The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Light Keepers, by James Otis This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Light Keepers A Story of the United States Light-house Service Author: James Otis Release Date: February 3, 2013 [EBook #41997] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIGHT KEEPERS *** Produced by David Edwards, David K. Park and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Frontispiece. "LOOK OUT FOR THIS 'ERE ROPE!" Frontispiece. "LOOK OUT FOR THIS 'ERE ROPE!" THE LIGHT KEEPERS A STORY OF THE UNITED STATES LIGHT-HOUSE SERVICE BY JAMES OTIS AUTHOR OF "THE LIFE SAVERS," ETC. NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY 31 West Twenty-third Street Copyright, 1905 BY E. P. DUTTON & CO. Published, September, 1906 The Knickerbocker Press, New York CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. An Involuntary Visitor 1 II. Sidney Harlow 22 III. Plans for the Future 43 IV. Repairing the Motor Boat 65 V. A Close Shave 84 VI. The Voyage 104 VII. A Lesson on Buoys 124 VIII. The Surprises 143 IX. The Wreck 164 X. The Rescue 184 XI. "Sonny's" Outfit 204 XII. Mr. Peters' Mishap 224 XIII. A Disabled Crew 244 XIV. Nurses And Light-Keepers 264 XV. Storm-Bound 285 XVI. As if from the Grave 305 XVI. The Inspector 325 XVII. Appendix 341 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE "Look out for this 'ere rope Frontispiece "You lubbers!" Captain Eph screamed 92 Cape Elizabeth 130 Mt. Desert Rock 170 Saddle Back Light 210 Boon Island 250 Isle of Shoals 290 Matinicus 330 THE LIGHT KEEPERS. CHAPTER I. AN INVOLUNTARY VISITOR. "If that 'ere ain't a boat, Cap'n Eph, I'll agree to eat this buff-skin, an' wash it down with a pint of Uncle Sam's best oil," and Mr. Samuel Peters, first assistant of Carys' Ledge light, flattened his nose against the glass of the lantern as he peered out over the surging waters which surrounded the light-house on every hand. An odd-looking man was Mr. Peters (better known to his companions in the service as "Sammy"), because of the fact that a bullet from the works of Petersburg had ploughed a deep furrow across his left cheek, and carried away a goodly portion of one ear. Thus indelibly branded as a veteran of the Civil War, Mr. Peters had been glad to accept the position of first assistant keeper of Carys' Ledge light, under the command of his old comrade-in-arms, Captain Ephraim Downs. "What good would it do you to eat the buff-skin, Sammy?" Captain Eph asked in a mild tone, and without looking up from his task of polishing the lenses. "It stands to reason that you'd have a fit of the dyspepsy after doin' it, an' then I'd be called upon to report that we'd lost a buff-skin, an' the best part of Number 12 from the medicine chest, for I'd feel it my duty to doctor you up to the best of my ability an' the printed instructions from the Board, even though you had been makin' a fool of yourself." "But why don't you look out an' see what's drivin' in here?" Mr. Peters cried with just a shade of irritation in his voice. "What's the use of bein' so pig-headed?" "Now, Sammy, you know I ain't overly fond of bein' called pig-headed, an yet you throw that word at me in season an' out of season," Captain Downs said placidly as he polished the lenses carefully with the buff-skin. "Then take a squint to the east'ard, an' see what this 'ere muck of a beastly fog is bringin' us," Mr. Peters insisted, this time in such an imploring tone that the old keeper could do no less than comply with the almost tearful request. [Pg 2] A single glance over the heaving waters, which had a grayish hue in the early morning light, obscured as it was by the fog, and Captain Downs forgot for the moment the "rules and regulations" by which he governed the movements of himself and his companions. "I do declare, Sammy, you're right!" he cried. "It does look like a boat, for a fact, an' the surprisin' part of it is that you hit so near the truth! It ain't often you can make out the difference betwixt a ship an' a seal." Mr. Peters was so engrossed with that which he saw as not to give any heed to the ironical remark, for, under almost any other circumstances, he would have resented it deeply. "She's headin' this way, an' seems to be comin' right along, though I can't make out anything in the shape of oars," the first assistant said half to himself, and Captain Eph added as he went to the head of the narrow stairway which led to the dwelling-rooms below: "You ain't so young as you use' ter be, Sammy, an' can't depend on your eyesight overly much." Then, raising his voice, he cried, "Hello, Uncle Zenas! Bring up the glass will you?" "I reckon that'll stir him up a bit," Mr. Peters said with a chuckle as of satisfaction. "Uncle Zenas claims there isn't anything in the rules an' regerlations that says he shall be interfered with while he's cookin'." "He'll find I've got a few rules an' regerlations of my own, which can't be broken by any cook that ever beat an egg," Captain Eph said sharply, and then he stepped back by the side of Mr. Peters in order to get another glance at that object which had interfered with the early morning duties of the light-house force. A moment later it was possible for the two in the lantern to hear a dull rumbling sound, something like imitation thunder, from below, and again Mr. Peters chuckled until it really seemed as if he was choking. "You've stirred Uncle Zenas up all right, Cap'n Eph," the first assistant said, "an' I'm wonderin' whether you get them 'ere glasses without goin' after 'em yourself." "He'll fetch 'em or I'll hang him out of this 'ere lantern till he comes somewhere nigh understandin' his duty aboard this light. I didn't fish off the Banks year in an' year out for the best part of my life, to be flouted by a whipper-snapper like Zenas Stubbs." The rumbling sound from below increased in volume until, after considerable difficulty, the head and shoulders of a very fat man were literally forced through the aperture in the floor of the lantern, and the upper portion of the "whipper- snapper" was revealed to view. Uncle Zenas had admitted, in moments of strictest