The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-house Service
Page 17
CHAPTER XVII.
THE INSPECTOR.
Sidney told the story of his rescue to Mr. Sawyer, while the two wereup-stairs selecting such articles from Captain Eph's wardrobe as themate needed, and dwelt at length on the care and affection which thelight-house crew had bestowed upon him.
When they descended to the kitchen again a substantial meal was setbefore the rescued sailor, and after it had been eaten, he explained howhe chanced to be adrift in the dory with neither food nor water.
He, with one of the men from the fisherman, had been sent out to settrawls, and while they were thus engaged a white squall struck them. Tomake any effort at battling against it was out of the question, and theyallowed their boat to drift before it, doing no more than to keep herhead on to the seas, believing the fishing schooner would be able topick them up.
Their story was not unlike the many which we read of from time to time,among the disasters to the fishing fleet. During the remainder of thatday, and all the night, they scudded before the wind, and when morningcame, with nothing to be seen on the angry waste of waters, theyexhausted themselves in the effort to row the dory back whence theycame, believing the schooner had been hove to.
When another night approached they were no longer able even to guide theboat. Both suffered bitterly with thirst and hunger, and as the windcontinued to blow with great fury, it looked as if they were doomed to alingering death, with but the faintest hope of a rescue. Mr. Sawyer'scompanion gave up the unequal struggle in despair, refusing to raise ahand in his own behalf.
"From that moment," Mr. Sawyer said as he concluded the sad story, "heremained aft in the bottom of the boat, and I was unable to arouse him.How long we drifted after that, I cannot rightly say; but when I saw youmaking preparations to aid us, I tried to pull him to his feet, that hemight be in shape to help himself in some slight degree. I believe hewas already dead, and, knowing that I could not get ashore through thesurf burdened with his lifeless body, I gave no further heed to him.Even as it was, I came near drowning Mr. Peters, for the two of us wererolled over and over half a dozen times before you pulled us to ourfeet, and then I was so dazed that but for his grip on my collar I musthave fallen back into the surf."
"If Sammy once got hold of you it was a case of your comin' out," UncleZenas said with a laugh. "He's so stubborn that nothin' short of bein'really choked to death would have made him give up."
Then the conversation turned upon the possibilities of Mr. Sawyer'sbeing able to gain the mainland, and before it had come to an end Mr.Peters and Sidney were forced to go into the lantern to light the lamp.
Captain Eph was determined to return to his own room, and once more hewas half-dragged, half-carried up-stairs; but this time the task wasaccomplished with less pain to him because of the assistance Mr. Sawyerwas able to give.
Next morning the wind showed signs of abating, and the old keeperpredicted that within eight and forty hours it would be possible to makea landing on the ledge.
"Then we shall see the tender again, if it so be the inspector wants toget some word to us, an' you can go back in her," Captain Eph said as ifthere was no question in his mind as to what would happen; and Mr.Sawyer asked concerning Sidney's plans for the future.
The lad himself explained that he proposed to remain on the ledge,unless his father should send instructions to the contrary, and Mr.Sawyer said in a matter-of-fact tone:
"I'll tell the captain how comfortably you are situated here, and evenif he has made arrangements for you to go else-where, there's littledoubt but that he'll change them."
"Do you expect to see father very soon?" Sidney asked in surprise.
"Ay, lad, if I can get ashore, and am lucky enough to find a vesselready to sail for Porto Rico, I'm hopin' to get there before he leaves.I'd offer to take you with me; but in case my plan shouldn't workexactly as I've figgered, you would be in a bad fix."
"Sonny had better stay where he is," Captain Eph said emphatically, andUncle Zenas added:
"We couldn't let him go while two of us are crippled, for we wouldn't beable to run the light without him."
Before night came the wind and sea had so far subsided that there was nolonger any question about its being possible for the tender to send aboat ashore in case she came out to the reef within the next twenty-fourhours, and Mr. Peters and Sidney worked like beavers to put the interiorof the tower in the best possible shape for the reception of visitors.
When another day dawned the weather was all the veriest fresh-watersailor could have asked for, save that the sea still ran in long, heavyswells which might have caused any but seasoned sailors considerablediscomfort, and from the time breakfast had been eaten all hands keptwatch for the approach of the steamer.
