The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-house Service

by Roy J. Snell

  CHAPTER VII.

  A LESSON ON BUOYS.

  Before Mr. Peters could make any reply to the rather equivocal remark ofthe keeper, Sidney, glancing over his shoulder carelessly, was startledinto a cry of surprise, for they were close aboard the ledge, and, as ifwaiting 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 nearthe light. The boat has made better time than when we went over, and yetI didn't know I was running the motor any faster."

  "Very likely you kept the same pace with the machine; but this 'ere windhas been pushin' us along a good two miles an hour," the keeper repliedas he waved his hand in greeting to Uncle Zenas.

  "Ahoy on the boat!" the cook shouted as if he was hailing a ship half amile 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 boundto eat 'cause we can't get anything else."

  "Way enough, Sonny!" Captain Eph cried at this moment, and Sidney shutoff the supply of gas, thus bringing the screw gradually to astandstill.

  A moment later Uncle Zenas seized the bow of the little craft, draggingit up on the ways, and the voyage had come to an end within six hours ofits beginning.

  "Hold on there!" Mr. Peters cried excitedly when Uncle Zenas would havetaken 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 hewould have taken up one of the packages; but the first assistant was sofrantic in his efforts to prevent him, that Sidney could not restrainhis mirth, for the battle-scarred veteran looked much like an old hendefending her chickens.

  "What in the name of goodness, Sammy, have you got there?" Uncle Zenasasked in surprise, and he looked inquiringly at Captain Eph.

  "I don't know anything about it," the keeper said in reply to the mutequestion. "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 ashe eyed the packages suspiciously.

  "He was too sharp for us, an' when I saw that he was at some kind ofunderhanded 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 wellcramped up with sittin' still so long."

  While Uncle Zenas obeyed this command, Mr. Peters carried his goods intothe tower, giving no heed to his comrades, and by the time the motorboat had been run up on the ways to the door of the boat-house, he cameout looking exceedingly well pleased with himself.

  Uncle Zenas had prepared an unusually appetizing dinner for thevoyagers, and while they were giving evidence of their appreciation ofhis efforts by eating heartily, Captain Eph said with a long-drawn sighof content:

  "I declare it does seem good to get home! It'll be many a long daybefore 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 voyagehad been undertaken, and in answer to his questions the keeper explainedwhat had been done.

  "Then I s'pose we can look for his father almost any day?" the cook saidinquiringly, and Captain Eph explained why, as Mr. Peters had presentedthe matter, some considerable time must necessarily elapse before anyinformation could be received concerning Captain Harlow's movements.

  "I'm allowin', since Sammy put me right on the matter, that the firstword we get will come from the inspector," the keeper said as if todismiss 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 refusedall offers of assistance in stowing away the goods which had beenbrought from the mainland, Captain Eph went into the watch-room,followed by Sidney, for Mr. Peters had slipped out of the tower as ifafraid some one might take note of his movements.

  "Well, Sonny," the keeper said when he was alone with the lad, "what doyou 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 befound."

  "I've been expectin' you'd ask that same question jest as soon as you'dgot well inter this 'ere light-house business, an' it strikes me you'llknow more about it by readin' somethin' I've put by here, than if Ispent the whole day tryin' to tell it in my clumsy way," the keeper saidas he gave to Sidney an open book, from which the lad read that whichfollows:

  "The buoy is to the seaman by day what the light is at night, and whatthe 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 inand out of harbor.

  "The buoy service has its own code of laws, State and national, a fleetof small steamers for its maintenance, and a corps of contractors toattend to the buoyage of coves and inlets impracticable to the steamers.It has its depots for the storage of iron buoys, where they are paintedand numbered, or repaired, and also where wooden buoys are made readyfor service. It has its own directory printed yearly, in thirteenvolumes, distributed gratuitously for the benefit of commerce, in whicheach one is mentioned by name, located by station, and described bysize, 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, withodd numbers, on the left-hand side of channels approached from seaward;that buoys placed on wrecks and other obstructions, having a channel oneach side, be painted with red and black horizontal stripes; that thosebuoys placed in mid-channel, and which indicate that they must be passedclose-to to avoid danger, be painted with white and black perpendicularstripes; and, finally, that perches, with balls, cages, etc., whenplaced on buoys, will indicate a turning-point, the color and number ofthe buoy showing the side on which they are to be passed.

  "Iron buoys are hollow, with air-tight compartments, and are made ofthree shapes, called nun, can, and ice-buoys. The nun-buoys are almostconical in form; the can-buoy is in shape the frustum of a cone, nearlyapproaching a cylinder, and the ice-buoy is found much like a spar-buoy,of great length, slight thickness, and of the largest diameter near itsmiddle. Each shape is classified by size, and diversified by color andnumber. They were once made of wooden staves, like barrels, but theirrapid destruction by submarine worms caused the substitution ofboiler-iron.