confidence, that he weighed "nigh to three hundred pounds" and even Mr. Peters, who was prone to contradict any statement which might be made in his hearing, had no word against it. The cook was large, with a face so red it seemed as if the blood was about to burst through its veins, and, save in the present case, was blessed with a mildness of disposition in proportion to the size of his body. "If I'm to fetch an' carry for this whole blessed crew, an' that at a time when the fish-cakes are like to be burned to a cinder, I'll send in a petition to the Board to have this 'ere stairway stretched till an ordinary man can get through without scrapin' the skin all off his shoulders," he said angrily, and Captain Eph replied, as he took the glasses from the huge hand which was extended toward him: "Better ask for a derrick, Uncle Zenas, an' then we can run you up on the outside of the tower when we're needin' your delicate frame in the lantern." Uncle Zenas raised his hands above his head as if despairing of finding words of sufficient intensity to do justice to the occasion, and then, noting the fact that Captain Eph and Mr. Peters were gazing seaward intently, he apparently forgot the peril of the fish-cakes as, after considerable difficulty, he pulled his entire body through the narrow opening which gave entrance to the lantern. "What seems to be the matter?" he asked in a whisper, much as if believing Captain Eph might be disturbed in his efforts to bring the glasses to bear upon the tiny object which was being tossed wildly about by the waves so far away. For reply, Mr. Peters motioned him to look toward the east, and after one glance he asked: "What is it? Looks like a log, an' if grown men in Government employ have taken to spendin' the time when they should be eatin', in huntin' up drift stuff, it's time the inspector was notified that a full, able-bodied crew is needed at Carys' Ledge light." "I say it's a boat," Mr. Peters replied, "an' if I'm right, it stands to reason that there may be somebody aboard of her. Now——" "It is a boat!" Captain Eph cried with no slight show of excitement, "an' I'm allowin' that there's at least one man aboard." "What can he be doin' out there to the east'ard?" Mr. Peters cried as he took the glasses from the keeper's hand, and began adjusting them to his own eyes. [Pg 3] [Pg 4] [Pg 5] [Pg 6] "It's some fisherman, I reckon, what lost himself in the fog," Uncle Zenas said, as if he no longer had any interest in the matter, and Mr. Peters cried excitedly: "That's no fisherman's boat, and it don't look as if it came from a pleasure craft. There! Yes! I can make out somebody in the stern sheets; but I don't see any oars, and how in the name of goodness has he kept her headin' for this 'ere light? What do you allow it is, Cap'n Eph?" "Much the same as you've made out, Sammy, an' it puzzles me to say why she's abroad on a morning like this." Just at that instant the odor of burning fish came up through the door in the floor, and Uncle Zenas made all possible haste to descend, as the keeper cried irritably: "I'd like to know if you haven't studied the rules and regerlations enough to find out that there mustn't be any smoke here in the lantern? Why don't you stay down where you belong, instead of makin' more work for Sammy an' me?" "I'd have been willin' to staid there, an' it was what I wanted to do," Uncle Zenas replied breathlessly, as he tried unsuccessfully to lower his huge body through the narrow aperture. "If the crew of this 'ere light hadn't been so desperately lazy that they couldn't come down after a little pair of glasses, we wouldn't be losin' the best mess of fish- cakes that was ever put together on Carys' Ledge." "Get down, can't you, an' not do so much talkin'?" the angry keeper cried, pushing on the shoulders of the big cook until Uncle Zenas had literally scraped his way through, and then the door was closed so violently that several particles of dust arose, causing Captain Eph to mutter: "It does seem as if the crew of this 'ere light had gone out of their heads this morning. What with smoke an' dust here in the lantern, I reckon we're smashin' the rules an' regerlations all to flinders. What do you make out, Sammy? What do you make out?" "It's one of them motor boats, Cap'n Eph, an' she's no fisherman, that much I'll go bail." "Well, get to work cleaning' up, an' let me find out what she is. It seems as if a full grown man with a pair of good glasses ought'er know all about her by this time." "How do you expect me to wrastle with the rules an' regerlations, when for all we know that 'ere boat may be comin' in with a load of shipwrecked men?" Mr. Peters cried petulantly, as he gave the glasses into the keeper's hand, and then stood gazing over the water as if believing it was possible to see more plainly with the naked eye. "It don't stand to reason that 'ere craft has got shipwrecked men aboard, else we would see 'em, Sammy, an' I'm certain she's light, but for a man in the stern-sheets. Here comes the fog agin, and whoever's steerin' stands a mighty slim chance of strikin' Carys' Ledge, if it so be he wants to make this 'ere bit of rock. I do hate to get so mixed up before breakfast! Why couldn't the idjut have waited until long towards noon, when we hadn't much of anything to do, before he hove in sight?" "He'll heave out of sight mighty soon, for this 'ere smother is comin' back faster than it went," Mr. Peters said half to himself, "an' I reckon we know now all we ever shall about him." "It must be he's makin' for the ledge, an' it stands to reason we ought'er lend him a hand. There, that's the last we'll see of the craft unless some mighty fine steerin' is done, an' since it's no use lookin' out in the fog, Sammy, you'd better get to work on the lamp, while I go down in case he's got brains enough to hold his course. Remember, that 'cordin' to the rules an' regerlations, the work of gettin' things ship-shape must be begun immediately the light is put out, and we've loafed too long already." "I reckon it wouldn't hurt very much if we broke the regerlations a little bit, when perhaps there are lives to be saved," Mr. Peters