It was Captain Eph who first saw her in the distance, and he said, aftermaking known the fact that she was heading for the ledge:
"The inspector must have got it into his head that things have beengoin' wrong in this 'ere tower, else he'd never come so soon again jestto bring a message from Sidney's father."
There is no need of saying that all hands were considerably excited bythe time the little steamer slowed down on the western side of the ledgethat a boat might be lowered, and Mr. Peters said, as he and Sidney wentto the cove that they might meet whosoever was coming ashore:
"There's no sense of our gettin' into a stew before hand, Sonny. If sobe we've done wrong without knowin' it, we'll hear about it soon enough,an' if it's a message from your father, there ain't any call to feelbad. Wa'al, I declare, if that ain't the inspector himself gettin' intothe boat!" the first assistant added as he saw the officer. "This ain'tthe time for his reg'lar visit, an' I reckon we're goin' to beoverhauled in great shape, though what it can be about beats me!"
Five minutes later the small boat was entering the cove, and akindly-faced gentleman in the stern-sheets cried out:
"Well, Mr. Peters, I hear that the crew of this light have beendistinguishing themselves. So that is the new assistant you have takenon?" and he nodded toward Sidney. "How are Captain Downs and Mr. Stubbsgetting on?"
"Uncle Zenas is so he can 'tend to the cookin' all right, sir; but hecan't amble 'round very lively. Cap'n Eph is likely to be lame quite aspell yet."
"Who is the stranger in the doorway?" and the inspector looked curiouslytoward the tower.
"He's a sailor we picked up day before yesterday, sir; drifted here in adory."
"Been doing more work as life-savers, have you?" the inspector asked insuch a kindly tone that Sidney decided he had not come out to findfault.
By this time the officer had stepped ashore and was going toward thetower; but, observing that Mr. Peters remained behind, he called:
"I want to see you and Captain Downs together, Mr. Peters, and we may aswell attend to the Department's business first. Come in, please."
"Now there _is_ trouble brewin'," Mr. Peters whispered to Sidney, "an'it must be mighty serious, for this is the first time the inspector everwanted me around when he was overhaulin' Cap'n Eph's accounts."
MATINICUS.]
"He looks too friendly to be very fierce," Sidney replied, and the firstassistant muttered:
"You can't allers tell by the look of a cat how far she'll jump. I'drather have a man come at me hammer an' tongs, than be so terriblepleasant when he's gettin' ready to read the riot act."
When Mr. Peters and Sidney entered the kitchen the inspector wasquestioning Uncle Zenas as to how he had been injured, and the secondassistant soon told the whole story, very briefly.
"I suppose Captain Downs is in his room," the inspector finally said."We'll go there, and if it is possible for you to get up-stairs farenough to hear what is said, Mr. Stubbs, I shall be glad to have you doso."
"He's goin' to give all hands a wiggin'," Mr. Peters whispered, andSidney felt strongly inclined to laugh outright, so comical was theexpression of fear on the first assistant's face.
The crew of Cary's Ledge light was not long kept in suspense as to thereason
for the inspector's visit. After assuring himself, by personalexamination, that the keeper's injured limb had been attended to in aproper manner, he said abruptly as he took rather a bulky package fromhis pocket:
"Captain Nutter of the _Nautilus_ reported to the Department, throughme, that you two men, at great peril to yourselves, saved the lives ofthree of his crew and himself, all of whom would have unquestionablybeen drowned but for your heroic exertions. The Light-House Board hasinstructed me to say that they are proud to have such men in theservice, and I have here a letter of commendation. The TreasuryDepartment has sent these two gold medals on which are inscribed yournames and the service rendered, in token that the Government holds youin especial esteem as brave men--such men as are needed in thelight-house service."
As the inspector spoke, the two keepers and Sidney gazed at him inopen-mouthed astonishment, while from the head of the stairs could beheard the heavy breathing of Uncle Zenas, and when the cases containingthe medals were being opened by the officer, the second assistant couldremain silent no longer.
"You ain't makin' the littlest bit of a mistake, Mr. Inspector, when youcall them two brave men! I know what they did, an' I'll take my affidavythat you won't find another couple of their age who'd put out in a dorysich a mornin' as that when the barkentine laid on the shoal!"
