by Anonymous
CHAPTER IV.
ON PATROL.
When Benny and Fluff came down-stairs next morning after the meetingof the "board of guardians," all the crew were in the mess-room, andKeeper Downey greeted the lad right cheerily as he said:
"It stands to reason, Benny, that you have been troubled more or lessabout what's to become of you, seein' 's you've got no relatives thatyou know about, an' no friends, except it may be them as are beforeyou, this side of India. You must have something to eat, and enoughclothin' to keep the frost out, to say nothing of providin' a home forthe dog."
Benny looked about him piteously. This broaching the subject whichhad been present in his mind almost constantly since he realized hisdesolate condition, seemed much like the preface of some disagreeablecommunication.
"Have you got to send us away right off, Mr. Downey?" he asked,pressing Fluff's pink nose against his cheek as if the contact gave himcourage.
"I don't reckon that's got to be done, lad; but you must understandthat something ought to be settled within a reasonably short time, andchiefly for your own good. It's not benefiting a boy to allow him toremain idle----"
"But I'm willing to work, Mr. Downey, and I was thinking when we camedown-stairs that I'd ask you if there wasn't some town near by where Imight find a job."
"I allow the town's there, Benny, but whether a lad of your size andbuild could get a job big enough to pay for the little he and the dogwould eat is another question. If it so be you was minded to stay inthe country, say out on the sea-shore, I shouldn't be surprised if apiece of work could be scared up that would fix things smooth, so faras it comes to board and lodging. I ain't allowin' there'd be very muchmore than that in it, 'cause you see, Benny, my lad, it don't stand toreason you're worth any more."
"I'd do anything, Mr. Downey, anything that would pay for our living,and I'm sure Fluff wouldn't mind it so very much if he didn't get sugarwhen he knew I couldn't earn any money to buy it with."
"Well, my son, this 'ere job I've got in my eye would likely payenough so that you could afford to keep Fluff C. Foster in sugar.Leastways, I reckon it wouldn't take much bargaining to bring it aroundthat way."
"When shall I go to work?"
"It ain't well to lose any time, so me and my mates have agreedthat you'd better start right in this morning as soon as you've hadbreakfast."
Benny looked around upon the weather-beaten, kindly faces, and a biglump came up in his throat which caused him no slight effort in theswallowing of it. He had known these men hardly more than twenty-fourhours, and yet in that time they had shown themselves as well disposedas if they had been his best friends, and the thought of leaving themto go among strangers brought the boy genuine sorrow.
He buried his face in Fluff's silken hair for an instant, and then,looking up, said with a brave effort to prevent his lip from quivering,although he could not choke back the tremor in his voice:
"I am ready to go now, sir."
"According to the looks of things you ain't mightily pleased at theprospect of leaving,"--and Thomas Downey glanced meaningly at hiscomrades.
"You've all been very good to me, sir, and if you'd ever known howlonesome it is to be alone, same's Fluff and I are now, you couldn'twonder that we was a little mite sorry to go away from such a niceplace; but I'll----"
Again Benny buried his face in Fluff's coat that he might have time tochoke back the rebellious sobs, and Sam Hardy whispered in a voice thatwas not remarkable for its steadiness:
"It's too bad to keep the little duffer in suspense, Tom."
"He's showing what he's made of now."
"And he's got grit," Joe Cushing added.
By this time Benny had conquered his emotions once more, and looking upsaid with a feeble attempt at a smile:
"You've all been awful good to Fluff and me, and we sha'n't forget it.Unless we're going too far away, both of us would like to come backonce in a while to see you."
"But you don't want to leave before breakfast?" Tom Downey suggested,and Benny, manfully struggling with this new grief, replied:
"I ain't hungry; but if you'll give Fluff a little something,--'causehe's a dog an' don't really know all that's happening----"
"I reckon we needn't keep this up any longer, lad. You've got a job,an' we're hoping there won't be any call to leave this 'ere station;but if it can't be fixed as we've reckoned on, you shall live closeby. There's nothing in the rules to prevent your comin' here every day,for regulation number one, nought, seven, regarding the conduct ofkeepers, says that they must be 'courteous and polite to visitors,' butit don't state how often a visitor may come."