muttered as the keeper, raising the trap-door carefully, descended the narrow, winding staircase, but the first assistant made no attempt to follow his superior officer, because of knowing full well, from past experience, that any such disobedience of orders would be followed by a reprimand not pleasant to receive. Descending the first flight, the keeper came to the watch room, where was a table, a chair, a stove, and a small lamp for the comfort and convenience of those who were on duty during the night to make certain the lamp in the lantern (meaning the floor above), burned steadily; and here also was a square, upright piece of mechanism known as the driving clock, which operated the flashing light. Down another flight, and the keeper was in a third circular room, where were two beds. Another flight brought him to his own apartment, and below that the kitchen, over which Uncle Zenas presided as cook and second assistant light keeper, where everything was wondrously neat and clean, and where every inch of space was economized for the better keeping of the food, cooking utensils, and such articles as are ordinarily found in similar apartments on shore. "Are the fish-cakes spiled?" Captain Eph asked as he opened the door leading outside the tower to a ladder of iron, which was fastened directly to the masonry of the building. "Gone to a cinder," the cook replied in a tone of sorrow, "an' I allow they was the best I ever put together. What about the boat?" [Pg 7] [Pg 8] [Pg 9] [Pg 10] [Pg 11] "That's what I can't tell, Uncle Zenas. This 'ere fog has shut in worse than ever, an' the chances are we'll never see her agin." "How did she happen to be out there? Some fisherman, eh?" "No; me an' Sammy are both agreed that it's a motor boat, an' she looked to me like such a craft as would be carried by some big sailing vessel." "But what is she doin' out there?" "Now, look here, Uncle Zenas, I don't know anything more about her than you do. How can you expect I'm goin' to answer such a fool question as that? All I can say is that, 'cordin' to the last sight I had of her, it looked as if she was headin' for this 'ere ledge, an' all the rest is a puzzle." "Where are you goin' now?" the cook asked as he set about preparing more fish-cakes. "Down to the rocks. It's just possible I may be able to give the course to whosoever is coming, an' Heaven knows he'll need it." Then, as if to put an end to the conversation, Captain Eph closed the door emphatically behind him, and descended the long, slender ladder which led to the ledge below. Not an inviting looking place in which to spend the greater portion of one's life was Carys' Ledge; nothing but a mass of black, jagged rocks rising out of the ocean a dozen miles or more from the mainland, and in extent at low water, half a mile long, and considerably less than that distance in width. Save for two rows of timbers securely bolted to the rocks, and extending from the base of the tower to the water's edge to form "ways," on which a boat could be drawn up or launched, and a small hut not unlike the dwelling of an Esquimau, made of cement, and large enough to shelter a dory, there was nothing to be seen on the ledge of jagged rocks, over which one could make his way only with considerable difficulty. Captain Eph descended to the water's edge by following the timbers of the boat-ways, taking due care as to where he stepped, for the footing was far from secure anywhere save on the extreme top of the ledge, and, making a trumpet with his hands, he shouted again and again, pausing now and then in a listening attitude. "It don't stand to reason he could hold his course long enough to hit this 'ere ledge; but I reckon it's my duty as a Christian man an' a light keeper to do what I can toward lendin' a hand. If he don't come ashore here, the chances are mightily agin his strikin' land while the breath is left in his body, for this 'ere smother is enough to mix up anybody except an old shellback like me. Hello-o-o-o! Hello-o-o-o!" Captain Eph actually started in surprise at hearing his hail answered, and it seemed to him as if it was a child's voice which had come from out the fog. "I must be losin' my mind, to even imagine sich a thing!" he exclaimed petulantly, dashing the moisture from his eyes as if by so doing it might be possible to penetrate the dense veil of vapor which shut out from view even the tower of the light. "It's a crazy trick for a grown man to be whifflin' 'round here in this smother, without my thinkin' I heard a boy. Hello-o-o-o!" "Hello!" came out from the fog, and the old keeper really looked around him in fear; but an instant later he had gathered his senses sufficiently to cry: "Uncle Zenas! Uncle Zenas!" The outer door of the tower must have been opened at the first word, for the light keeper heard his cook and second assistant ask petulantly: "Now what's creepin' over you, Ephraim Downs? Do you allow that we can afford to lose another mess of fish-balls this mornin', or have you knocked off eatin' altogether?" "Come down here, Uncle Zenas, an' bring the fish-balls with you, if you can't come without 'em. I've got the boat in hail, an' it's a child who answers me. We'll be needin' all hands, if he is to be brought ashore alive. Sing out for Sammy!" Then Captain Eph cried out once more for the guidance of the stranger, and the reply was sufficient to convince him, if he had not already decided the matter in his mind, that the helmsman of the boat was very young. "Are you on an island?" "Wa'al, I wouldn't like to call it jest that," Captain Eph shouted, "unless you're willin' to say a pile of rocks makes an island. This 'ere is Carys' Ledge light. Now do you know where you are?" "No better than I did before. Am I headin' right?" "It sounds so; but this 'ere channel is mighty narrow, an' unless you come in jest so, the chances are that your boat will be knocked to pieces. Is she a motor craft?" [Pg 12] [Pg 13] [Pg 14] "Yes, sir." "Then slow down till you can see the openin' in the rocks, an' once you're headin' right, slap the power to her. Hello, you Sammy!" "Ay, ay!" came from somewhere near the tower. "Bring down