by Roy J. Snell
CHAPTER XI.
"SONNY'S" OUTFIT.
The inmates of the light-house were astir next morning very shortlyafter Captain Eph went on watch, because it was the desire of thekeepers to start for the mainland at the earliest hour possible.
Uncle Zenas had insisted that they should leave as soon as breakfast hadbeen eaten, declaring that he and Sidney could trim the lamp and cleanthe lens before the kitchen had been set to rights.
Therefore it was that the day had but just begun to break when the partywas ready to set off, and Captain Eph said warningly to his secondassistant when all were gathered at the cove, waiting for Mr. Peters tolaunch the dory:
"See to it, Uncle Zenas, that the light is shut off on the stroke ofsunrise."
"I reckon I know enough to run this 'ere place one day, without anyextry lessons from you," the cook said gruffly, and Captain Ephcontinued placidly, as if there had been no interruption:
"Remember that the lantern must be put in order before you get to workon the kitchen. It seems to me as if we'd been a little slack in ourduties lately, an' I'm countin' on keepin' a stiffer hand over this 'erecrew from now on."
"If you're goin' ashore, be off, an' don't try to teach your grandmotherhow to suck eggs!" Uncle Zenas cried as if in anger. "Unless I'm anat'ral born idjut, I know as much 'bout this 'ere light as you do,Ephraim Downs."
"I ain't sayin' anythin' agin that part of it, Uncle Zenas. We'll allallow you know enough; but what worries me is that you'll get the ideeinter your head that it's more important to fix up the kitchen first,an' I want you to keep sharp in mind that the cookin' part don't cut anyfigger alongside of the light itself."
"Anybody would reckon you thought the cookin' part was all in all onthis 'ere ledge, if they could hear you growlin' when the meals don'tjest suit you," Uncle Zenas cried, and perhaps he would have said morebut for the fact that Captain Nutter came forward to say good-bye, andthank him for the hospitality extended.
"Don't say a word about it," Captain Eph interrupted. "It's mightylittle we've done at the best, an' no more'n one Christian man ought'erdo for another. If we could have saved your whole crew, then there'd besomethin' to talk about."
Each of the shipwrecked men in turn wanted to give words to hisgratitude, as was only natural, since, save for the exertions of thekeeper and his first assistant they would not have been alive; but Mr.Peters was as much opposed to being thanked as was Captain Eph, and themen went on board the dory after silently shaking hands with Uncle Zenasand Sidney.
"Don't let Sammy linger 'round on shore any longer than is necessary!"the cook cried warningly. "He's been off so much lately that I'm afraidhe'll get it inter his head it must be done reg'lar, whether he's gotany business or not."
"I'll look after him all right, so you needn't worry, Uncle Zenas," thekeeper cried cheerily, and then the dory was pushed off from the shore,the cook and Sidney watching her until she had rounded the ledge,heading a straight course for the shore.
"Now I reckon we'll go inter the lantern," Uncle Zenas said when it wasno longer possible to distinguish the faces of those in the boat, owingto the dim light. "Cap'n Eph will keep his eyes on the light, an' if itshouldn't happen to die away at the very minute when the sun ought'errise 'cordin' to his watch, the chances are he'd make all hands comeback to straighten us out."
Nothing so serious as that took place, however, for the light wasextinguished at the proper moment, and then the work of making it readyfor another night was begun.
"I declare for it, Sonny, you're as handy with this job as if you'd beenat it all your life!" Uncle Zenas exclaimed while Sidney was working."You're doin' it a heap better'n Sammy ever can, even if he sticks onthis ledge to the day of his death."
"That is because I've been trying hard to find out just how it should bedone," Sidney said laughingly, but decidedly pleased by the words ofpraise. "You've all been so good to me, that I'd be a pretty poor kindof a boy if I didn't do my best at the little jobs that come my way."
"It may seem as if you was gettin' the best end of the trade, Sonny; butyou're way off mistaken. We old shell-backs are the ones who's havin'all the fat, 'cause it brightens us up wonderfully to have you 'round."
Sidney was at a loss for a reply to this remark, and changed the subjectof the conversation by asking Uncle Zenas of what service a certaincylinder of thin brass, which entirely encircled the chimney of thelamp, could be in the general arrangement of the light.
