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

by Roy J. Snell

  CHAPTER X.

  THE RESCUE.

  Uncle Zenas grumbled because Captain Eph insisted on holding Sidney inhis arms, instead of lying down to rest as it seemed he ought to havedone; but to all his protests, uttered in whispers lest the rescued menwho were sleeping on the floor be disturbed, the old keeper replied:

  "I don't need any coddlin', Uncle Zenas, for what I've done this dayhasn't tuckered me out a little bit. Besides, I'm restin' with Sonny inmy arms, a good deal more'n I would alone in bed."

  Sidney had a vague idea that he was much too large a boy to be thus heldas if he were a baby; but he made no protest against being thus petted,because it could be plainly seen that it gave the old keeper realpleasure.

  After a short time Uncle Zenas proposed that the strangers be leftalone, lest their rest be disturbed by the conversation, and the crew ofCarys' Ledge light went into the watch-room, where Mr. Peters hadalready built a fire in the small stove.

  The storm raged as severely as at any other time during the day; but toSidney there was no longer any menace in the howling of the wind, whilethe beating of the snow against the windows only served to remind himhow cosy and comfortable it was inside the tower, for with the return ofthe two keepers from their perilous voyage he had forgotten his fears.

  "It doesn't seem possible that you could have kept the boat right sideup in those terrible waves," the lad said at length, and Mr. Petersreplied:

  "There's a good deal of difference between a dory and a boat with akeel, Sonny. In almost any other kind of a craft I'll allow that itmightn't have been possible; but it was a mighty tough pull at thebest."

  "All it needed was a clear head an' plenty of grit, Sonny," Captain Ephadded. "We were stripped down to it till we had to work or freeze, an'so we kept her goin', but more'n once I made up my mind that we'd haveto turn back in spite of the hankerin' to give them poor fellows a lift.Sammy ain't overly fond of laborin', as a general thing; but I must sayhe pulled away this forenoon as if he was a glutton at it, an' time an'time again it seemed as if he reg'larly lifted the dory out'er the waterwith his oars."

  "That's when I was tryin' to keep myself warm," Mr. Peters said with alaugh. "The hardest part of it for me was keepin' the snow out'er myeyes; twice they got froze up, what with the sleet an' spray, an' I hadall I could do to pry 'em open without losin' stroke."

  "Was the vessel where you believed, sir?" Sidney asked.

  "Ah, Sonny. She'd struck the shoal jest as I allowed, an' had driven upon the rocks till the fo'c'sle deck was well out'er water, else neverone of the crew would have lived to talk about it. She was a bigbarkentine--nigh to a thousand tons, I should say--breakin' up mightyfast when we got there, with only four men left on deck, an' they socovered with ice an' snow that you wouldn't have taken 'em for humanbeings. They had a small gun, sich as is used for signalin', lashed tothe capstan; but were past firin' it when we hove in sight."

  "How was it possible to get on board?" Sidney asked.

  "That was what we couldn't do, Sonny. The cap'n of the vessel was theonly one able to give us any help, an' all we could do was to run downunder the lee of the wreck, trustin' to their jumpin' aboard as wepassed, for it stands to reason we couldn't hold the dory in any oneplace many seconds, except at the cost of havin' her stove."

  "Now don't you think, Sonny, that it didn't need some mighty fine workto do what Cap'n Eph's tellin' about so quiet-like," Mr. Petersinterrupted. "There ain't another man on this whole coast who could havedone the trick, an' I'm willin' to confess that my heart was in my mouthpretty much all the time."

  "Sammy did his full share of the work, Sonny, an' did it like a littleman," the old keeper said, continuing his story as if there had not beenany interruption. "The first time we ran down, the captain of thewrecked vessel tossed one of the men aboard us, for the poor fellow wasso far gone he couldn't help himself. The second trip we got anotherpassenger in the same way, an' the third venture, which was nigh bein'the last of our work, owin' to an ugly sea catchin' us when we werewithin four or five feet of the wreck, the other two men jumped aboard."

  "An' by that time we had a full cargo, I can tell you," Mr. Peters said,determined to relate his share of the story. "We had shipped a barrel ofwater while gettin' down there, an' when both the men jumped into thedory at the same minute, she had all any craft could swim under."