that coil of rope, an' I'm thinkin' this 'ere lad'll need it before he makes a landin'!" At that moment the bow of the boat came into view amid the fog, and Captain Eph shouted: "Port! Port a bit, an' keep her in the channel! Hurry your stumps, Sammy, for we're like to have a nasty mess here." Mr. Peters did not arrive on the scene a second too soon, for at the very instant he gained the keeper's side the little craft was thrown by a heavy wave against the jagged rocks, and the splintering of wood told that much damage had been done. "Look out for this 'ere rope, an' have your wits about you!" Captain Eph cried as, hurriedly taking the coil from Sammy's hands, he flung with wonderful accuracy of aim the flakes across the shattered boat which was being carried by the swell against the rocks the other side of the narrow channel. Now it was possible for the keeper and his assistant to see that the sole occupant of the disabled craft was a small boy, apparently not more than ten or twelve years of age, whose face told eloquently of the mental and physical suffering he had endured. The lad sprang forward to seize the rope; but at that instant the boat was flung against the rocks, throwing him headlong, and but for the first assistant keeper he must have been carried out of the little cove by the receding waves. Mr. Peters, understanding that if the boy's life was to be saved prompt action was necessary, leaped into the boiling waters as he flung one arm over the rope Captain Eph was holding. The impetus of his leap was sufficient to send him through the water faster than the partially destroyed boat was being carried, and, grasping the stem with one hand and the rope with the other, he shouted: "Haul in, Cap'n, the best you know how, for I can't hold on here overly long!" By this time Uncle Zenas had arrived at the scene, and, thanks to his assistance, the little craft with her crew of one was pulled so far in toward the rocks that the keeper and the cook had no difficulty in running her bow on the ways, after which, as Mr. Peters scrambled out of the water looking like a very large, half-drowned cat, the boy was taken from the boat by Captain Eph. "There, there, don't try to talk," the keeper said in a fatherly tone. "Anybody with half an eye can see that you're clean done up, an' we'll have plenty of time for your story, seein's we ain't likely to be bothered with visitors till the inspector overhauls us." It seemed as if all the lad's strength deserted him when there was no longer any question as to his safety, for before Captain Eph ceased, the muscles of the little body suddenly relaxed as if the wings of the death angel had touched them. "I vow an' declare if the poor little tot hasn't gone an' fainted away like a woman," the old keeper said as he hurried toward the tower, leaving to Uncle Zenas and Mr. Peters the task of pulling the shattered boat up beyond reach of the tide. "I reckon he'd stuck it out as long as he had strength, an' then went all to pieces." When the two assistants entered the kitchen Captain Eph, having undressed the lad, was rubbing him vigorously with warm towels, and Mr. Peters cried in astonishment: "Hello! What's goin' on now? Ain't afraid he's been drownded, are you, Cap'n?" "What with the fog an' the spray, I allow he has come pretty nigh that, an' this 'ere treatment won't do him any harm. Besides, I don't know what else to do, for there's nothin' in the rules an' regerlations to tell what ought'er be done when folks have fainted dead away. Anyhow, he seems to be pullin' 'round all right," the old man added as the lad opened his eyes slowly. In a twinkling Uncle Zenas had a cup of hot coffee to the little fellow's mouth, and he was forced to drink, for the cook, in his eagerness to take some part in the rescue, was literally pouring it down his throat. "Why don't you go an' fix up my bed so's we can put him in it, Sammy? What good do you suppose it does to stand 'round here first on one foot an' then on the other as if you was a brazen image?" Captain Eph demanded fiercely of his first assistant, and the latter ran up the spiral stairway, hurriedly, muttering something about the folly of treating a case such as the one in hand, before first studying the "rules and regerlations" to learn whether the Board had made any provisions for similar emergencies. Thanks to the ministrations of Captain Eph and Uncle Zenas, the half-drowned and wholly numbed lad was partially restored to a normal condition; but when he tried to speak the old keeper said sharply: [Pg 15] [Pg 16] [Pg 17] [Pg 18] "There's no need of any tongue-waggin' yet a while. You're goin' inter my bed, an' stay there till you begin to feel somethin' like yourself, though I don't reckon it would do any harm if you told us how long you'd been alone in the boat." "Last night, and yesterday, and all the night before that," the lad said with a sigh, and then, as his eyes filled with tears, Captain Eph gathered him in his arms, saying to Uncle Zenas as he began to ascend the staircase: "I reckon it won't do any harm if you warm the blankets of my bed. This poor little shaver's teeth are chatterin' yet; but after he's heated up a bit, an' gets the sleep that's due him, he'll be a different lookin' lad." Mr. Peters had had much the same thought, for he now appeared in the doorway with an armful of bed-clothes, and once more a "mess" of fish-cakes was burned to a cinder as Uncle Zenas gave all his attention to making the little stranger comfortable. Ten minutes later the keeper and his first assistant descended to the kitchen once more, and Captain Eph said in a whisper as he looked around to see what the possibilities for breakfast might be: "I vow an' declare if that poor little shaver's eyes didn't shut before we'd got him well tucked up in bed. I don't understand how he stood the rough usage, for he ain't much more'n a baby, an' if my suspicions are right, he's been through what would pull down a tolerable strong man." "What do you make of it?" Uncle Zenas asked while he hovered helplessly around the stove, as if entirely at a loss to know what he could serve for breakfast after