"I reckon you've noticed that this 'ere light seems to die away once inevery forty seconds, eh?" the old man asked as he raised and lowered thecylinder. "Well, this cover of brass is what does it, an' the clockkeeps it movin'. You see the clock is made fast to the brass cylinder,an' as the wheels go 'round it is raised till the whole of the flame isuncovered, an' then lowered till it's nearly shut out. The whole thingis simple enough, but it took a mighty clear-headed man to think it up.When a vessel comes off this coast, an' the cap'n sees Carys' Ledgelight growin' dim an' then brightenin' up, he counts the number ofseconds that go by from one bright flash to another, an' says tohimself, says he: 'That 'ere is a forty-second flash, an' she's about soan' so off the coast.' Then he dives inter the cabin, hunts up his listof lights, sees which one answers to the description he's got in mind,an' says to himself, says he: 'That's Carys' Ledge, an' I'll make thecourse a leetle more southerly.' If that 'ere clock should happen tobreak down on account of not bein' properly cared for, we'd have to taketurns grindin' a crank to keep the brass cylinder movin' up an' down'cordin' to the rules an' regerlations, else there'd soon be anothership piled up on the rocks alongside the _Nautilus_."
By the time Uncle Zenas had come to an end of his explanation, thenecessary work had been performed, and he said with a sigh ofsatisfaction as he began to descend the stairs:
"Now I reckon we can be gettin' at the serious part of the business! Itallers makes me feel lonesome to know that the kitchen hasn't been setto rights, for that's the first place a visitor gets into when he comesto the light, an' he's liable to judge everything by what he seesthere."
"There isn't any great need to bother your head about visitors," Sidneysaid with a laugh. "People don't come out to this ledge every day."
"True for you, Sonny; but s'posen the kitchen was lookin' like allpossessed on that pertic'lar day? I keep it put to rights as much of thetime as I can, an' then I don't stand any chance of bein' caughtnappin'."
Then Uncle Zenas went to work with a will, positively refusing alloffers of assistance from Sidney, and, finally, the lad went into thewatch-room, where he read about lenses and the refraction of light untilhe despaired of ever thoroughly understanding the subjects.
At noon there were no signs of the keepers' return, but Uncle Zenasdeclared the dory would "heave in sight" within the next two hours, andproposed that they "have a bite to stay their stomachs," deferring aregular dinner until all the crew were together once more.
"I don't want even a bite now," Sidney said decidedly. "Do you supposeCaptain Eph would be displeased if I carried the glasses into thewatch-room?"
"Not a bit of it, Sonny. Use 'em wherever you please, an' I'm allowin,'if you keep a sharp lookout, you'll see the dory inside of half anhour."
Then Sidney climbed the narrow stairs with the glasses held carefullyunder his arm, and twenty minutes had not elapsed before he could see,far away in the distance, what looked like a toy boat manned by aminiature crew.
"They're coming, Uncle Zenas! They're coming!" he shouted, and the cookreplied:
"I reckoned it was about time they'd be showin' up, an' have jest put onthe potatoes. Dinner'll be ready when they get here."
Sidney watched through the glasses until he could distinguish thefeatures of both the keepers, and as he gazed Captain Eph waved his handto show that he had seen the little lad in the window of the tower.
Then Sidney ran down-stairs and out on the ledge, standing at the headof the narrow cove as the dory rounded the rocks, while Mr. Petersshouted:
"I'll tell you what it is, Sonny, we must have our motor boat inrunnin' order before next spring, for pullin' a pair of oars when a mancan jest as well sit still an' let a screw do the work is all nonsense.I've found a fellow who claims he can put your machinery in prime orderfor us, an', what's more, he's comin' out here to get it, when the windhauls 'round to suit him."
By the time Mr. Peters had thus imparted his news, the dory's bow was onthe ways, and Captain Eph had leaped ashore to take the lad in his armsas if they had been parted many days.
"Been lonesome, Sonny?" the keeper asked anxiously, and Sidney repliedlaughingly:
"No sir, though I was glad when you came in sight. Have you had a goodtime?"
"I was wishin' every minute that I'd staid at home an' let Uncle Zenasgo; but I don't reckon it would have done any good if I'd coaxed him allnight to take my place. He's kind'er shy 'bout knockin' 'round in a boatsince he's growed so fat. We'll haul the dory up, an' then you shall seewhat I've brought in the way of an outfit."