  "The two men who had life enough left in 'em to bear a hand, bailed thewater out while Sammy an' I pulled at the oars the best we knew how,"Captain Eph continued, "an' when she was lightened a bit, they got outthe second pair of oars. Of course the wind helped us mightily, when wewas homeward bound; but at the same time considerable work was needed tofetch her in safe. That's all there was to the rescue, Sonny, an' Ireckon Sammy an' I are feelin' a good deal better than if we'd hung'round here listenin' to the gun without liftin' a hand."

  "You're brave men, the bravest that ever lived, as Uncle Zenas said thisforenoon," Sidney whispered, and Captain Eph looked up quickly at hissecond assistant as he asked sharply:

  "What right have you got to fill Sonny's head with sich stuff as that,Zenas Stubbs? I've seen you do plenty of bigger things in front ofPetersburg, an' never yet felt called upon to say you was so terriblybrave!"

  "It's nobody's business what I said to Sonny when you two idjuts wasaway," Uncle Zenas said snappishly. "I didn't tell him then what I willnow--that you're both the most pig-headed, opinionated old shell-backsthat ever wheedled the Government into appointin' 'em to the charge of alight-house!"

  Having thus expressed himself so forcibly, the cook went down-stairs asif suddenly attacked by a fit of the sulks, and Captain Eph whisperedin Sidney's ear:

  "Now wouldn't you think he was a cross-grained old curmudgeon? Wa'al, heain't, an' his heart is jest as big as his body. It's what you mightcall second nature for him to tear 'round when we don't get into thekitchen the very minute he has the food on the table; but, bless you,neither Sammy nor I pay any attention to what he says."

  "It's gettin' well on to sunset," Mr. Peters suggested, "an' I was somixed up this mornin' that I ain't willin' to swear the work in thelantern was done 'cordin' to the rules an' regerlations. It won't do anyharm to have a look at the lamp."

  "Go ahead, Sammy, though I'm allowin' that we did our duty as keepersbefore we started out to help them poor creeters," and Captain Ephfollowed his first assistant, while Sidney kept close at the latter'sheels.

  So far as the lad could judge, there was no decrease in the strength ofthe wind, nor could he see anything to betoken the end of the gale, yetCaptain Eph confidently announced that the "backbone of the blow wasbroken," and the weather would be fair next morning.

  "I hope you're right, Cap'n," Mr. Peters said, as he examined criticallythe apparatus, "for it ain't dead sure that we mightn't fetch away fromthe wreck quite a lot of stuff that would come in handy to us now an'then."

  "That may be, Sammy; but the question is whether we'd get enough to payus for pullin' the dory out there an' back while the sea is runnin'high."

  Now, for the first time since the keepers returned from their dangerouserrand of mercy, did Sidney think of the motor boat, and he askedconcerning her.

  "She's stove for good this time, Sonny," Mr. Peters replied, "an' if wehadn't gone ashore in her jest when we did, all my work would have beenthrown away. I'm allowin' that you'd have hard work to find two of hertimbers; but the motor lays there on the rocks in what I'd call prettyfair shape, considerin' how it was ripped out of her."

  "I wouldn't waste many tears on her, Sonny, for, take it all in all,we've come out of this 'ere gale a good deal better than we had anyright to expect," Captain Eph said, as if believing the lad would feelbadly because his boat had been destroyed.

  "Don't think I'd be so foolish as that, sir," Sidney said with a laugh."Of course I'd rather we had her whole and sound; but she didn't beginto be of as much value in a place like this, as the dory, and if we hadput her into the house, taking your boat out, those poor fell
owsdown-stairs would not now be alive."

  "That's the way to look at it, Sonny," Captain Eph cried cheerily. "Nowwe'll start the light, an' then be ready for Uncle Zenas' call. I reckonhe'd expect us to come down when supper was ready, even if the kitchenwas stacked full of half-drowned sailors."

  As if in answer to the keeper's remark, Uncle Zenas' head appeared justabove the floor at the head of the stairs, and he said in a hoarsewhisper:

  "Two of your shipwreckers are hoppin' 'round down there lively aschickens; but the others are still asleep. What 'ere we doin' to do'bout supper?"

  "I reckon we'd better have it the same as usual, Uncle Zenas," thekeeper replied. "It won't do any harm if them as are still in bed getwakened, for they're likely needin' food as much as sleep."

  "Then the sooner you get into the kitchen an' go to eatin' the betterit'll be for me. I've got work enough on hand, what with sewin' an'cookin', without havin' the table in the middle of the floor all night."