spoiling so many prime fish-cakes. "There's no need of our strainin' our brains over it, 'cause it won't be a great while before he'll be able to tell the whole story," Captain Eph replied as he poured for himself a cup of coffee. "But what are you goin' to do with him?" Mr. Peters asked as he followed the example of his superior officer. "Do with him?" Captain Eph repeated as if in surprise. "What else can we do but keep him here till the inspector comes, unless it so be, which ain't likely, that a craft of some kind fetches up off the ledge?" "What does rule 56 of the regerlations say?" Mr. Peters asked in a low tone, as if afraid the involuntary visitor might overhear the words. "Ain't it set down there that light keepers' dwellings shall not be used as pilot stations, nor as boardin' or lodgin' houses?" "Yes, I reckon that's part of what it says; but tacked on to that 'ere rule is the words 'except by special authority,' an' I'm countin' on gettin' that for our little shaver, if it so be somebody don't come after him before then." "But 'cordin' to the way I look at it, we're goin' clean agin the regerlations when we make a boardin' or a lodgin' house out 'er this 'ere tower before gettin' the special authority," Mr. Peters said with the air of one who has studied the subject thoroughly, and Captain Eph turned upon his first assistant suddenly, still holding the cup of coffee in his hand: "I'm the keeper of this 'ere light, ain't I?" "You are for a fact," Mr. Peters replied meekly. "Well, that bein' the case, Sammy, after I've entered in the watch book an account of his comin' here, an' set down the fact that I count on keepin' the lad till somebody comes to claim him, I reckon it's nobody's business but mine an' the United States Government's. He's here, an' here he stays, unless the inspector says he must be turned adrift, in which case I'll go with him." Having thus settled the matter so far as he and the Government were concerned, Captain Eph began to drink his coffee in as leisurely a manner as if the lantern had already been cared for according to the "rules an' regerlations." CHAPTER II. SIDNEY HARLOW. For the first time since Ephraim Downs had been appointed keeper of Carys' Ledge light, was the work in the lantern left undone until after the crew had eaten breakfast, and also for the first time had the second assistant failed of having an appetizing meal served in a proper manner. It was, as Mr. Peters afterward said, as if the "rules an' regerlations had been trampled in the mire," owing to the arrival of one small boy. No sooner, however, had the poor apology for a breakfast been eaten than Captain Eph suddenly awakened to a full realization of the situation, and then he stormed at his assistants as if they were wholly at fault because the regular routine had been broken in upon. [Pg 19] [Pg 20] [Pg 21] [Pg 22] "It strikes me, Sammy," the keeper began when he had eaten the last morsel of johnny-cake, and washed it down with the last mouthful of coffee, "that instead of loafin' around this 'ere kitchen, you'd better be in the lantern, else the inspector may get it into his head that the good of the service demands that a new assistant keeper be appointed for Carys' Ledge." Mr. Peters looked in speechless astonishment, first at Captain Eph, and then at Uncle Zenas, after which he held up both hands as if in token of his bewilderment, and went slowly toward the stairway. "An' I'd also like to know why this 'ere kitchen looks as if it was ridin' out to a fair?" Captain Eph continued sharply. "There's got to be a change 'round here mighty soon, or I'll court-martial this whole idle crew." Uncle Zenas' face flushed a deeper red, if indeed that could be possible, as he said slowly: "I've studied the rules an' regerlations ever since I was so misfortunate as to be appointed second assistant keeper of this 'ere light, an' so far I haven't found anything laid down agin answerin' the keeper back when he tries to ride over a man. I allow you're in command of the lantern, Captain Eph; but I've got some rights all to myself here in the kitchen, an' there's goin' to be trouble if them as belong up-stairs interfere while I'm 'tendin' to my reg'lar duties." Then Uncle Zenas began to bustle around, as if every moment was precious and he seemingly filled the little kitchen so full, as he moved his ponderous body from one side to another, that there was really no room for any other person in the little apartment. Captain Eph did not venture to make any reply; but at the first opportunity followed Mr. Peters up the stairway, tip- toeing through the apartment where the lad lay asleep, and making no halt until gaining that floor known as the lantern deck. During five minutes or more the keeper and his assistant worked industriously at those tasks which should have been performed earlier in the day, and then Mr. Peters asked: "How long do you allow that little chap will sleep, Cap'n Eph?" and the keeper replied: "It wouldn't surprise me a bit if he run his nap way over till to-morrow mornin'. You see it ain't likely he got much sleep while he was alone in the boat." "An' it stands to reason that he didn't have a great deal to eat, for I couldn't see anything on the craft that looked like provisions." "I reckon there's no question but that he went hungry, Sammy." "In which case he's needin' food as much as sleep," Mr. Peters said thoughtfully, "an' I'm askin' if it ain't our duty to rouse him up after a while, so's to shove somethin' inter his stomach." "Well I declare, Sammy!" Captain Eph cried emphatically. "I never once took heed to anythin' of that kind, an' yet it's only common sense. I'll run down an' see what Uncle Zenas can fix up that'll hit his case." "You look after the boy, an' I'll 'tend to things in the lantern," Mr. Peters said as he wiped here and there with the buff- skin over imaginary specks of dust on the lens. "That 'ere Sammy breaks out in spots of good, sound sense every once in a while," Uncle Zenas said when the keeper repeated to him the conversation which had been held in the lantern. "It stands to reason the little shaver needs somethin' in his