Captain Eph had no more than ceased speaking before the cook called themto dinner, and in such a peremptory tone that the old keeper saidhurriedly:
"I reckon we'd best put off seein' the things till after we've pacifiedUncle Zenas by eatin' what he's been cookin'. It does beat all hownervous that old man gets if all hands ain't ready to sit down at thetable the minute he says the word, an' 'twixt you an' me, he's growin'worse every year of his life."
"Wa'al, Ephraim Downs, I hope this is the end of your gallivantin' for agood long spell," Uncle Zenas cried when the keeper and Sidney enteredthe kitchen. "It don't seem as if you'd been at home more'n one hour outof every ten for the past five days."
"I reckon you can count on my stickin' pretty close to the ledge tillnext spring," Captain Eph said in a soothing tone as he took his placeat the table. "When this spell of weather breaks, we're likely to get itso heavy that there won't be a chance for an honest man to stick eventhe end of his nose outside the tower."
"That's jest the way I figger it," Mr. Peters added as he seated himselfopposite Captain Eph, "an' so I've made up my mind to have a look at thewreck before sunset."
"Haven't you pulled a pair of oars long enough for one day?" the keeperasked in surprise, and Mr. Peters replied:
"I can't say that I ain't a bit tired; but it stands to reason the wreckwon't stay on the shoal a great spell, an' I want to see her."
"What did you get for Sonny?" Uncle Zenas asked, interrupting Mr. Peterswithout the slightest compunction.
"We bought what Sammy an' me both allowed was the proper kind of anoutfit for a boy who counted on spendin' the winter on Carys' Ledge, an'you'd seen the whole lot by this time, if you hadn't been in sich apucker for us to come to dinner," Captain Eph replied, much as if hefelt in some way injured because the meal had been served so promptly.
"The sooner you eat what's set before you, the sooner we'll see what youbrought," Uncle Zenas said sharply, and, thus admonished, Captain Ephasked that the food be blessed to them.
The meal was not prolonged; as soon as his hunger had been satisfied theold keeper went out to the dory for the several packages which had beenstowed in the bow of the boat, and Uncle Zenas stood in the doorway thathe might have the first opportunity of examining the goods.
It did really seem to Sidney as if Captain Eph and Mr. Peters hadpurchased twice as many articles of wearing apparel as he needed; butUncle Zenas talked as if he thought they had been niggardly in selectingthe outfit.
There were two full suits of clothes, neither of them very expensive orstylish, but stout and serviceable; under garments, stockings, boots,oil-skins which were somewhere near small enough for him, and, whatpleased the lad hugely, a sou'wester--meaning a waterproof hat--whichfitted him to a nicety.
After the wardrobe had been examined critically by Uncle Zenas, whodeclared that he would be obliged to "sew up every seam, else they'dfall apart the first time Sonny looked at 'em hard," Captain Ephunwrapped a large paper box, saying as he removed the cover:
"I know that little shavers are powerful fond of candy, so I bought whatI reckon will last Sonny quite a spell. Least-ways, here's all there wasin the shop, so we couldn't have got any more, no matter how much hemight have wanted it."
"You must have as much as ten pounds there, Ephraim Downs, an' it's adownright shame to give Sonny that kind of truck when, if he wantedsweets, I could have made him plenty of wholesome molasses candy," andUncle Zenas helped himself liberally from the box.
"I reckon he'll soon be needin' the molasses candy if you're goin' in sosteep," Captain Eph said with a laugh, as he covered the box and placedit on a shelf behind the stove.
"What's to hinder Sonny from comin' with me to see the wreck, now thatyou've showed up all the assortment?" Mr. Peters asked, and the oldkeeper looked inquiringly at the lad.
"I'd like to go, sir," Sidney said in reply to the mute question. "Ihave never seen a wrecked vessel."
"All right, Sonny; but I'm goin' along too, for I couldn't trust youalone with Sammy," Captain Eph cried cheerily, and Uncle Zenas grumbled:
"I knew it would turn out this way, when you went ashore with Sonny.You're gettin' a bad habit of roamin', Cap'n Eph, an' I'll count myselflucky if I find you at meal time."
"You'll reach me then, Uncle Zenas, so long as you have your tongueleft," Captain Eph replied with a hearty laugh at his own wit as he wenthurriedly out of the tower, beckoning Sidney to follow. Not until thelad had put on the coat made from the keeper's uniform would the cookallow him to leave the kitchen, and by the time he gained the head ofthe little cove, Mr. Peters had the dory ready for the voyage.
