an' we've done the wisest thing by sendin' off the report, for we might wait six months—perhaps more—before we could speak a craft bound to Porto Rico."
"What's the matter with the inspector's telegraphin' to Sonny's father?" Mr. Peters asked suddenly, and the keeper started in surprise as this possibility was suggested.
"Now you can see how thick-headed I am!" he exclaimed. "Here is Sammy, who couldn't be expected to look ahead so far as that, comes up with the very idee. Of course the inspector will telegraph, 'cause I don't s'pose it would cost him anythin', an' the chances are your father'll know the whole story inside of the next eight an' forty hours."
"I hope that may be so," Sidney said half to himself, and Captain Ephcried jealously:
"Are you so anxious as all that to get away from us, Sonny?"
"Indeed I'd be only too glad if I could stay at the light all winter," Sidney said earnestly; "but I can't bear to think that father is feeling very, very bad believing I may be drowned."
"Of course you'd look at it in that light, Sonny, an' it shows your heart is in the right place. I am an old fool for sayin' anything; but the trouble is I've been gettin' it inter my head that you wouldn't go away very soon."
"How can he?" Mr. Peters asked as he gave way to one of those alarming gurgles he sometimes indulged in. "S'posen he knew this very minute where Sonny was, how's he goin' to get at him till his schooner goes to Porto Rico, unloads, takes on another cargo, an' comes back? I don't reckon that voyage can be made in any two or three days!"
"Sammy, you do say the brightest things now an' then, for a man who hasn't got a very big head, that I ever heard of," Captain Eph cried as if a great load had been taken from his mind. "That's the second time you've made me feel mighty good by jumpin' inter the conversation when I didn't s'pose you'd know what to say!"
Before Mr. Peters could make any reply to the rather equivocal remark ofthe keeper, Sidney, glancing over his shoulder carelessly, was startled into a cry of surprise, for they were close aboard the ledge, and, as if waiting for them, Uncle Zenas stood at the head of the little cove.
"What's the matter, Sonny?" Captain Eph asked solicitously.
"Nothing serious, sir. I was surprised at seeing that we were so near the light. The boat has made better time than when we went over, and yet I didn't know I was running the motor any faster."
"Very likely you kept the same pace with the machine; but this 'ere wind has been pushin' us along a good two miles an hour," the keeper replied as he waved his hand in greeting to Uncle Zenas.
"Ahoy on the boat!" the cook shouted as if he was hailing a ship half a mile distant, and Mr. Peters took it upon himself to reply:
"Hello! What seems to be creepin' over you?"
"Did I put bakin' powder on that 'ere list?"
"That you did, an' the cap'n has brought what'll last six months, evenif you sit up nights tryin' to work it inter somethin' that we're bound to eat 'cause we can't get anything else."
"Way enough, Sonny!" Captain Eph cried at this moment, and Sidney shut off the supply of gas, thus bringing the screw gradually to a standstill.
A moment later Uncle Zenas seized the bow of the little craft, dragging it up on the ways, and the voyage had come to an end within six hours of its beginning.
"Hold on there!" Mr. Peters cried excitedly when Uncle Zenas would have taken from the boat the packages which had been stowed with such care. "Don't touch anythin' here; your stuff is midships."
"But what are these?" and again Uncle Zenas made a movement as if he would have taken up one of the packages; but the first assistant was so frantic in his efforts to prevent him, that Sidney could not restrain his mirth, for the battle-scarred veteran looked much like an old hen defending her chickens.
"What in the name of goodness, Sammy, have you got there?" Uncle Zenas asked in surprise, and he looked inquiringly at Captain Eph.
"I don't know anything about it," the keeper said in reply to the mute question. "He's acted jest that way ever since we took the stuffaboard—wouldn't let Sonny or me so much as put our fingers on it."
"But you must have seen what he bought," the second assistant cried as he eyed the packages suspiciously.
"He was too sharp for us, an' when I saw that he was at some kind of underhanded work, I let him have full swing, by goin' out of the shop. Lend a hand with this 'ere stuff which we ain't ashamed to show, an' then we'll have a chance to stretch our legs a bit. I'm pretty well cramped up with sittin' still so long."
While Uncle Zenas obeyed this command, Mr. Peters carried his goods into the tower, giving no heed to his comrades, and by the time the motor boat had been run up on the ways to the door of the boat-house, he came out looking exceedingly well pleased with himself.
