"I'll tell you what it is, Sonny, we must have our motor boat in runnin' order before next spring, for pullin' a pair of oars when a man can 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 order for us, an', what's more, he's comin' out here to get it, when the wind hauls 'round to suit him."
By the time Mr. Peters had thus imparted his news, the dory's bow was on the ways, and Captain Eph had leaped ashore to take the lad in his arms as if they had been parted many days.
"Been lonesome, Sonny?" the keeper asked anxiously, and Sidney replied laughingly:
"No sir, though I was glad when you came in sight. Have you had a good time?"
"I was wishin' every minute that I'd staid at home an' let Uncle Zenas go; but I don't reckon it would have done any good if I'd coaxed him all night to take my place. He's kind'er shy 'bout knockin' 'round in a boat since he's growed so fat. We'll haul the dory up, an' then you shall see what I've brought in the way of an outfit."
Captain Eph had no more than ceased speaking before the cook called them to dinner, and in such a peremptory tone that the old keeper said hurriedly:
"I reckon we'd best put off seein' the things till after we've pacified Uncle Zenas by eatin' what he's been cookin'. It does beat all how nervous that old man gets if all hands ain't ready to sit down at the table 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 a good long spell," Uncle Zenas cried when the keeper and Sidney entered the kitchen. "It don't seem as if you'd been at home more'n one hour out of every ten for the past five days."
"I reckon you can count on my stickin' pretty close to the ledge till next spring," Captain Eph said in a soothing tone as he took his place at the table. "When this spell of weather breaks, we're likely to get it so heavy that there won't be a chance for an honest man to stick even the end of his nose outside the tower."
"That's jest the way I figger it," Mr. Peters added as he seated himself opposite Captain Eph, "an' so I've made up my mind to have a look at the wreck before sunset."
"Haven't you pulled a pair of oars long enough for one day?" the keeper asked in surprise, and Mr. Peters replied:
"I can't say that I ain't a bit tired; but it stands to reason the wreck won'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. Peters without the slightest compunction.
"We bought what Sammy an' me both allowed was the proper kind of an outfit 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 a pucker for us to come to dinner," Captain Eph replied, much as if he felt 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 you brought," Uncle Zenas said sharply, and, thus admonished, Captain Eph asked that the food be blessed to them.
The meal was not prolonged; as soon as his hunger had been satisfied the old keeper went out to the dory for the several packages which had been stowed in the bow of the boat, and Uncle Zenas stood in the doorway that he might have the first opportunity of examining the goods.
It did really seem to Sidney as if Captain Eph and Mr. Peters had purchased twice as many articles of wearing apparel as he needed; but Uncle Zenas talked as if he thought they had been niggardly in selecting the outfit.
There were two full suits of clothes, neither of them very expensive or stylish, but stout and serviceable; under garments, stockings, boots, oil-skins which were somewhere near small enough for him, and, what pleased the lad hugely, a sou'wester—meaning a waterproof hat—which fitted him to a nicety.
After the wardrobe had been examined critically by Uncle Zenas, who declared that he would be obliged to "sew up every seam, else they'd fall apart the first time Sonny looked at 'em hard," Captain Eph unwrapped a large paper box, saying as he removed the cover:
"I know that little shavers are powerful fond of candy, so I bought what I reckon will last Sonny quite a spell. Least-ways, here's all there was in the shop, so we couldn't have got any more, no matter how much he might have wanted it."
"You must have as much as ten pounds there, Ephraim Downs, an' it's a downright shame to give Sonny that kind of truck when, if he wanted sweets, I could have made him plenty of wholesome molasses candy," and Uncle Zenas helped himself liberally from the box.
"I reckon he'll soon be needin' the molasses candy if you're goin' in so steep," Captain Eph said with a laugh, as he covered the box and placed it on a shelf behind the stove.
"What's to hinder Sonny from comin' with me to see the wreck, now that you've showed up all the assortment?" Mr. Peters asked, and the old keeper looked inquiringly at the lad.
"I'd like to go, sir," Sidney said in reply to the mute question. "I have never seen a wrecked vessel."
"All right, Sonny; but I'm goin' along too, for I couldn't trust you alone 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 myself lucky if I find you at meal time."