  "If a fat man who claims to be cook on this 'ere ledge would get off thestairs so's we could pass, them as have to do all the work while he'sloafin' 'round might get their meals in better season," Mr. Peterscried as he attempted to crowd past Uncle Zenas, and the latter hurrieddown to the kitchen muttering as if he was beside himself with rage.

  When Sidney reached the kitchen all the rescued men were awake, andtheir captain was introducing them to the crew of the light-house.

  "This is Henry Clark, second mate of the barkentine _Nautilus_," he saidas the man who had assisted in rowing the dory ashore stepped forward."Carl Bragg and Thomas Cutler were of the crew, and are both ableseamen. I was in command of the ship, and my name is Benjamin Nutter."

  Then Captain Eph introduced himself and crew, including Sidney, andadded when that formality was at an end:

  "I reckon you're needin' somethin' hot to eat, an' the sooner you tacklewhat Uncle Zenas has cooked up, the better he'll be pleased."

  The rescued men did not delay in acting upon what was a suggestionrather than an invitation, and instead of simply asking a blessing uponthe food, Captain Eph offered a fervent prayer of thanksgiving becausethe crew of Carys' Ledge light had been permitted to save the lives oftheir fellows.

  During the conversation which ensued while the meal was in progress,Captain Nutter explained that his compasses were to blame for thewreck, since, had they shown true, the _Nautilus_ would have been nearlyan hundred miles to the southward of where she struck. Then, suddenly,he asked:

  "Is that lad one of your crew?"

  "Wa'al," Captain Eph replied slowly, "we've begun to think he is, thoughI don't reckon we can hold him with us very long. He came ashore in afog storm--"

  "His father is Captain Harlow of the schooner _West Wind_!" CaptainNutter cried quickly.

  "Ay, that's who he is," the keeper replied in surprise; "but how do youhappen to know it?"

  "Because I spoke the _West Wind_ two days ago. She had been cruisingaround in search of the missing boat, and was only just put on hercourse again when I met her. Captain Harlow asked me to have the fact ofthe lad's being adrift in a motor boat inserted in all the leadingnewspapers, offering a reward to any one who could give informationconcerning the boy. He is bound for San Juan, and thence to Cadiz."

  It was only natural that Sidney should be in the highest degree excitedand delighted at thus hearing directly from his father; but anexpression of disappointment came over his face as he heard the keeper'squestion and Captain Nutter's reply:

  "How long is he likely to be gone on such a voyage as that?"

  "Of course very much depends upon the length of time he is forced toremain in port discharging and loading; but it is safe to reckon on itsbeing ended inside of a year. In the meantime, as I understood him tosay, his owners will advance whatever money the boy may need."

  "A year!" Sidney exclaimed ruefully.

  "A year!" Captain Eph cried in delight, and Mr. Peters asked anxiously:

  "Think you'd be able to stick it out on Carys' Ledge that long, Sonny,or will you go ashore the first chance that offers?"

  "I'd rather stay here than anywhere else," Sidney replied; "but if theowners of the _West Wind_ are to pay for my board, perhaps they mayclaim the right to say where I shall live."

  "That is easily arranged if you want to stop here, lad," Captain Nuttersaid. "Write a letter to your father, explaining matters, and there isno doubt but he will prefer that you stay where it may be the mostagreeable."

  "But no one can say when I may be able to send a letter ashore, sir,"Sidney replied in perplexity.

  "Get it ready, lad, and I will see that it is mailed without delay. Thekeeper will be so eager to rid himself of four men, that, as soon asthe weather permits, you will see us pulling to the mainland in thedory."

  "He's right, Sonny; we're bound to set him ashore as soon as it may bedone, an' I'll write to your father myself, tellin' him what we oldshell-backs are willin' to do for the sake of keepin' on Carys' Ledge alittle shaver whom we're mighty glad to have with us. Of course you'drather go to him; but since he's arranged for you to stay ashore, I hopeyou'll want to stop with us."

  "Indeed I shall, Captain Eph, and if we can mail our letters very soon,perhaps I may hear from father before he leaves Porto Rico."

  "I allow it can be done without turnin' a hair. I'm predictin' a fairday for to-morrow; but with a heavy sea runnin'. Four an' twenty hourslater it should be possible for Sammy an' me to make the mainland in thedory. It'll take the best part of to-morrow for me to write out anotherreport as to the wreck, an' a letter to your father, so we'll be gettin'off about as soon as all hands are ready."