stomach, an' I'll fix up a mess right away. Perhaps we might pour a little broth down his throat without disturbin' him very much." "All right; see what you can do, an' I'll take a squint at his boat. It ain't certain but that she can be patched up, an' he may need her powerful bad before the inspector comes this way." Having said this, Captain Eph, forgetting that, according to the "regerlations," he should remain in the lantern until everything there had been put to rights, descended the outside ladder leading to the rocks below, and made his way to where the lad's boat had been left. Here he found nothing contrary to the opinion he and his first assistant had already formed—that she had been built as a tender to a large vessel. A gasoline motor of 3 horse-power, with the appearance of having been well cared for, was aft where the helmsman could attend to it while holding the boat on her course, and lashed on either side inboard were oars and spare fittings. Everything about the craft told that she had lately been looked after by sailormen, and, having ascertained this much, Captain Eph set about learning how seriously she had been damaged by the rocks. Both bows two or three feet abaft the stem were stove in; but the injuries were not so serious that they could not be repaired by ordinary workmen, and Captain Eph said to himself as he pulled the boat around on the ways: "I reckon Sammy an' I can put her in shape, pervidin' the weather holds good; but if we get much of a gale she's bound to go, for it won't do to take the Government boat out of the house in order to run her in, even if she is worth four or five times as much as ours." [Pg 23] [Pg 24] [Pg 25] [Pg 26] The keeper brought down from the tiny boat-house of cement, a rope, which was attached to a small windlass or winch, and, making one end fast to the bow of the disabled craft, hauled her up the incline until she was in some slight degree sheltered by the little building. Then he carefully covered the motor with a spare sail belonging to his own boat. All this had required no small amount of time, and when he again entered the kitchen, Mr. Peters, his labors in the lantern having been performed, was moving in an aimless manner around the apartment, evidently under the impression that he was assisting Uncle Zenas in preparing a thin soup to be given the involuntary visitor. "Well?" the keeper asked as he entered, and Mr. Peters replied: "Uncle Zenas an' I believe he ought'er have some of this stuff inside of him as soon as we can get it there. He'll sleep better with a full stomach." "What is it you've made?" "I've thinned down one of them 'ere cans of soup you was so extravagant as to buy when Sammy went ashore last," Uncle Zenas replied, "an' it smells good enough to eat." Captain Eph tasted the savory mixture critically and then said thoughtfully: "I reckon you're right about his needin' it, though it does seem too bad to waken the little shaver while he's bottlin' up so much sleep. But have your own way. How are you goin' to do the job?" "You lift him up, an' I'll pour it down," Uncle Zenas replied in a tone which showed that he had already settled the details in his own mind. "The sooner we do it the better, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', so s'pose you lead the way." There was an expression of deepest anxiety on Captain Eph's face as he ascended the iron stairs, and on arriving at the floor above he stood for a moment gazing at the childish face which could be seen amid the mountain of bed-clothing, for in his desire to do all that might be possible for the little fellow, Mr. Peters had piled upon the bed every blanket and comfortable to be found in the tower. "Better get right at it," Uncle Zenas said in a whisper, as he halted by the bedside with the bowl of soup in his hands. Captain Eph raised the boy so gently that his slumber was not disturbed; but when Uncle Zenas attempted to pour the warm liquid down his throat, he opened his eyes, crying in distress: "What is it? What do you men want? Where am I?" "You're safe and sound in Carys' Ledge light, Sonny, an' we've come up to give you somethin' to eat," Captain Eph replied, as he pressed the lad closely to him. "You've been havin' a hard time, an' are needin' what we've brought. Drink it down like a little man, an' then you may go to sleep agin." Just for an instant the little fellow looked around wildly, and then, as if reassured by the friendly pressure of Captain Eph's arms, began to swallow the soup, slowly at first, as if from a sense of duty, and then eagerly as hunger asserted itself. "My! but that was good!" he exclaimed as Captain Eph laid him back upon the pillow, and Uncle Zenas asked eagerly: "Do you want some more? There's plenty in the kitchen, an' it'll do you good." "If I could have a little more. It's so good, and I didn't know I was hungry till I got a taste of it," the little fellow said, rising to a sitting posture, and as Uncle Zenas hurried down the stairway Captain Eph whispered solicitously: "Why not lay down agin, Sonny? You're mighty sleepy, an' it'll do you good to get another nap." "If you don't care, I'd rather keep awake till I've had more of the soup. How nice it is to be here where it's warm and dry!" "Bless your dear heart, you shall do as you want to in this 'ere light!" Captain Eph cried. "Only don't forget that you've been havin' a hard time, an' need sleep as much as food." "There isn't much chance I'll forget anything of that kind while you're all so good to me. When do you suppose my father will come to take me away?" "Who is your father, Sonny?" Mr. Peters asked. "Captain Harlow, of the schooner West Wind—she's a five-master, and a beauty. This is her first voyage, and I'm going all the way to Porto Rico in her," the lad cried, and then suddenly remembering how long it had been since he was on board the West Wind, he cried, turning toward Captain Eph, "Do you suppose he can find me, now that I've come ashore, sir?" "If he don't it won't be any very great job to let him know where you are, Sonny," the keeper replied emphatically. "It'll go hard if we can't hail a fisherman, or a pilot