With each of the men using a pair of oars, and Sidney in thestern-sheets steering, it was not a long journey to an outlying spur ofCarys' Ledge on which the _Nautilus_ foundered. The stern of the vesselhad been carried away, and the timbers completely shattered forward ofthe main-mast; but from that point toward the bow she remainedcomparatively intact.
"There won't be much to take away, Sammy," Captain Eph said grimly asSidney steered the dory around the hulk that they might get a good view."The cargo has been washed out clean as a whistle, an' the decks swepttill there's not so much as a belayin' pin to be seen. I don't reckonyou count on strippin' off the forward riggin' single-handed, eh?"
"I had an idee we might pick up somethin' in the way of small timbers,"Mr. Peters replied ruefully. "We'll be needin' considerable of that kindof stuff for our motor boat, when we get at her."
"I thought you had decided to put the motor in a dory?" Sidney said insurprise.
"That was what I had in mind till I talked with the machinist ashore,an' now I think we may as well build a craft with a cabin, seein's we'llhave plenty of time," and Mr. Peters searched the wreck with his eyesfor such lumber as he believed might be needed in order to carry out hisnewly formed plan.
"All the light stuff would have been in the cabin, an' I'm allowin' thata good bit of it will be washed up on the ledge," Captain Eph said as helooked with a weatherly eye at the sky. "We're goin' to have the windfrom the east'ard mighty soon, if signs count for anything, an' then'swhen you'll get all the lumber needed for half a dozen boats, thoughwhere it can be stored for the winter beats me."
"There's plenty of room in the boat-house on either side of the dory. Itwon't do any harm to fill up that space, an' she'll lay more quiet whenit's flooded," Mr. Peters suggested.
"We'll allow you're right, so far as that goes, Sammy, an' now ifthere's anythin' on the wreck that you believe is worth savin', shinaboard, for it's gettin' time we was back to the ledge."
Then Captain Eph pulled the dory in toward the wreck until it waspossible for Mr. Peters to clamber on board at the expense of a thoroughwetting, and while the keeper and Sidney waited in the dory, after shehad been backed off at a safe distance, the lad said with more ofdecision in his tones than he ordinarily used when speaking to the oldsailor:
"I was thinking while you
were ashore this forenoon, sir, that if I amto stay at the light until father gets back, it's time I made a changeof sleeping quarters."
"Is there anything the matter with the bed you've got now, Sonny?"Captain Eph asked anxiously.
"Nothing, except that it is yours, and I'm not willing to have youturned out any longer. I don't need a room all to myself, and you do,so there must be a change."
"I couldn't be any more comfortable than I am the way we've alreadyfixed things, Sonny, an' it would do me a world of good to know I wasgivin' you somethin' nigh as fine as you'd get ashore."
"Neither you nor I know how little I might have ashore, sir, and Isha'n't feel contented so long as you are kept out of your own room."
"How would it do if Uncle Zenas could fix up another bed there? It seemsto me we'd be snug an' cosy then," and Captain Eph's tone was much thesame as if he had been asking a great favor.
"Then it would be all right, sir. What I want is, to know that you havethe same chance for sleeping as before I came."
"I'll get Uncle Zenas to see what can be done this very night. You shallhave half the shelves for your own things, an' we'll make it look mightyhomelike, unless I'm way off my reckonin'. Hello, you Sammy!" the oldman cried, raising his voice. "How much longer are you goin' to fiddle'round there?"
"I ain't much more'n got aboard; but if you're in sich a pucker to getback to the reef, I'll wind up business for the night, an' come aloneto-morrow mornin', when I can do somewhere nigh what I want'er."
"That'll be the ticket, Sammy. Come out here an' stop all day, if youlike; but jest now I'd rather be where I'm paid for stayin'."
The dory was backed in as Captain Eph spoke, and Mr. Peters succeeded inboarding her without serious mishap.
"There's a good bit of stuff aboard that's worth savin'," the firstassistant said as he pulled at the oars. "I reckon I'll make a raft ofit, so's to get it ashore in one trip."
"Take what you like, Sammy; but don't forget that you've got a mightysmall place in which to stow it."
Mr. Peters was so busily engaged in planning how he could care for thematerial which might be taken from the wreck at the expense ofconsiderable hard work, that he was not inclined for furtherconversation, and no word was spoken during the return trip.