"You'll reach me then, Uncle Zenas, so long as you have your tongue left," Captain Eph replied with a hearty laugh at his own wit as he went hurriedly out of the tower, beckoning Sidney to follow. Not until the lad had put on the coat made from the keeper's uniform would the cook allow him to leave the kitchen, and by the time he gained the head of the little cove, Mr. Peters had the dory ready for the voyage.
With each of the men using a pair of oars, and Sidney in the stern-sheets steering, it was not a long journey to an outlying spur of Carys' Ledge on which the Nautilus foundered. The stern of the vessel had been carried away, and the timbers completely shattered forward of the main-mast; but from that point toward the bow she remained comparatively intact.
"There won't be much to take away, Sammy," Captain Eph said grimly as Sidney 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 swept till there's not so much as a belayin' pin to be seen. I don't reckon you 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 kind of stuff for our motor boat, when we get at her."
"I thought you had decided to put the motor in a dory?" Sidney said in surprise.
"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, seem's we'll have plenty of time," and Mr. Peters searched the wreck with his eyes for such lumber as he believed might be needed in order to carry out his newly formed plan.
"All the light stuff would have been in the cabin, an' I'm allowin' that a good bit of it will be washed up on the ledge," Captain Eph said as he looked with a weatherly eye at the sky. "We're goin' to have the wind from the east'ard mighty soon, if signs count for anything, an' then's when you'll get all the lumber needed for half a dozen boats, though where it can be stored for the winter beats me."
"There's plenty of room in the boat-house on either side of the dory. It won't do any harm to fill up that space, an' she'll lay more quiet when it's flooded," Mr. Peters suggested.
"We'll allow you're right, so far as that goes, Sammy, an' now if there's anythin' on the wreck that you believe is worth savin', shin aboard, for it's gettin' time we was back to the ledge."
Then Captain Eph pulled the dory in toward the wreck until it was possible for Mr. Peters to clamber on board at the expense of a thorough wetting, and while the keeper and Sidney waited in the dory, after she had been backed off at a safe distance, the lad said with more of decision in his tones than he ordinarily used when speaking to the old sailor:
"I was thinking while you were ashore this forenoon, sir, that if I am to stay at the light until father gets back, it's time I made a change of 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 you turned 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 already fixed things, Sonny, an' it would do me a world of good to know I was givin' you somethin' nigh as fine as you'd get ashore."
"Neither you nor I know how little I might have ashore, sir, and I sha'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 seems to me we'd be snug an' cosy then," and Captain Eph's tone was much the same as if he had been asking a great favor.
"Then it would be all right, sir. What I want is, to know that you have the same chance for sleeping as before I came."
"I'll get Uncle Zenas to see what can be done this very night. You shall have half the shelves for your own things, an' we'll make it look mighty homelike, unless I'm way off my reckonin'. Hello, you Sammy!" the old man 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 get back to the reef, I'll wind up business for the night, an' come alone to-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 you like; 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 in boarding her without serious mishap.
"There's a good bit of stuff aboard that's worth savin'," the first assistant said as he pulled at the oars. "I reckon I'll make a raft of it, so's to get it ashore in one trip."
"Take what you like, Sammy; but don't forget that you've got a mighty small place in which to stow it."
Mr. Peters was so busily engaged in planning how he could care for the material which might be taken from the wreck at the expense of considerable hard work, that he was not inclined for further conversation, and no word was spoken during the return trip.
When, the dory having been hauled up on the ways and properly housed for the night, Sidney went into the tower, he found Uncle Zenas sewing on the clothing which Captain Eph had brought from the mainland, and he asked in surprise:
"Do you have to make new things over, sir?"
"Yes, Sonny, when they're sich slop-shop things as these. A stitch here an' there now will save a world of trouble later, an' I'm lookin' to the future. Where are you to keep all this stuff?"
Sidney repeated the substance of the conversation he had so lately had with Captain Eph regarding sleeping quarters, and without awaiting orders from the keeper, Uncle Zenas set about making preparations at once.
"I reckon you're both right about the bed, an' I know jest how we'll fix the thing to suit you; there's plenty of time before I begin to get supper."
"But perhaps Captain Eph would rather hear about it first," Sidney said timidly, as the cook began to ascend the staircase, and the old man halted suddenly as he cried:
"Why, Sonny? What does he know 'bout sich things? He's helpless as a baby when it comes to the livin' part of keepin' a light-house, an' the more 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 Eph entered the kitchen, his first question was as to the cook's whereabouts.