  Way down deep in Sidney's heart was a feeling of disappointment becauseso much time must elapse before he could see his father; but the keeperswere so delighted at the prospect of his remaining with them during thewinter at least, that he strove to hide his own feelings lest theymight think he was ungrateful.

  Despite the protests of the shipwrecked men, they were sent to sleep inthe room used by the assistants. Uncle Zenas laid down a pile ofblankets in the kitchen for his couch, and the same kind of a bed wasmade for Sidney in the watch-room, he begging for the privilege ofremaining there during the night, to the end that Mr. Peters and CaptainEph might use the keeper's room.

  The occupants of the tower retired at a very early hour, and Sidneyslept so soundly that he did not awaken until after Captain Eph had beenon duty a long while.

  "Why didn't you waken me when you came up here?" he asked reproachfully,and the old keeper replied:

  "I allowed it would do you more good to sleep, Sonny, for you had whatmight be called a hard day, an' needed all the rest that could bescooped in."

  "It was you and Mr. Peters who had the hard day, sir. I did nothing butidle the time away."

  "Stayin' inside was the worst part of the whole job, Sonny. If a man canwork he's all right; but when it comes that there's nothin' to be done,he reg'larly eats his heart out worryin'. What are you an' me goin' todo from now till sunrise?"

  "Suppose you tell me some more sea stories?"

  "All right, Sonny, if that's what you want, an' I only hope I'll alwaysbe able to satisfy you as easy. This'll be a great year for me; but Ireckon I'll be a terrible lonesome old man after you go away."

  "There is no good reason for looking ahead so far as that, sir, for noone knows what may happen before father comes back, so we'll get all thepleasure we can now," Sidney said as he seated himself on the old man'sknee.

  "You're right, Sonny. It's almost wicked for me to be thinkin' ofanything but the fact that we're to have you with us nigh to twelvemonths longer than I thought yesterday at this time could possibly bethe case."

  Then Captain Eph drew upon his memory for some of the wildest andweirdest yarns that were ever spun during a northeast gale, and the timecame for extinguishing the light before Sidney realized that he had beenawake more than half an hour.

  The morning's work was done, and breakfast made ready, while thesurv
ivors of the wreck were yet asleep, and Captain Eph would not allowUncle Zenas to awaken the slumberers, claiming that it was far betterthe cook should do a little additional work, than deprive theunfortunate men of the rest they needed.

  As Captain Eph had predicted, the storm subsided during the night, andbefore breakfast had been eaten the clouds were being driven eastward bythe wind. The sea yet ran so high that the ledge was covered by thewaves a goodly portion of the time; but all the crew were positive thatwithin the next four and twenty hours it would be possible to make thetrip to the mainland in the dory, even though she carried the fourshipwrecked ones in addition to two of the keepers.

  "Now we'll go into the watch-room, an' do our writin', Sonny," CaptainEph said as he arose from the table. "It may be a little early to begin;but we want to put down all the facts an' figgers so that your fatheran' the inspector may know what has happened, an' there's nothin' likehavin' plenty of time when you're writin' out a long yarn."

  Before he had finished giving his father a detailed account of all thathad happened to him since he left the _West Wind_, Sidney came tobelieve that Captain Eph was not far wrong when he proposed that thetask be begun early in the day. The lad had the satisfaction of knowing,however, that he told a straightforward, connected story, even thoughthe greater portion of the forenoon had been spent in writing it down.

  Captain Eph did not finish his work very much sooner than had Sidney,and when the two went down into the kitchen, they found the rescued mendiscussing with Mr. Peters and Uncle Zenas the incidents of thedisaster.

  The details of the disastrous voyage were related by each of thesurvivors in turn, and then came the question as to whether it might bepossible to save anything from the wreck.

  Captain Nutter was of the opinion that the _Nautilus_ had already goneto pieces; but the crew of the light felt certain the forward portion ofthe vessel was yet held by the rocks, and Mr. Peters said decidedly:

  "When we come back from the shore I'm goin' to make a try for it, an' ifI bring away half a dory-load of canvas, I'll count the time wellspent."

  "I sincerely hope you may get enough to pay you for your trouble, andonly wish I might be able to reward you for what you have done in ourbehalf; but with the _Nautilus_ a wreck, I'm the same as penniless," andthe deep sigh which escaped Captain Nutter's lips told of the sorrow inhis heart.