  "The cost of these buoys varies with the price of iron, and they havebeen 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 ofbeing run down and ripped open by passing steamers. As the iron buoysare made with compartments, they are rarely sunk, but their line offloatation is often lowered, and their usefulness accordingly decreased.

  "Spar-buoys frequently lose a portion of their length, which is cut offby strokes of colliding propeller-blades. Despite state and nationalstatutes forbidding it, vessels will sometimes make fast to buoys, thusgradually dragging them off their bearings. A buoy has sometimes beenset adrift that a reward might be obtained for its recovery; but this isnot a profitable operation, as the reward paid is varied with thecircumstances of each case.

  "The buoy's worst enemy, however, is ice, when moving in mass, and witha tide or current. A well-made, well-moored buoy at the mouth of anarrow river can create an ice-gorge; but usually, when the ice moves inforce, the buoys met have their mooring-loops torn out, theirmooring-chains broken, or their mooring-anchors weighed; and in eachcase the buoys are carried out to sea,
when the buoy tenders give chase,and, if successful in their capture, return them to position.

  CAPE ELIZABETH.]

  "The sea-going qualities of the large buoys are shown by their volunteervoyages. One is now anchored off the coast of Ireland, where it waspicked up, about six weeks after it had been wrenched from its place inNew York harbor, and turned over to the Irish light-house establishment,by which it was reported to the United States Light-House Board, when itwas presented to the Irish Board, who simply added to its former markstheir own, and moored it near the point where it came ashore, incommemoration of its peculiar voyage.

  "The iron ice-buoy is made of boiler-iron, and is divided intocompartments, so that any one may be pierced without sinking the buoy.One of the first-class costs $275, is fifty feet long, and standstwenty-two feet out of water. One of the second-class costs $181, isforty feet long, and stands seventeen feet out of water. As with woodenspar-buoys, the ice passes over them without carrying them away; but,unlike the wooden buoys, they break the propeller blades which strikethem, instead of being broken, and, thus defending themselves, last manytimes longer than spar-buoys, and, though costing more at first, aremore economical in the end."

  Captain Eph had remained patiently near the window during all the timeSidney was reading that which has been given here, and a smileoverspread his face as the lad said when he closed the book:

  "It seems as if I ought to know all about buoys, after reading so much,and I'll try not to forget it."

  "The longer you stay with us, Sonny, the bigger idee you'll get of themoney it costs to keep the waters of this 'ere country in proper trimfor sailors. I reckon there ain't more'n one landsman in twenty who,when he sees a light-house, could give any reasonable guess as to thebigness of the service."

  "There's a lot to learn about it," Sidney said with a sigh, and CaptainEph replied laughingly:

  "Indeed there is, Sonny, an' you ain't forced to wade through it allunless your curiosity leads that way. There's a big fleet of steamers tobe talked about yet, an' they must surely cost a lot of money."

  The keeper was interrupted by the voice of Uncle Zenas from the kitchen:

  "Ephraim Downs, I want to know if your losin' your senses entirely?"

  "Now Uncle Zenas, what seems to be the trouble with you?" the keepercalled down through the door. "Has the cookin' gone wrong, or didn't webuy all the gim-cracks you wanted?"

  "In case you haven't lost your senses, why is Sammy allowed to make ajumpin' jack of himself all over this 'ere ledge? If anybody should seehim, it would be told everywhere on the mainland that we'd gone crazy,an' then goodness only knows what might happen!"

  "I didn't know Sammy was up to any capers, Uncle Zenas; but I'll lookinto the matter, an' if he's doin' anything agin the rules an'regerlations, I'll straighten him out in short order. Don't worry abouthis bein' seen, for there isn't so much as a fisherman's dory in sight."

  "He'd be cavortin' 'round jest the same if a whole fleet had hove to offhere," Uncle Zenas cried, and without waiting to make any reply, CaptainEph hurried to one of the windows, from which Sidney was already gazingout with a look of wonderment on his face.

  "What in the name of goodness has come over Sammy?" the old keeper criedto no one in particular; but Sidney replied in a tone of perplexity:

  "It looks as if he was nailin' up a lot of sticks, sir."

  "But he can't nail 'em to the rocks, an' whatever he puts up there willbe carried away by the first wave that breaks over the ledge!"

  Mr. Peters certainly was acting in a very peculiar manner. He had in hisarms five or six strips of boards or planks, which had the appearance ofhaving been washed up from some wreck, and was striding to and fro,evidently trying to find some place where he could place them in a sortof frame-work, for, during the short time Captain Eph and Sidney watchedfrom the window, he made two unsuccessful attempts to secure them in anupright position.