The members of the crew expressed their satisfaction in variousways at the keeper's astuteness in thus discovering a means of atleast partially carrying out their desires, in case the head of theDepartment disapproved of their taking on an assistant; but Bennylooked about him in perplexity. He failed utterly to understand theproposition which Tom Downey believed had been made exceedingly plain,and Sam Hardy took it upon himself to explain what they, as a crew,proposed doing.
"It's just like this, Benny," he began in a paternal tone: "It kindof seems as if you and Mr. Fluff C. Foster was thrown on your beamends, so to speak, with the wind and tide both against you. Now thegovernment hires us to assist crafts in distress, and, of course, youcomin' under that head, we're bound to do all we can, else there'd bedanger of losin' our job. See?"
A look of perplexity still remained upon the lad's face, and JoeCushing proceeded to perform his part in making plain the situation ofaffairs.
"It's like this, Benny: Tom and Sam mean all they say, but don't justgive it to you in a way that can be understood. Now a good, willing boywhat will tend out right sharp on such odd jobs as are layin' roundthe station, can earn his way here; an' when the Superintendent of theLife-Saving Service hears how we, as a crew, have put this thing, itdon't stand to reason he's going to make any kick. 'Cause why? 'Causethere ain't anything in the revised regulations of the service as saysa word against it. So while we've got to wait a spell for the properauthority, according to my way of thinking, an' the rest of us arepretty much the same mind, it's as good as fixed already."
As if thinking it was necessary to make some reply, Benny nodded hishead, but still continued to gaze inquiringly from one to the other,for as yet he failed to understand the alleged explanations, and DickSawyer took it upon himself to throw additional light on the subject.
"It don't appear to me as if everything was just plain to you, lad, an'yet Joe straightened up what Tom an' Sam didn't get at. We settled thewhole thing last night after you'd gone to bed, an' the way I look atit is, that it'll be as much of a favor to us as to you an' the dog, sothere's no need to feel as if you wasn't paying your way."
"Where is it Fluff and I are going to work?" Benny asked, after waitingan instant to learn if any other member of the crew had an explanationto make, and Tom Downey replied in a tone of authority:
"Why, right here, of course, lad. Ain't that what we've been tellingyou about? We're counting on keeping you in the station, if it so beauthority is given from headquarters, and it don't seem as if therecould be any objection. You can knock about pretty much as you please,though we count that you'll help the cook, and keep the lamps andlanterns trimmed."
"Fluff and I are to live right here?" Benny cried excitedly, in hisexcitement allowing the dog to drop to the floor, where the latter setup a shrill barking as if in approval of the plan.
"It looks as if you'd be glad to stay," Sam Hardy said in a tone ofsatisfaction.
"Glad!" Benny exclaimed. "Why, you men can't think how happy it willmake Fluff and me! Of course we was ready to leave, and wouldn't havesaid a word against it, because we've got our living to earn; butyou've been so good to us that it seems as if you was our own folks,an' we'd have been awful lonesome to go away where we didn't knowanybody. And you sha'n't be sorry, either, if there's anything we cando to pay our way, 'cause I know how to take care of the lamps, andwait o
n the table, and--and--and I can wash dishes just as well as awoman. I did it on the _Amazonia_ all the voyage."
"We're allowing that this 'ere is a case where you regularly attendto your share of the duties," Tom Downey said, speaking now in hisofficial tone. "We don't believe in making paupers out of boys, nomatter whatever bad luck they've fallen into; but besides the workyou'll do, I reckon it will be kind of pleasant to have you and thedog laying round here,--makes it seem more like home. Now, Benny, youare to take hold from this out. Get up when the cook does; do what youcan to help him; wash dishes and trim the lamps. After that the timewill be pretty much your own, an' if it so be that you can't sleephere, why we'll make a deal with Eph Hannaford's folks so they'll giveyou lodgings. But we won't talk about that part of it. Turn to forbreakfast now, and then there'll be a chance to show how handy you are."
The lump which came into Benny's throat at the thought that he mustleave the station had suddenly taken its departure, and in obedience tothe keeper's orders the lad took his seat at the breakfast table alone,for the crew had already broken their fast.