"I am willing to say, judging from the statement made by Captain Nutter,that it was an exceptional show of bravery, Mr. Stubbs, and amthoroughly well pleased to be able to put the medals in their hands. Whydon't you look at them?" he added as Captain Eph and Mr. Peters held theleather cases gingerly without offering to touch the heavy goldentokens.
"To tell the truth, sir, you've knocked the gimp all out of me!" the oldkeeper said as he brushed his eyes, and then threw his arms aroundSidney as if on the verge of bursting into tears, while Mr. Peterschoked and coughed, but spoke never a word.
Then the inspector, as if to break the silence which was becoming almostpainful, said as he laid his hand on Sidney's head:
"It was because of you that we tried to land here the other day; yourfather had requested that you be taken from the ledge, and aboarding-place be found for you on the mainland. Since having receivedyour letter, however, he telegraphed, yesterday, that you be allowed toremain in the light until his return, and because of the assistancewhich I learn you have rendered the keepers, I see no reason why theBoard will not grant his request."
"Then he's to stay, is he?" Captain Eph cried, displaying a keenerinterest in the matter than he had in the medals, and the inspectorrepeated what he had already said.
"I'd rather have the little shaver with me for a year to come, than allthe gold an' letters the Board can send!" he cried, again holding Sidneyvery close to him, and the inspector quietly went down-stairs, leavingthe two men and the boy alone.
Uncle Zenas was not disposed to keep secret Mr. Peters' latestexhibition of bravery, and, calling upon Mr. Sawyer for confirmation, hetold the story to the inspector in detail, concluding by saying:
"There are times when it's terribly tryin' to have Sammy pokin' 'roundthe kitchen; but if any trouble comes up, you can count on him everyminute of the day or night, no matter how many chances he may be takin'of losin' his own life. He an' Sonny together have run the light, donethe cookin', an' doctored Cap'n Eph and me up in great shape since wewere laid by the heels."
"I will report to the Board that which you have told us," the inspectorsaid gravely, and then announced that he intended to leave the ledge atonce. "I wanted to give the medals into the hands of the keepers, ratherthan intrust the matter to others, and there is nothing now to keep me."
"Don't you want to see Cap'n Eph agin?" Uncle Zenas cried, surprisedthat the inspector should even think of going away without informing thekeeper of his purpose.
"It will be well to leave them alone for a time, and whatever business Imay have in regard to the boy can be transacted when I next come out ona tour of inspection. Now, Mr. Sawyer, if you are ready, we will goaboard."
Thus it was that when, ten minutes later, Mr. Peters and Sidney cameinto the kitchen, there was no one save Uncle Zenas to be seen, and thelight-house tender was hardly more than a faint smudge in the distance.
"The inspector has gone, an' took Sawyer with him!" Mr. Peters cried tothe keeper when he learned of what had occurred.
"Gone?" Captain Eph cried incredulously. "Why, that can't be, for Ihaven't had a chance to make a report about the way Uncle Zenas an' Ihave neglected our duty."
"He left jest the same as if he knew all about it," the second assistantcried, and then, turning to Mr. Peters, he demanded, "What have you donewith your medal, Sammy?"
"We've put 'em both away in Cap'n Eph's box. You don't s'pose we'd keepthe like of them knockin' 'round loose, do you?"
"Of course I s'pose it!" Uncle Zenas cried angrily. "I'm allowin' thatyou'll wear 'em all the time, so's folks will see what you've done. I'dlike to know what medals are for, if not to wear."
"Wa'al, the ones that are up-stairs will stay jest where they are, 'ceptwhen you get ready to look at 'em. Do you allow, Uncle Zenas, that I'dlook pretty cleanin' fish, or knockin' 'round over the ledge with a biglump of gold hangin' to my coat?"
The second assistant was by no means satisfied with this statement. Hedeclared that if the medals were not to be worn daily, they should atleast be kept where visitors would be certain to see them, andthreatened that, unless some arrangement of that kind were made, hewould resign his position of second assistant without delay, "ratherthan stay 'round with a couple of idjuts who didn't know enough tospread themselves when they had the chance."
Uncle Zenas carried his point finally, otherwise his comrades might havehad difficulty in obtaining food, save by using force, and before hewould consent to take the first step toward cooking dinner, the medalswere hung conspicuously in the watch-room.
Sidney was woefully disappointed because he had not been able to sendsome message by Mr. Sawyer to his father; but Captain Eph consoled himby predicting that the mate would not succeed in getting to Porto Ricobefore the _West Wind_ had taken her departure.
