The Lighthouse
Page 31
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
MIDNIGHT CHAT IN A LANTERN.
"I'll have to borrow another shirt and pair of trousers from you, Dove,"said Ruby with a laugh, as he returned to the kitchen.
"What! been having another swim?" exclaimed the smith.
"Not exactly, but you see I'm fond o' water. Come along, lad."
In a few minutes the clothes were changed, and Ruby was seated besideForsyth, asking him earnestly about his friends on shore.
"Ah! Ruby," said Forsyth, "I thought it would have killed your oldmother when she was told of your bein' caught by them sea-sharks, andtaken off to the wars. You must know I came to see a good deal of yourfriends, through--through--hoot! what's the name? the fair-haired lassthat lives with--"
"Minnie?" suggested Ruby, who could not but wonder that any man livingshould forget _her_ name for a moment.
"Ay, Minnie it is. She used to come to see my wife about some work theywanted her to do, and I was now and again sent up with a message to thecottage, and Captain Ogilvy always invited me in to take a glass out ofhis old teapot. Your mother used to ask me ever so many questions aboutyou, an' what you used to say and do on the rock when this lighthousewas buildin'. She looked so sad and pale, poor thing; I really thoughtit would be all up with her, an' I believe it would, but for Minnie. Itwas quite wonderful the way that girl cheered your mother up, by readin'bits o' the Bible to her, an' tellin' her that God would certainly sendyou back again. She looked and spoke always so brightly too."
"Did she do that?" exclaimed Ruby, with emotion.
Forsyth looked for a moment earnestly at his friend.
"I mean," continued Ruby, in some confusion, "did she look bright whenshe spoke of my bein' away?"
"No lad, it was when she spoke of you comin' back; but I could see thather good spirits was partly put on to keep up the old woman."
For a moment or two the friends remained silent.
Suddenly Forsyth laid his hand on the other's shoulder, and saidimpressively: "Ruby Brand, it's my belief that that girl is rather fondof you."
Ruby looked up with a bright smile, and said, "D'you think so? Well,d'ye know, I believe she is."
"Upon my word, youngster," exclaimed the other, with a look of evidentdisgust, "your conceit is considerable. I had thought to be somewhatconfidential with you in regard to this idea of mine, but you seem toswallow it so easy, and to look upon it as so natural a thing, that--that--Do you suppose you've nothin' to do but ask the girl to marry youand she'll say `Yes' at once?"
"I do," said Ruby quietly; "nay, I am sure of it."
Forsyth's eyes opened very wide indeed at this. "Young man," said he,"the sea must have washed all the modesty you once had out of you--"
"I hope not," interrupted the other, "but the fact is that I put thequestion you have supposed to Minnie long ago, and she _did_ say `Yes'to it then, so it's not likely she's goin' to draw back now."
"Whew! that alters the case," cried Forsyth, seizing his friend's hand,and wringing it heartily.
"Hallo! you two seem to be on good terms, anyhow," observed Jamie Dove,whose head appeared at that moment through the hole in the floor bywhich the lantern communicated with the room below. "I came to see ifanything had gone wrong, for your time of watch is up."
"So it is," exclaimed Forsyth, rising and crossing to the other side ofthe apartment, where he applied his lips to a small tube in the wall.
"What are you doing?" enquired Ruby.
"Whistling up Joe," said Forsyth. "This pipe runs down to the sleepin'berths, where there's a whistle close to Joe's ear. He must be asleep.I'll try again."
He blew down the tube a second time and listened for a reply, which cameup a moment or two after in a sharp whistle through a similar tubereversed; that is, with the mouthpiece below and the whistle above.
Soon after, Joe Dumsby made his appearance at the trap-door, lookingvery sleepy.
"I feels as 'eavy as a lump o' lead," said he. "Wot an 'orrible thingit is to be woke out o' a comf'r'able sleep."
Just as he spoke the lighthouse received a blow so tremendous that allthe men started and looked at each other for a moment in surprise.
"I say, is it warranted to stand _anything_?" enquired Ruby seriously.
"I hope it is," replied the smith, "else it'll be a blue lookout for_us_. But we don't often get such a rap as that. D'ye mind the firstwe ever felt o' that sort, Forsyth? It happened last month. I was onwatch at the time, Forsyth was smokin' his pipe in the kitchen, andDumsby was in bed, when a sea struck us with such force that I thoughtwe was done for. In a moment Forsyth and Joe came tumblin' up theladder--Joe in his shirt. `It must have been a ship sailed rightagainst us,' says Forsyth, and with that we all jumped on the rail thatruns round the lantern there and looked out, but no ship could be seen,though it was a moonlight night. You see there's plenty o' water athigh tide to let a ship of two hundred tons, drawin' twelve feet, runslap into us, and we've sometimes feared this in foggy weather; but itwas just a blow of the sea. We've had two or three like it since, andare gettin' used to it now."
"Well, we can't get used to do without sleep," said Forsyth, steppingdown through the trap-door, "so I'll bid ye all good night."
"'Old on! Tell Ruby about Junk before ye go," cried Dumsby. "Ah! well,I'll tell 'im myself. You must know, Ruby, that we've got what theycalls an hoccasional light-keeper ashore, who larns the work out 'ere incase any of us reg'lar keepers are took ill, so as 'e can supply ourplace on short notice. Well, 'e was out 'ere larnin' the dooties onetremendous stormy night, an' the poor fellow was in a mortial fright forfear the lantern would be blowed right hoff the top o' the stone column,and 'imself along with it. You see, the door that covers the manholethere is usually shut when we're on watch, but Junk (we called 'im Junk'cause 'e wos so like a lump o' fat pork), 'e kep the door open all thetime an' sat close beside it, so as to be ready for a dive. Well, itwas my turn to watch, so I went up, an' just as I puts my fut on thefirst step o' the lantern-ladder there comes a sea like wot we had aminit ago; the wind at the same time roared in the wentilators like athousand fiends, and the spray dashed agin the glass. Junk gave a yell,and dived. He thought it wos all over with 'im, and wos in sich a funkthat he came down 'ead foremost, and would sartinly 'ave broke 'is neckif 'e 'adn't come slap into my buzzum! I tell 'e it was no joke, for 'ewos fourteen stone if 'e wos an ounce, an'--"
"Come along, Ruby," said Dove, interrupting; "the sooner we dive too thebetter, for there's no end to that story when Dumsby get off in fullswing. Good night!"
"Good night, lads, an' better manners t'ye!" said Joe, as he sat downbeside the little desk where the lightkeepers were wont during thelonely watch-hours of the night to read, or write, or meditate.