Tom Downey observed that the boy moved the chairs away from hisimmediate vicinity before sitting down, and it was apparent to allthat, according to Master Fluff's ideas, something had gone wrong, forthe dog danced about excitedly, giving vent from time to time to a lowyelp of what seemed to be disapproval.
"What's the matter with Fluff C. Foster?" Sam Hardy asked.
"He'll be all right after a spell," Benny replied. "He'll soon know thedifference, 'cause I'll make him understand it."
"Understand what?"
"Why, you see, he always sat by the side of me on board the ship, andhe thinks it's funny he can't do it now, I s'pose; but he's a good,sensible dog, and won't want to break over any rules after he gets alittle used to it."
"Why don't you let him sit by your side now?"
"I was afraid it wouldn't be right. Mrs. Clark said she'd have a gooddeal of trouble to break him of the habit after they got ashore."
"Will he behave himself?" Keeper Downey asked.
"Fluff behave himself! Why, sir, he's just as nice an' polite at thetable as any fellow you ever saw."
"Give him a show, and let's see what he'll do."
Benny pulled a chair by the side of the one in which he was sitting,and without waiting for further invitation the dog leaped into it,content at being by the side of his young master, and making no effortto get at the food before him.
The crew watched with interest what was to them very much like aperformance gotten up for their especial benefit, and during allthe time Benny remained at the table Fluff behaved himself with thegreatest propriety.
When the boy had satisfied his hunger he poured a saucer one thirdfull of coffee, broke into it a small portion of bread, and Fluffimmediately got down from the chair, knowing that his meal was ready.
While the dog was eating Sam Hardy exclaimed, as if the proceedingsfilled him with surprise:
"Well, he's got more sense than I ever gave a dumb animal credit forhavin', an' so far as I'm concerned, he's welcome to sit at any tablewhere I am."
"We'll give him a regular place by Benny's side," Tom Downey added, andthus were the two officially and formally received into the family ofthe life savers.
The new member of the crew did not wait to be told how he might makehimself useful, but immediately after the meal was ended he set aboutclearing the table, washing dishes, and setting to rights the interiorof the station.
The men watched him curiously while he moved quickly but noiselessly toand fro, until, having swept the floor, he began dusting the differentarticles of furniture, when Sam Hardy exclaimed emphatically:
"Mark my word, that lad will be a big addition to this 'ere place! He'stidy, willing, an' quiet; what more could we want?"
"I reckon he'll do," Keeper Downey replied in a tone of content, andstraightway the members of the crew set about their several duties,satisfied that they had made no mistake in assuming the guardianship ofBenny and Fluff.
The building was cleanly, when viewed from a man's standpoint; butBenny, who had profited by the teachings of Mrs. Clark, saw very muchwhich should be done, and from the time breakfast was over until latein the afternoon he did not spend an idle moment. As a matter offact Fluff was equally busy; when not exhibiting his tricks for theamusement of the men, he was trudging to and fro at the heels of hisyoung master as if superintending the labor, and blissfully ignorant ofthe fact that old Maje sat outside displaying no slight jealousy andanger because he had not been admitted to the mess-room according tocustom.
"It stands to reason that the old dog will be a bit disagreeable atfirst," Joe Cushing said, as he called attention to Maje in front ofthe tool-house. "We must introduce the two before long, and once theyare friends it'll be more lively for Fluff C. Foster."
A ring at the telephone which connected the station with theneighboring city called Keeper Downey into the adjoining room, andafter receiving a certain message he summoned Sam Hardy.
"The bodies are to be taken away this afternoon, Sam. The coroner saysthe undertaker's team has already started, so we can count on its beinghere about sunset. Now there's no good reason why that little shavershould see all the dismal work, for it would only bring all the sorrowback into his heart."
"I go on patrol in half an hour; why wouldn't it be a good idea to takehim with me?"
"I'm afraid the tramp would be too long. You see he's just come offshipboard, an' isn't in good trim for much walking."
"Joe Cushing will come along, I reckon, an' when the boy begins totire, can come back with him."
"That's a good idea, Sam. See to it that he's wrapped up well, and givehim a lift over the roughest places."