  The old keeper watched his first assistant narrowly for some time,evidently losing a tiny bit of his temper each moment, and presently itwas impossible for him to remain silent any longer:

  "I ain't so certain but that we'll have to set about makin' astraight-jacket for Sammy, an' we sha'n't have much more'n time to do itbefore the lamp must be lighted. Come down with me, an' we'll try tosoothe him a little. I thought he acted queer about that stuff hebought, an' most likely this spell was jest comin' on."

  Sidney was not prepared to believe that the first assistant had becomeinsane so suddenly; but he followed the keeper down the narrow stairs,eager to hear what explanation Mr. Peters might give for his peculiarbehavior.

  When the lad entered the kitchen he saw Uncle Zenas standing in the opendoor leading to the outside ladder, looking out as if in greatest alarm.

  "Have you seen Sammy?" he asked in a whisper, and with such a comicalexpression of fear on his face that Sidney was forced to laugh outright.

  "You don't seem to think there's anything the matter with him," UncleZenas said reproachfully. "That's because you don't know Sammy verywell. In all the years I've lived on this 'ere ledge, I never saw himcuttin' up any sich capers as he's flingin' now."

  "It looks to me as if he was hunting for a chance to build something,sir. I can't see that he is acting very queerly."

  "It's queer for him to be runnin' 'round so when there's no need of it,"Captain Eph interrupted. "Sammy don't like work overly well, an' I neversaw him do any more than he could help. I'm goin' to know what's thematter, though."

  Then the keeper, while descending the ladder, called softly, as ifafraid of frightening his first assistant:

  "Hello, Sammy, what seems to be the matter with you?"

  "With me?" Mr. Peters repeated in astonishment. "What made you thinkthere was anything wrong?"

  "What are you runnin' 'round so after?"

  "An' why shouldn't I, if the notion strikes me? Are you afraid I'll doany harm to the rocks?"

  "Now don't get excited, Sammy; but it kind'er bothers Uncle Zenas an' meto see you runnin' around as if you'd lost your head."

  "Don't look, an' then you won't feel so bad," the first assistant saidsharply, as once more he attempted to fasten the strips of board in anupright position, and Captain Eph asked impatiently:

  "What are you tryin' to do, Samuel Peters? As the keeper of this 'erelight, I call upon you to explain your actions."

  Mr. Peters dropped the sticks and stared at Captain Eph in astonishmentwhile one might have counted ten, and then asked irritably:

  "Is there anything in the rules an' regerlations to stop me from nailin'these boards together, an' standin' 'em up on end, if so be it can bedone?"

  "Not a thing, Sammy, not a thing; but it makes Uncle Zenas an' me feelkind'er bad to see you jumpin' 'round at sich a rate. Does your oldwound trouble you any?"

  By this time Mr. Peters began to understand somewhat of the fears in theminds of his comrades, and it all seemed to him very comical. He laugheduntil the tears ran down his cheeks, and his mirth brought on such anattack of coughing that Sidney was really afraid he would be strangled.

  "Thought I'd gone crazy, eh?" he cried as soon as it was possible forhim to speak. "You an' Uncle Zenas have been figgerin' how you could getme into the hospital, I s'pose? Crazy!" and again the first assistantlaughed until he choked and gasped for breath. "Let me tell you, Cap'nEph, that when I do go off the hooks you won't see me loafin' 'roundpeaceable as this, for I'll think I'm in front of Petersburg again, an'cut up in a way that you can't call pleasant."

  "But what are you tryin' to do, Sammy?" Captain Eph asked eagerly."What's the meanin' of your runnin' 'round with them strips of boardunder your arm?"

  "I'm tryin' to set up what you might call a frame; but can't find aplace to put it."

  "But, Sammy, it wouldn't stand against the first wave that ever washedover the ledge!"

  "I know that, Cap'n Eph, an' I only want it to hold together till 'bouteight o'clock to-night, an' then it can go drown itself for all I care."


  "Now you're talkin' queer, agin, Sammy," the old keeper said in a toneof real concern, and the first assistant replied as he struggled torestrain his mirth:

  "Look here, Cap'n Eph, jest try to hold in till eight o'clock to-night,an' then you'll understand all about it. This 'ere is a little surpriseof mine, an' I reckon there ain't anythin' in the rules an' regerlationsto prevent me from springin' it."

  Even Uncle Zenas was convinced by this time that Mr. Peters had not lostany portion of his mind, and Captain Eph returned to the kitchen, wherehe said, as if having solved some important problem:

  "What Sammy bought when he was ashore has got somethin' to do with thesurprise he's countin' on givin' us, an' I s'pose we may as well let himhave his fling, for he always was a good deal of a boy."

  As a matter of fact, so Uncle Zenas afterward told Sidney, Mr. Peterswas two years older than Captain Eph, but one might have thought, fromthe way the others treated him, that the first assistant was a merechild as compared with them.