"He's got to find a vessel bound for that port, an' then coax the cap'ninto givin' him a passage, all of which takes time. It don't stand toreason, Sonny, that he'll get there, an' your messages can be sent in areg'lar letter, for of course your father wrote you an' me 'bout thesame time he telegraphed to the inspector. It seems to me everything hascome 'round jest as we'd like to have it, an' you're to stay here withus!"
"But how am I to get the letter, if father wrote one?" the lad askedanxiously, and Uncle Zenas replied:
"Don't you fear but that it'll be sent out here to you. The inspector isbound to come again before long, for he jest the same as said so, an'all we've got to do is enjoy ourselves--that is, when Cap'n Eph cantoddle 'round once more, an' I'm able to move about without most killin'myself."
This conversation had been carried on with Uncle Zenas sitting on thestairs where he could look into the keeper's room, for he had refused togo back to the kitchen, or allow any one else to do so, until the medalshad been hung in the watch-room according to his instructions.
Now, however, he made ready to set about the work of getting dinner, andastonished his comrades by declaring that when he had cooked the bestmeal possible from the stores on hand, it should be served in thekeeper's room, regardless of the additional labor such an arrangementwould entail.
"You'll have to lug everythin', even to the dishes, up here, an' carry'em back again!" Captain Eph exclaimed, and Uncle Zenas replied:
"I wouldn't care if the whole outfit was to be taken inter the lantern,it should be done. I'd like to know, Ephraim Downs, if we're ever likelyto have so much reason for a thanksgivin' dinner as we've got this day?"
"You're right, Uncle Zenas, you're right, an' seein's how the only waywe can celebrate is by eatin', get to work, an' if dinner ain't readytill midnight, we'll turn to all the heartier for havin' waited solong."
"You'll have
to bring up the table an' the dishes, Sammy," the secondassistant said in a tone of authority, and Mr. Peters replied with agrin:
"I reckon that won't be any very hard job; but if you're countin' on myluggin' you too, the plan won't work, for nothin' short of a derrickwould answer on sich a job as that."
"If I can't get 'round this 'ere tower without callin' on you for help,I'll stay in the kitchen, same's I've been doin'," Uncle Zenas repliedsharply, and then he made his way down the stairs, a furious clatteringof pots and pans telling a few moments later that he had commenced workon the "thanksgiving" dinner.
* * * * *
And here it is, while preparations for the celebration are in progress,that we must leave the crew of Carys' Ledge and their guest, for thevery good reason that it would not be practicable to follow them day byday to the present time. The year which Sidney was to remain there doesnot come to an end until next October, and, therefore, it is impossibleto say whether he will leave the crew when his father returns, or liveso near them that daily visits may be possible.
More than once since that day when he delivered the medals has theinspector hinted that as a reward for their faithful services it wasprobable they would be transferred to a light-house on the mainland, andduring his last visit he told Sidney as a very great secret that hebelieved the change would be made during this present summer.
When this has been done, the three light keepers will be stationed nearSidney's old home, and he believes that he will be allowed to live near,if not really with them, while attending school.
The motor boat was built as Mr. Peters had planned, and early in thespring after the wreck of the _Nautilus_, she was taken to Cary'sLedge. During this summer she has been used for pleasure excursions,trips to the mainland, or for fishing on nearly every pleasant day, andthat she is a seaworthy craft may be inferred from the fact that UncleZenas has been out in her a dozen times or more.
It would indeed be a labor of love to set down more concerning the livesof these three light keepers and the lad whom they call "Sonny"; and atsome future day, if the young people so desire, the full particulars ofSidney's stay on Carys' Ledge, after the visit of the inspector with themedals, shall be written.
APPENDIX.
EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS.