  "We wouldn't take the value of a cent if you had all the money in theland," Captain Eph cried emphatically. "This 'ere crew tries to do itsduty by the Government, an' when that's been done, if we can work in alittle overtime, like takin' you off the wreck, we feel as if we couldlook ourselves in the face knowin' we'd lent a hand when it was needed."

  The serious tone which the conversation had taken did not please UncleZenas, and in order to change the subject he held up the coat on whichhe had been working, saying as he did so:

  "Come here, Sonny, an' let me see how it fits. I don't claim to be anygreat shakes of a tailor; but I hope there's gimp enough in me yet to doa job like this in a decent manner. Of course Cap'n Eph will buy youwhat's needed, when he goes ashore to-morrow, but even then this won'tgo amiss to knock around on the ledge in."

  Uncle Zenas had no reason to be ashamed of his work; he had made asailorly looking garment out of Captain Eph's second-best uniform coat,and it fitted Sidney quite as well, if not better, than any which couldhave been purchased ready made.

  "I allers said you was a master hand with a needle, Uncle Zenas," Mr.Peters cried as he surveyed Sidney in his new coat, with the eye of acritic, "an' here's the proof that I knew what I was talkin' about.Captain Eph may buy clothes for Sonny till the day of his death, an' hewon't get anything that'll match this one for all-around goodness."

  "I'll do better than that before Sonny has finished his year on Carys'Ledge," the cook said, vainly striving to hide the pardonable pride hefelt because of his work. "Jest now, though, it's my business to getdinner, an' if you people will go up into the watch-room so's a man canhave a chance to turn 'round, we'll have some prime salt fish boiled,with plenty of pork scraps."

  "So long's you've got your coat on, you may as well come with me an' seewhat's left of the motor boat," Mr. Peters said to Sidney, and sinceCaptain Eph did not make any objection to the proposition, the two wentdown to the ledge.

  The machinery was all that could be seen of the little craft in whichthe lad had spent so many wretched hours, and that was so badly rent andrusted that Sidney felt confident it could never be put in working orderagain.

  "I'm not so certain of that," Mr. Peters said as he examined the motorcarefully. "Of course neither you nor me could set it up, because wedon't know how; but if it holds good weather I'm goin' to take itashore, an' put it in the hands of some man who understands hisbusiness. If it's possible to get it in shape, I'll buy a hull, an' nextspring we can knock around out here like a couple of swells, with ourown yacht."

  Sidney was not particularly elated by the promise, since he believed themotor was injured beyond repair; but Mr. Peters was so confident thathe talked of little else during the remainder of the day, and beforesunset even Uncle Zenas had begun to speculate upon the possibility ofowning a power boat, which might be housed on the mainland during thewinter season, when she could not be kept on the ledge.

  "You're to stay with Uncle Zenas to-morrow, Sonny," Captain Eph saidwhile he and Sidney were in the lantern waiting for the moment when thelamp should be lighted. "I allow it'll be a bit more lonesome thanusual; but it's better than knockin' about in a boat that's overloadedwith six grown men."

  "I shall get along all right, sir," Sidney replied in a cheery tone,although the prospect was not pleasing. "I've been wanting to know moreabout light-houses, and I'll spend the time reading some of your books."

  "That's right, Sonny," and the keeper stroked the lad's hairaffectionately. "I like to see a boy try to make the best of everything,as you've done since comin' ashore here. It ain't likely I'll begallivantin' all over creation this winter same's I've been doin' thesethree days past, an' we'll have some prime good times after we're shutin by the weather. Now what are you allowin' that I shall buy for you atthe store?"

  "I really don't want anything, except something more to wear, and ofcourse you know that father will give back all the money you may spendfor me."

  "He won't if I can prevent it," Captain Eph cried sharply. "It'll do mesolid good to rig you out in proper shape; but I do wish you washankerin' after gim-cracks."

  "But I'm not, Captain Eph, and I'll be perfectly contented here tillfather comes, for I'm a mighty lucky boy to have fallen into such goodhands after floating around so long in an open boat."

  "Sunset, an' time to start the lamp!" the keeper cried, looking at thewatch he had been holding in his hands, and once more the light onCarys' Ledge streamed out across the waters, warning sailormen of thetreacherous rocks near at hand.