"Don't be feered but that I'll take good care of him. What about thedog? Old Maje will make short work of him if he ain't watched sharp."
"I'll attend to that part of it, if Ben doesn't want to take Fluff withhim. Get ready, and don't let Joe bring him back until the work herehas been finished."
The new member of the crew was scouring knives when Sam proposed thathe go on the patrol, and from the expression on his face it couldreadily be seen that he was in favor of accepting the invitation; butafter a brief time of hesitation Benny replied:
"I'd like to go, Mr. Hardy; but there's so much to be done here that Ican't get away. It'll be a good while before I'm through with this job."
"Hark you, Benjamin: we count on your doing the odd chores about thestation; but don't reckon every minute is to be spent working. You'vedone enough for one day, so get your duds together, an' we'll see whatmay be needed; it'll be a cold tramp along the coast while the wind ishowlin' at this rate."
"I'll ask Mr. Downey----"
"Never mind that part of it, my son. I've spoken with the keeper, an'he thinks it'll do you good to take a spin out of doors. What aboutFluff?"
"May I take him with me?"
"Sure; but I can't say the wind won't blow him away; it's powerfulstrong, an' he don't carry much ballast."
"He'll be glad enough to stay in my arms most of the time," Benny criedgleefully as he went in search of his reefer, which Joe Cushing, havingbeen given a hint by Tom Downey as to what was proposed, had hung infront of the fire.
Had Benny taken all the clothing his "guardians" offered to loan, itwould have been literally impossible for him to walk. He did accept,however, a pair of rubber boots many sizes too large, a woollenmuffler, and a pair of mittens, and when these had been adjustedaccording to the advice of all hands, he looked like an animated bundleof clothing rather than a living boy.
Fluff was disposed of under the large reefer, and the party set out,Joe Cushing leading the way, with Sam Hardy walking by Benny's side.
The boy observed that each of his companions put into his overcoatpocket a bar of wood, fashioned as if intended to be used as a handle,and three small packages looking not unlike sticks of soap, wrapped inpaper. He afterward came to know that these last were Coston
signals;that when a surfman finds it necessary to show a light, he inserts oneof the packages or sticks into the wooden handle, and, striking itagainst a rock, or any hard substance, produces a brilliant light, manytimes more powerful than the ordinary "flare."
In addition to these signals the men hung over their shoulders roundleathern cases which looked much like the covering of a small clock ora large watch, and Sam Hardy said as they left the station:
"I'm allowin', my son, you don't understand the meanin' of all this'ere rigging; but keep your eyes open, an' you'll soon find out that weof the Service have more on hand than sittin' 'round taking our ease,as a good many people credit us with doing."
"Are you going out just for a walk?" Benny asked, finding it difficultto make his way against the strong, chilling wind which came in overthe ocean.
"Yes, we're out for a walk," Joe Cushing replied with a hearty laugh;"but it ain't for pleasure, my son. No matter what the weather is,we're bound to be on the move from sunset until sunrise, watching forany craft that may be in distress."
"A vessel couldn't get into trouble on the coast to-night," Benny said,with the air of one who is familiar with the subject.
"Very likely not; but yet it is our business to be on the watch dayand night, because there's never any telling when, or how, we may beneeded, an' saving life in a storm ain't the only part of our work by along ways, as you'll come to know. I reckon we're far enough from thestation now, so there's no fear of old Maje, an' you can give Fluff C.Foster a little run."
Benny brought the dog out from under his coat, and instantly he was onthe ground Fluff set off, barking joyously because of being free; butbefore he had been left to his own devices twenty seconds he began tohowl as if in alarm.
The wind was literally blowing the little fellow along, and, despiteall his efforts, he was unable to make headway against it.
"Can't hold his course," Sam said with a laugh, "and the worst of it isthat there's no taking in sail with him. That long hair gives the winda good hold, an' I reckon young Foster will be glad to get under yourcoat again, Benny."
Not until the dog had been blown landward over the slope of the bluffwhich bordered the sea, was his young master able to come up with him,and once more beneath the lad's coat the little fellow manifestedhis pleasure at having been rescued from what probably seemed to hima dangerous position, by half growling, half whining, which Bennyexplained was "the way Fluff talked."