  The cook was brimming over with curiosity as to the nature of thesurprise which Mr. Peters had in store for them, and Captain Ephconfessed that he was "all in the dark"; but, remembering the shape ofsome of the packages the first assistant brought with him, and his fearlest they should get wet, Sidney believed he could make a very goodguess as to what was coming.

  "He sha'n't be the only one on this 'ere ledge who can rig up asurprise," Uncle Zenas finally said. "You two are to get out of thiskitchen, an' stay out until after the light is started; when I call youto supper, come runnin', or I'll make considerable trouble."

  "This way, Sonny," Captain Eph said with a laugh. "I reckon our place isup-stairs whether they want us to go or not, for there's gettin' to bealtogether too much mystery about this 'ere ledge to suit me."

  Sidney followed the keeper, and when the two were climbing the stairs,the lad said:

  "This must be one of the highest towers the Government ever built,Captain."

  "Indeed it isn't, Sonny, not by a long chalk. From the ledge to thelight is only one hundred an' twenty feet; but I've got up-stairs anaccount of the highest tower the Board ever built, an' you shall readit. I ain't tryin' to fill you chock-a-block with facts aboutlight-houses, but when you spring these 'ere questions on me I can'thelp flashin' up what I know about 'em, which ain't a great deal whenyou come to simmer it right down."

  When the two were once more in the watch-room, the keeper handed Sidneya slip of paper on which was printed the following:

  "The tallest skeleton iron tower erected by the United StatesLight-House Services was at Hell Gate, Astoria, N. Y., in 1883-84. Itsheight was two hundred fifty-five feet and five-eighths of an inch. Itwas built in the form of a frustum of a pyramid, and was fifty-four feetsquare at the bottom and six feet square at the top. It cost $11,000,and showed nine electric lights, each of which was of six thousandcandle power. It was designed to illuminate the narrow, intricate, anddangerous channel as by artificial daylight. At night the effect wasgrand. The tower itself could not be seen, and the lights appeared as ifhung from the heavens. It accomplished all that was intended, and more,for the light was so brilliant that it dazzled the eyes of the pilots,and prevented them from seeing objects beyond the circle illumined. Theshadows thrown were so heavy that they took the form of obstacles. Sothe light was discontinued in 1886, at the instance of those who hadobtained its establishment. The tower was sold as it stood, for oldiron; but it was so strongly built that dynamite had to be used toaccomplish its overthrow."

  "Captain Eph," Sidney asked as he ceased reading, "what shape is the'frustum of a pyramid'?"

  "Wa'al, Sonny, that 'ere bothered me so much when I first came here,that I studied the thing up in a dictionary the inspector lent me, tillI knew all about it. You know what a 'pyramid' is in shape? Wa'al, jestcut off the top, and what's left will be the frustum. It's like a goodmany other words that puzzle a fellow, mighty simple when you study into'em."

  At this point conversation was interrupted by the sound of angry voicesbelow, and, going to the stairway, Captain Eph shouted:

  "What's happenin' down there?"

  "It's that 'ere Sammy," Uncle Zenas replied. "He's kickin' up a terriblerow out here, an' I wish you'd poke your head through the window so's tomake him mind his eye!"

  "What's he doin'?"

  "Tryin' to get in, an' I've got the door locked."

  "Why don't you open it?"

  "'Cause he can't come in till supper's ready. He went amblin' 'round theledge gettin' up his surprise, an' now he'll stay where he is for aspell."

  "I declare it does seem as if all hands of this crew had gone crazysince daybreak!" Captain Eph exclaimed as he went to the window.

  Opening it he looked out for an instant, and then, his weather-beatenface convulsed with mirth, he said to Sidney:

  "Come here, Sonny, an' have a squint at Sammy. I declare he looks jestlike a big grasshopper tryin' to crawl up a blade of grass."

  After some difficulty, Sidney succeeded in getting a glimpse of Mr.Peters as he stood on the iron ladder in front of the kitchen door,pounding on it vigorously with his fist.

  "Ahoy there!" Captain Eph cried as soon as he could control his mirth."What'er you doin', Sammy Peters?"

  "I'm tryin' to get in, that's what I'm doin'!" the first assistant criedangrily. "That pig of a Zenas Stubbs has locked the door in my face!"

  "Go down an' 'tend to your surprise, Sammy," the keeper commanded."Uncle Zenas allows that he's got jest as much right to rig up foolthings as you have, an' it looks to me as if the only way was to hold ontill he's ready to spring on us whatever he's got."

  "How long will that be?" Mr. Peters demanded angrily.

  "Till after the light is started for the night, so he told me."

  "An' where am I to stay all that time?"

  "Crawl inter the boat-house, if you can't do any better, for I allowZenas Stubbs is standin' on his rights as the second assistant keeper ofthis 'ere light."