boat, an' send a letter ashore to the post-office, so you needn't worry about that part of it. But tell me how you happened to be adrift in that motor boat." [Pg 27] [Pg 28] [Pg 29] [Pg 30] "We went out to look at what seemed to be a lot of wreckage; it was so calm that the West Wind hardly moved through the water, and father said I might go with Mr. Sawyer, because I know how to run the motor and steer. Then, before we'd got to the wreckage, the fog shut in, and we couldn't see the schooner. I believe I could have gone straight to her at first, but after Mr. Sawyer fell over-board, I turned the boat around so many times trying to pick him up, that I couldn't tell where the West Wind might be." "Who was Mr. Sawyer?" Captain Eph asked. "The second mate; he was a good friend of mine, and I wouldn't have been allowed to go out to look at the wreckage if he hadn't coaxed father." "How did a sailorman contrive to tumble over-board?" Mr. Peters asked curiously, as if it seemed to him impossible such an accident could occur. "We ran down a spar, and he was leaning over the bow trying to make out if it was a buoy that had gone adrift, or a portion of the wreckage we had sighted, when a heavy sea came. It seemed to me as if the timber struck Mr. Sawyer on the head, for over he went like a log, and although I put the boat back and forth until it grew too dark to see, I couldn't find him." "Wasn't you frightened, Sonny?" Mr. Peters asked, and the lad replied with a sigh: "I was feeling too sorry for that, sir, and I thought certain the schooner would pick me up, even if the fog was thick; but I did get frightened when the night shut in, and the wind began to blow so that the spray from the tops of the waves came aboard, soaking me with water. My name is Sidney, if you please, sir." "Then what did you do?" Captain Eph asked in a whisper. "I just sat there and cried, sir, till I remembered what father has often told me, that when a boy, or a man, for that matter, loses his courage, he is a great deal worse off than if he kept up his spirits. I had often run the motor while the West Wind was in port, and I tried to make out how much gasolene there was in the tank, for I knew steerage-way was needed, else I couldn't keep her head up into the wind. It was a terribly long while before day came again, and then the fog covered everything so that I couldn't see very far in either direction. Of course father hunted for me; but I knew he didn't have much chance of finding me in that kind of weather." "Wasn't you hungry?" Mr. Peters asked. "Perhaps so, sir; but I was too much frightened and sorry to know it until I got a taste of the soup." "What did you do all the long day and second night?" and Captain Eph put his arms around the lad as he asked the question. "I sang a little, sir, and cried a good deal; but the most of the time I prayed, and once when I fell asleep without knowing it, I thought I saw my mother, who went to Heaven when I was only a little shaver." At this point in the story Uncle Zenas appeared with a fresh supply of soup, and after Sidney had drank it eagerly, Captain Eph said as he forced the boy to lie down again: "You're a brave little lad, Sidney, an' I have no doubt but that you really saw your mother, for surely God would have let her go to her baby boy when he was in such trouble. Now you must sleep again, an' while you're growin' stronger we'll cook up a letter to send your father, tellin' him where you are, for I reckon he's feelin' mighty bad about this time." Then, motioning for his assistants to follow, Captain Eph led the way to the watch-room, and Uncle Zenas, who brought up the rear, closed each door behind him lest the sound of their voices should prevent Sidney from sleeping. When the three men were in the apartment directly under the lantern they stood in silence, gazing at each other, while one might have counted twenty, and then Captain Eph said in a low tone: "Wa'al, you've heard about all the story he can tell, an' now what do you think?" "I reckon it's the truth all right," Mr. Peters replied in what he intended should be a jovial tone, and on the instant the keeper was aroused to anger. "I hope there ain't any one here so mean an' bad-minded as to question any statement that little shaver has made! The truth! Of course it is, every word, an'——" "Now, look here, Cap'n Eph, there ain't any call for you to get up so high on your ear," Mr. Peters interrupted. "I wasn't allowin' it could be anything but the truth, an' only spoke that way because there didn't seem to be much else to say. We've got him here, an' are bound to take care of him, no matter what the rules an' regerlations say about boardin' or lodgin' houses." "Right you are," Uncle Zenas added, "an' I for one don't see as there is any need of talk. We've got stuff enough to eat, an' jest so long as his appetite sticks by him I'll give him a chance to find out what kind of a cook I am, though it stands to reason I can't come anywhere near mixin' up what he's been in the habit of gettin' on board one of them big [Pg 31] [Pg 32] [Pg 33] [Pg 34] schooners." "Now see here, Uncle Zenas," Captain Eph said sharply. "I've sat under the droppin' of your cookin' quite a spell, an' so has Sammy. We've never had any fault to find, an' as long as there's breath left in my body I'll maintain that you can hold your own with the cook of any craft that sails." "Then what did we come up here to talk about?" Uncle Zenas asked as if in perplexity. "About that boy of our'n, for I reckon he belongs to us till his father comes after him. I ain't wishin' harm to any man; but it wouldn't make me feel very bad if nobody ever showed up to claim the little shaver, 'cause it makes this 'ere tower seem a good deal like home to have a baby in it." "Are you tryin' to fix up some plan so's it sha'n't be known he's here?" Mr. Peters asked as if in astonishment, and Captain Eph roared angrily: "See here, Sammy, there are times when you try a patient man like me, as nobody has been tried since the days of Job. Of course I ain't tryin' to keep any baby away from his own true an' lawful father, an' I called you up here so's