Uncle Zenas had prepared an unusually appetizing dinner for the voyagers, and while they were giving evidence of their appreciation of his efforts by eating heartily, Captain Eph said with a long-drawn sigh of content:
"I declare it does seem good to get home! It'll be many a long day before I can be coaxed ashore agin, unless it so be that Sonny has togo on business of his own."
This remark reminded Uncle Zenas of the main object for which the voyage had been undertaken, and in answer to his questions the keeper explained what had been done.
"Then I s'pose we can look for his father almost any day?" the cook said inquiringly, and Captain Eph explained why, as Mr. Peters had presented the matter, some considerable time must necessarily elapse before any information could be received concerning Captain Harlow's movements.
"I'm allowin', since Sammy put me right on the matter, that the first word we get will come from the inspector," the keeper said as if to dismiss the subject, "an' we can count on keepin' about as we're goin' for some time yet."
By this time the meal had come to an end, and when Uncle Zenas refused all offers of assistance in stowing away the goods which had been brought from the mainland, Captain Eph went into the watch-room, followed by Sidney, for Mr. Peters had slipped out of the tower as if afraid some one might take note of his movements.
"Well, Sonny," the keeper said when he was alone with the lad, "what do you reckon you an' I had better do jest now?"
"I was watching the buoys as we went into the harbor, and wondered howit was you knew so well on which side of them the channel was to be found."
"I've been expectin' you'd ask that same question jest as soon as you'd got well inter this 'ere light-house business, an' it strikes me you'll know more about it by readin' somethin' I've put by here, than if I spent the whole day tryin' to tell it in my clumsy way," the keeper said as he gave to Sidney an open book, from which the lad read that which follows:
"The buoy is to the seaman by day what the light is at night, and what the fog signal is in thick weather. It tells him by its size, form, color, and number how to avoid rocks and shoals, and shows the way in and out of harbor.
"The buoy service has its own code of laws, State and national, a fleet of small steamers for its maintenance, and a corps of contractors to attend to the buoyage of coves and inlets impracticable to the steamers. It has its depots for the storage of iron buoys, where they are painted and numbered, or repaired, and also where wooden buoys are made ready for service. It has its own directory printed yearly, in thirteen volumes, distributed gratuitously for the benefit of commerce, in which each one is mentioned by name, located by station, and described by size, color, number, and vicinity.
"Congress prescribed, by act of September 28, 1850, that red buoys, witheven numbers, be placed on the right-hand side, and black buoys, with odd numbers, on the left-hand side of channels approached from seaward; that buoys placed on wrecks and other obstructions, having a channel on each side, be painted with red and black horizontal stripes; that those buoys placed in mid-channel, and which indicate that they must be passed close-to to avoid danger, be painted with white and black perpendicular stripes; and, finally, that perches, with balls, cages, etc., when placed on buoys, will indicate a turning-point, the color and number of the buoy showing the side on which they are to be passed.
"Iron buoys are hollow, with air-tight compartments, and are made of three shapes, called nun, can, and ice-buoys. The nun-buoys are almost conical in form; the can-buoy is in shape the frustum of a cone, nearly approaching a cylinder, and the ice-buoy is found much like a spar-buoy, of great length, slight thickness, and of the largest diameter near its middle. Each shape is classified by size, and diversified by color and number. They were once made of wooden staves, like barrels, but their rapid destruction by submarine worms caused the substitution of boiler-iron.
"The cost of these buoys varies with the price of iron, and they have been sold to the Government for $41.81 in the case of third-classbuoys, up to $150 for those of the first-class.
"Buoys are exposed to many dangers, not the least of which is that of being run down and ripped open by passing steamers. As the iron buoys are made with compartments, they are rarely sunk, but their line of floatation is often lowered, and their usefulness accordingly decreased.
"Spar-buoys frequently lose a portion of their length, which is cut off by strokes of colliding propeller-blades. Despite state and national statutes forbidding it, vessels will sometimes make fast to buoys, thus gradually dragging them off their bearings. A buoy has sometimes been set adrift that a reward might be obtained for its recovery; but this is not a profitable operation, as the reward paid is varied with the circumstances of each case.
"The buoy's worst enemy, however, is ice, when moving in mass, and with a tide or current. A well-made, well-moored buoy at the mouth of a narrow river can create an ice-gorge; but usually, when the ice moves in force, the buoys met have their mooring-loops torn out, their mooring-chains broken, or their mooring-anchors weighed; and in each case the buoys are carried out to sea, when the buoy tenders give chase, and, if successful in their capture, return them to position.