"I counted on seeing heaps and heaps of snow," the new member of thecrew said in a tone of disappointment as he trudged on between hiscompanions. "Of course the winter in Calcutta isn't like what it ishere, and I don't remember much about the drifts of which mother oftenspoke."
"There's snow and to spare, just back of the timbered land," Sam Hardyreplied with a laugh, "an' when you're needin' a sight of it mightybad you can go over the hill beyond the lighthouses. Down here on thepoint, where the wind has full sweep, it's mostly blown away. Now, forinstance, lookin' up from the station, I reckon you won't see so muchas would make a snowball of respectable size."
"But we find it in spots down here," Joe Cushing interrupted. "Back ofthe rocks the wind packs it into sheltered places, and although there'snone to be seen from the station door, we often come upon drifts threeor four feet deep. It's precious hard work draggin' the beach-wagonthen."
Benny soon had an illustration of his companions' statements. They hadbeen walking over land whereon not a single fleck of white could beseen, when suddenly, coming upon a gully which was sheltered from thewind by the cliffs, they were floundering in a deposit of snow so deepthat only with the greatest difficulty could the boy force his waythrough.
"It's always a feast or a famine out here, lad," Sam Hardy said grimly."No snow whatever, or too much of it."
Then he led the way across what might have been mistaken, save for thedead grass, for a summer landscape.
The little party were not far from the station when the men haltedin front of a post to which was attached a small iron receptaclecontaining a key, fastened to a chain, and Sam said, as, removing hismittens, he took this out:
"Now you shall see, my son, the meaning of this 'ere bit of furniturewe're obliged to carry. A dishonest surfman might go a short distancefrom the station, find a snug loafing-place, and spend his time of dutythere instead of patrolling the coast, if it wasn't for the littletelltale inside this case. We must be at certain places in order to getat the keys which fit the lock--in this wise."
As he spoke Sam turned the key in what was seemingly a tiny lock on theleathern case.
"Inside is a sort of clock which makes a record whenever I turn thekey. After we are back at the station Tom Downey can tell if I havevisited all the points where the key is kept, and exactly what time Iwas there. It makes a record for him to look up, and is a satisfactionto me, because it proves I have done my whole duty."
At nearly every point along the rugged coast Sam and Joe had some storyto tell of disaster, or of saving life from the raging waters by thecrew of which Benny had good reason now to consider himself a member.
Here, a schooner, having been dismasted, was thrown up on the hiddenreef which makes out some distance from the land, and, during a furiousstorm when the sleet and hail cut into the flesh like needles, thelife savers were forced to drag their apparatus through the snowdriftsfrom two to four feet deep, after which, by aid of the gun and thebreeches-buoy, every man was saved.
There, three boys, whose yacht had been capsized by a sudden squall,would have drowned but for the vigilance of the patrol and the activityof the men who manned the life-boat, for the crew arrived at the sceneonly barely in time to save them from being dashed against the rockycliffs.
It was as if every headland and cove had its own particular storyconcerning the perils of the sea, and the two surfmen, bent on sooccupying the attention of their companion that he should not note thepassage of time, gave to each incident such details as could not failof arresting the lad's attention, until to his surprise Sam Hardy said:
"I reckon, Joe, it's time for you to take the lad back. It won't doto give him too much of a tramp the first night. There's no need ofspinning all our yarns, for he's like to be with us on many a tour ofduty."
"I'm neither tired nor cold," Benny said, for this cutting short a mostagreeable excursion was not to his liking, although he made no protest.
"It ain't just the thing to drag you along here when there's no realneed of it, and I reckon you'd best turn back, my son. Joe will takeyou in behind the pines, where you can give Fluff C. Foster a chanceto run, and by that time the frost will have a good firm hold on yournose."
Then with a cheery "good-night" Sam continued on his lonely, difficultway.
Joe fulfilled the promise made for him by his comrade, and when, atnearly eight o'clock, they arrived within sight of the station, thesurfman began shouting, much to the surprise of his companion.
"It's all right; you can come in," Keeper Downey replied at length, andJoe Cushing knew that those silent forms which had been lying in theboat-room were no longer at the station.