we could decide how to get word to the capt'n of the West Wind that his boy is here as safe an' snug as a bug in a rug." "You seemed to allow a spell ago that we might hail a fisherman, an' send a letter ashore," Mr. Peters said in perplexity. "It don't seem jest the thing to wait a great while for some craft to come within hail, for it stands to reason the poor man is jest about crazy thinkin' the lad's knockin' around in that boat, starvin' to death," and the keeper rubbed his chin vigorously, as if by so doing it might be possible to more readily solve the problem which was before them. "It wouldn't be any fool of a trip from here to the mainland, at this season of the year, in a dory," Uncle Zenas suggested, and Mr. Peters cried as if he saw a way out of the difficulty. "The first thing, whatever we agree on, is to write the letter, an' after that's been done we'll have time enough to figger how it's to be sent. I reckon it'll get there all right if you put on it the name of the captain an' the schooner, to be found at Porto Rico, eh?" "That's what's puzzlin' me a good bit," Captain Eph replied. "I ain't sure but that there may be more than one post-office in Porto Rico. I never was on the island, so don't know much about it." "Why not send your letter to the light?" Uncle Zenas asked. "No matter what kind of an island it is, there's bound to be a light on it." "An' who's to tell me where or what it is?" the keeper cried petulantly. "The place may only be buoyed out, or have nothin' more'n a beacon on it." "Wa'al, you've got the report of the Board in your room, an' all the facts are certain to be put down in that, since we've adopted the place so to speak," Mr. Peters suggested, and Captain Eph's face brightened at once, as he cried: "There are times, Sammy, when you do really seem to have quite a lot of sense! Now any idjut ought'er thought of doin' that same thing; but I've been so mixed up since daybreak that my brain seems to be off somewhere on a strike. Wait a bit while I fetch the book." "Sneak inter the room quiet-like, or you may wake the lad," Uncle Zenas said warningly, and Captain Eph, who was already half-way through the door in the floor, stopped to say in a tone of reproof: "Any one would think, to hear you two old shell-backs talk, that I never knew anything about babies, an' yet I've handled more of 'em than you ever saw." Then the keeper disappeared from view, and a full five minutes elapsed before he reappeared, to explain his long absence by saying: "I couldn't help stoppin' to look at the little rascal as he lays there asleep. I declare he is handsome as a picter, an' twice as sweet." "Did you get the report?" Mr. Peters asked impatiently. "Of course I did. What else do you reckon I went after? Now we'll soon know if there's a light on that island of Porto Rico." Captain Eph had not pored over the pages of the report many minutes, before he looked up at his mates in dismay, as he said: "What do you think, boys? There's no less than fourteen lights on the blessed place, an' it must be quite an island. Now we're up a tree for sure!" "If I was the keeper of this 'ere light I'd make an official report to the inspector, of how the lad came to the ledge, an' ask the Government to hunt up the father," Uncle Zenas said quietly. "I ain't so certain that it's the Government's business to go 'round huntin' for stray fathers; but it seems to me, seem's how he landed on this 'ere ledge, an' is stayin' [Pg 35] [Pg 36] [Pg 37] [Pg 38] here, the least them as are at Washington could do would be to take one end of the job, if we're willin' to handle the other." "You've hit the nail right on the head, Uncle Zenas!" and Captain Eph gravely shook his second assistant by the hand. "I'll make a report, an' from this on, till we decide upon somethin' better, all hands are to be on the lookout for a craft that can be hailed." "If you're goin' to settle down to a spell of writin', an' I'm allowin' it won't be any small job to put the thing together ship- shape, I'll see what can be done toward patchin' up the boy's boat," Mr. Peters said as if making a suggestion. "If we get any good weather, an' the motor is in fair shape, it mightn't be very much of a trip to run across." "Get at it, Sammy, get at it. Seems to me I'm the only one in this 'ere crew that don't rightly know what to do," and once more Captain Eph crept softly to his own room in search of writing materials. Half an hour later the keeper and his assistants were busily engaged on their respective tasks. Captain Eph sat in the watch-room laboring over his report; Uncle Zenas was cooking as if his very life depended upon getting the largest amount of provisions prepared for eating in the shortest possible space of time, and on the rocks Mr. Peters was measuring and figuring on the shattered boat, confident that he could soon put her in a seaworthy condition, provided he should be able to find the proper material. The cook was spearing doughnuts out of a kettle of hot fat with a long-handled fork, bringing into play all his professional knowledge to the end that each one should be of the proper color and degree of crispness, when he was startled so badly that he actually squeaked, by hearing a light footstep on the floor directly behind him. "I'll be roasted if I didn't think you was a ghost!" he cried as, turning quickly, he saw Sidney standing near the foot of the staircase. "Why didn't you stay in bed, lad, since that's where you belong for the next four an' twenty hours?" "I guess I've slept long enough, for I wakened without being called, and those doughnuts smelled so good I had to come after one. What a nice kitchen this is!" "It's a bit small for so big a cook," Uncle Zenas said with a laugh as he held the pan half-filled with delicately browned cakes toward the boy. "Help yourself to whatever you want so long as you're on Carys' Ledge, for everything here that don't belong to the Government is the same as yours." "You have all been awfully kind to me, and if father could only know where I am, it would be very nice to stay here a while, for I was never in a light-house before." "Where do you l...