To the end that the modern light-house service may be the betterunderstood and appreciated by whosoever reads this story of the Mainecoast, the following extracts are taken from the last annual report ofthe Light-House Board, and from the work on the Light-House Service,prepared by Mr. Johnson, chief clerk of the Light-House Board, andpublished by the Government:
The famous Pharos of Alexandria, built about 285 B.C. is the first light of undoubted record. The light-house at Corunna, Spain, is believed to be the oldest existing light-tower. This was built in the reign of Trajan, and in 1634 it was reconstructed. The erection of the Eddystone Light-house, off Plymouth, England, formed an era in the construction of light-houses. The masonry was 76 feet 6 inches, and the top of the lantern 93 feet, above the foundation. It was completed in 1759. The various courses were so dovetailed into each other, and the whole fifty so secured together, that the tower was almost as solid as if cut out of the solid block. Immense difficulties had to be overcome from the first landing on the rock on April 5, 1756, to the laying of the first stone, June 12, 1757, and the last, on August 24, 1759. But strong as it was, it became necessary to take it down and rebuild it on a neighboring rock, as that on which it was founded was weakened from the constant assaults on the sea. This was safely done within our own time.
The Wolf Rock Light-house, off Land's End, Cornwall, England, is the last great British work, and both in its structure and its illumination it combines all the refined improvements. A survey was made in 1861, and the foundation commenced in March, 1862. In the first season only eighty-three hours of work could be done, and between that and its completion, on July 19, 1869; there were in the eight working seasons two hundred and ninety-six landings on the rock, and the time occupied was equal to about one hundred and one working days of ten hours each. The cost was L62,726.
The great distinction between the later towers and their predecessors is that the stones of each course are dovetailed together laterally and vertically, so that the use of metal or wooden pins is needless. This method was first used at the Hanois Rock, Guernsey. On the upper face and at one end of each block is a dovetailed projection; and on the under face and at the other end is a dovetailed indentation. The upper and under dovetails are made just to fall into each other, and when the hydraulic cement is placed on the surface it so locks the dovetailing that the stones cannot be separated without breaking. Thus, when the cement is set and hardened, the whole of the base is literally one solid mass of granite. The lower courses for the first 39 feet of the Wolf Rock Light-house have fillets on their outer edges, into which the upper course is stepped, and this prevents the action of the waves from penetrating the joint.
There is little doubt but that the early colonists recognized the necessity for beacons with which to guide their home-returning shallops to a safe anchorage, and that they took effective means to show the English and Dutch ships which should make their land-fall at night the safe way to the harbor. But the first authentic evidence of this being done at the public charge, is the record of the proceedings of the general court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, from which it appears that on March 9, 1673, a petition came from the citizens of Nantasket, Massachusetts (now Hull), for the lessening of their taxes, because of the material and labor they had expended over and above their proportion in building the beacon on Point Allerton, the most prominent headland near the entrance to Boston harbor. At that session also it appears that bills were paid from Nantasket for making and furnishing "fier-bales of pitch and ocum for the beacon at Allerton Point," which "fier-bales" were burned in an iron grate or basket on the top of a beacon, for the building of which Nantasket had furnished 400 boat-loads of stone.
The first light-house on this continent was built at the entrance to Boston harbor, on Little Brewster Island, in 1715-16, at a cost of L2,285 17s 8-1/2d. It was erected by the order and at the expense of the general court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and it was supported by light-dues of 1d per ton on all incoming and outgoing vessels, except coasters, levied by the collector of imports at Boston.
The maritime colonies followed the example of Massachusetts, and when the United States by the act of August 7, 1789, accepted the title to, and joint jurisdiction over, the light-houses on the coast, and agreed to maintain them thereafter, they were eight in number, and comprised the following lights, all of which are still in existence, though so greatly improved that they are the same only in purpose and in site:
Portsmouth Harbor Light, New Hampshire; Boston Light, on Little Brewster Island; the Gurnet Light, near Plymouth, Massachusetts; Brant Point Light, on Nantucket, Massachusetts; Beaver Tail Light, on Conanicut Island, Rhode Island, in Narragansett Bay; Sandy Hook Light, New Jersey, entrance to New York harbor; Cape Henlopen, Delaware, at the entrance to Delaware Bay; Charleston Main Light on Morris Island, entrance to the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
The theory of coast lighting is that each coast shall be so set with towers that the rays from their lights shall meet and pass each other, so that a vessel on the coast shall never be out of sight of a light, and that there shall be no dark places between lights. This is the theory upon which the United States is proceeding, and it plants lights where they are most needed upon those lines. Hence from year to year the length of the dark spaces on its coasts is lessened or expunged entirely, and the day will come when all its coasts will be defined from end to end by a band of lights by night, and
by well-marked beacons by day.
In the first century of its existence the light-house establishment of the United States cost about ninety-three and a quarter millions of dollars.