When, the dory having been hauled up on the ways and properly housed forthe night, Sidney went into the tower, he found Uncle Zenas sewing onthe clothing which Captain Eph had brought from the mainland, and heasked in surprise:
"Do you have to make new things over, sir?"
"Yes, Sonny, when they're sich slop-shop things as these. A stitch herean' there now will save a world of trouble later, an' I'm lookin' to thefuture. Where are you to keep all this stuff?"
Sidney repeated the substance of the conversation he had so lately hadwith Captain Eph regarding sleeping quarters, and without awaitingorders from the keeper, Uncle Zenas set about making preparations atonce.
"I reckon you're both right about the bed, an' I know jest how we'll fixthe thing to suit you; there's plenty of time before I begin to getsupper."
"But perhaps Captain Eph would rather hear about it first," Sidney saidtimidly, as the cook began to ascend the staircase, and the old manhalted suddenly as he cried:
"Why, Sonny? What does he know 'bout sich things? He's helpless as ababy when it comes to the livin' part of keepin' a light-house, an' themore he'd say 'bout it the less we'd know what ought'er be done. I'll'tend to this part of the business myself!"
Then the old man went up-stairs, and a moment later, when Captain Ephentered the kitchen, his first question was as to the cook'swhereabouts.
Sidney explained how it had happened that he spoke to Uncle Zenasregarding the bed, and expressed sorrow because possibly he hadinterfered with some plan which the keeper might have had in mind.
"Not a bit of it, Sonny," Captain Eph cried with a hearty laugh. "You'vesaved me a world of trouble, perhaps, for if I'd said anything of thekind to Uncle Zenas he'd been certain to want it this way or that, an'we'd had a heap of tongue-waggin' before gettin' the matter settled. Nowhe'll go ahead in his own way, as he thinks, an' the job is done."
Half an hour later Uncle Zenas came into the kitchen to cook supper,when he announced that everything had been done in what he considered aproper manner, and, curious to see how it was arranged, Sidney at oncewent to the keeper's chamber.
On the floor, in that part of the room where it would be sheltered fromthe draft of the stairway, was a rest-inviting bed with an ample supplyof coverings, and the lad said to himself that now he could lie down tosleep knowing he was not depriving Captain Eph of the comforts which heabsolutely needed.
"Got it fixed, eh?" Mr. Peters asked when Sidney came into the kitchenagain, and the lad replied:
"It's as snug as possible. Uncle Zenas has done the thing up brown."
"That's 'cause I didn't have anybody standin' 'round sayin' it ought'erbe done this way or that," the cook said emphatically, and Captain Ephwinked slowly at Sidney and Mr. Peters.
"Well, Sammy, what time do you count on startin' for the wreckto-morrow?" the keeper asked when they were eating supper, afterlighting the lamp in the lantern.
"Jest as soon as we get cleaned up. I reckon I'll make a good long dayof it, for the chances are she'll go to pieces mighty soon, if yourprediction about an easterly blow comes out true."
"I'll do your share of work in the morning," Sidney cried eagerly. "Thenyou can start as soon as it's light."
"There's no reason why he shouldn't," Captain Eph said in answer to thelook Mr. Peters gave him. "Sonny could take care of the light all byhimself, if so be there was any need for it; he's the quickest littleshaver to learn I ever saw."
"Then I'll take up with his offer, an' be glad of the chance," the firstassistant replied, and by this time Uncle Zenas insisted on knowing whatit was Sammy proposed to do.
When Mr. Peters explained that it was his intention to save what hecould from the wreck, with the idea that the material thus obtainedmight be useful in the future, Uncle Zenas made most vigorous protestto the surprise of all. He declared that it was not safe for the firstassistant to go alone, and insisted that if the work must be done,Captain Eph should accompany him.
It was useless for the others to argue the matter with the cook; hewould not allow that any one person was warranted in venturing alone onthe wreck, and begged that the keeper would refuse permission for Mr.Peters to leave the ledge.
"I sha'n't do anything of the kind," Captain Eph replied bluntly. "Sammyhas got it inter his head that he'll get a lot of stuff from the wreck,an' if he's willin' to do all the work, I can't see that I've got anyright to stop him."
Sidney believed Uncle Zenas was making a "mountain out of a mole-hill,"but before four and twenty hours had passed he wished most ferventlythat the cook had prevailed in the argument.