In 1791 the amount expended by the Government in support of its light-house establishment was $22,591.94. In 1890 the expenditures amounted to $3,503,994.12.
The average yearly sum paid for maintaining an average light-station of each class is:
For a first-order light-station $3,842.00 For a second-order light-station 2,711.12 For a third-order light-station 1,568.77 For a fourth-order light-station 1,107.83 For a fifth-order light-station 635.05 For a sixth-order light-station 552.17 For an outside light-ship of recent build 7,078.28 For an inside light-ship of old build 3,546.32 For an average fog-signal, operated by steam or hot air 2,260.59 For a steam tender of recent build 15,126.83
There are under the control of the light-house establishment thefollowing named aids to navigation:
Light-houses and beacon lights 1,423 Light-vessels in position 46 Light-vessels for relief 8 Gas-lighted buoys in position 130 Fog-signals operated by steam, caloric, or oil engines, about 197 Fog-signals operated by machinery, about 233 Post-lights, about 1,868 Day or unlighted beacons, about 668 Whistling buoys in position, about 88 Bell-buoys in position, about 139
Other buoys in position, including pile buoys and stakes in fifth district and buoys in Alaskan waters 5,088
In the construction, care, and maintenance of these aids to navigationthere are employed:
Steam tenders 40 Steam launches 7 Sailing tenders 1 Light keepers, about 1,525 Officers and crews of light-vessels and tenders, about 1,279 Laborers in charge of post-lights, about 1,600
LIST OF MEMBERS OF LIGHT-HOUSE BOARD, JULY 1st, 1904.
HON. VICTOR H. METCALF, Secretary of Commerce and Labor, ex-officio president.
REAR ADMIRAL ROBLEY D. EVANS, U. S. Navy, chairman.
COL. WALTER S. FRANKLIN.
MAJ. HARRY F. HODGES, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army.
DR. HENRY S. PRITCHETT, Institute of Technology.
COL. AMOS STICKNEY, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army.
CAPT. GEORGE C. REITER, U. S. Navy.
CAPT. CHARLES T. HUTCHINS, U. S. Navy, naval secretary.
LIEUT. COL. DANIEL W. LOCKWOOD, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, engineers' secretary.
EXECUTIVE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
REAR ADMIRAL ROBLEY D. EVANS, U. S. Navy.
CAPT. CHARLES T. HUTCHINS, U. S. Navy.
LIEUT. COL. DANIEL W. LOCKWOOD, U. S. Army.
Partial list of appropriations made at the second session of theFifty-Eighth Congress for the Light-House Establishment:
Supplies of light-houses $475,000 Repairs of light-houses 740,000 Salaries of light keepers 815,000 Expenses of light-vessels 525,000 Expenses of buoyage 550,000 Expenses of fog-signals 205,000 Lighting of rivers 300,000 Survey of light-house sites 1,000 Oil houses for light-stations 10,000 Porto Rican light-house service 75,000 Maintenance of lights on channels of Great Lakes 4,000 Pointe au Pelee light-vessel, Lake Erie 4,000
* * * * *
Transcriber's Note:
Punctuation has been standardised.
Variations in spelling, including dialect, have been retained as inthe original publication.
The following changes have been made:
Page 35: "own true an' lawful afther" was changed to "own true an' lawful father"
Page 132: "and I' ll try not to forget it" was changed to "and I'll try not to forget it"
Page 163: "Why my report hasn't yet reached the inspector, consequently there ain't a single soul, outside of us four, who knows anything wreck was the _West Wind_, having come out here after about it." was changed to "Why my report hasn't yet reached the inspector, consequently there ain't a single soul, outside of us four, who knows anything about the wreck of the _West Wind_, because he hasn't come out here about it."
Page 164: "entirely dlsmised the matter" was changed to "entirely dismissed the matter"
Page 185: "of use, Sonny. Ephriam Downs is" was changed to "of use, Sonny. Ephraim Downs is"
Page 261: "himself in comamnd. "I'll" was changed to "himself in command. "I'll"
Page 273: "a hospital, why would'nt it be" was changed to "a hospital, why wouldn't it be"
Page 296: "they wanted to speak us" was changed to "they wanted to speak to us"
Page 315: "the man with the magaphone shouted" was changed to "the man with the megaphone shouted"