Sidney explained how it had happened that he spoke to Uncle Zenas regarding the bed, and expressed sorrow because possibly he had interfered 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've saved me a world of trouble, perhaps, for if I'd said anything of the kind 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. Now he'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 a proper manner, and, curious to see how it was arranged, Sidney at once went to the keeper's chamber.
On the floor, in that part of the room where it would be sheltered from the draft of the stairway, was a rest-inviting bed with an ample supply of coverings, and the lad said to himself that now he could lie down to sleep knowing he was not depriving Captain Eph of the comforts which he absolutely needed.
"Got it fixed, eh?" Mr. Peters asked when Sidney came into the kitchen again, 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'er be done this way or that," the cook said emphatically, and Captain Eph winked slowly at Sidney and Mr. Peters.
"Well, Sammy, what time do you count on startin' for the wreck to-morrow?" the keeper asked when they were eating supper, after lighting the lamp in the lantern.
"Jest as soon as we get cleaned up. I reckon I'll make a good long day of it, for the chances are she'll go to pieces mighty soon, if your prediction about an easterly blow comes out true."
"I'll do your share of work in the morning," Sidney cried eagerly. "Then you can start as soon as it's light."
"There's no reason why he shouldn't," Captain Eph said in answer to the look Mr. Peters gave him. "Sonny could take care of the light all by himself, if so be there was any need for it; he's the quickest little shaver to learn I ever saw."
"Then I'll take up with his offer, an' be glad of the chance," the first assistant replied, and by this time Uncle Zenas insisted on knowing what it was Sammy proposed to do.
When Mr. Peters explained that it was his intention to save what he could from the wreck, with the idea that the material thus obtained might be useful in the future, Uncle Zenas made most vigorous protest to the surprise of all. He declared that it was not safe for the first assistant 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; he would not allow that any one person was warranted in venturing alone on the 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. "Sammy has 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 any right 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 fervently that the cook had prevailed in the argument.
On the morning after Mr. Peters had announced his intention of saving what he could in the way of timbers and rigging from the wreck, Sidney went on duty with Captain Eph, and instead of going to bed when his watch was ended, the first assistant remained in the room until the keeper asked sharply:
"What's the matter with you now, Sammy? Ain't you goin' to bed?"
"I want'er start for the wreck at the first crack of light, if Uncle Zenas will give me somethin' to eat when he gets up, an' there's no sense in goin' to the trouble of lyin' down jest for a half-hour nap. I'll turn in a good bit earlier to-night."
"Have your own way, Sammy, but I'm afraid that you won't get enough from the hulk to pay for the labor you're puttin' out. Why didn't you speak to Uncle Zenas last night, so's he'd kind'er stir his stumps this mornin'?"
"He had his back raised so high because I was goin' alone, that I knew it wouldn't be any use, an,' feelin' kind'er warm as he was, he might'er said 'no' right up an' down," Mr. Peters replied with a faint smile.
Captain Eph did not continue the conversation, but turned his attention to the work of cleaning the watch-room windows, which Sidney had voluntarily taken upon himself, and Mr. Peters dozed in his chair until awakened by the movements of Uncle Zenas in the room below, which told that he was making ready for the day's work.
"I reckon I'll be off now," the first assistant said, going toward the stairway as if almost afraid to descend.
"Uncle Zenas hasn't built the fire yet," Captain Eph said carelessly, "an' it'll be a good half hour before the coffee is ready."
"I don't count on waitin' for anything hot," Mr. Peters replied as he began the descent of the stairs. "A cold bite is all I'm askin' for, 'cause the sooner I get away the better."
"If that was all you wanted, the wisest course would have been to got it without askin' leave of anybody," Captain Eph said half to himself, and then he tiptoed his way to the head of the stairs.
"What is the matter?" Sidney asked curiously.
"Nothin' as yet, Sonny; but I'm allowin' that Sammy won't find it all plain sailin' when he runs up against Uncle Zenas. The old man is pretty stuffy when he gets a notion inter his head, an' for some reason or other he's dead set against our tryin' to save anything from the wreck."
Captain Eph had not yet ceased speaking when loud, almost angry conversation could be heard from the kitchen, and Sidney ran quickly to the keeper's side. It was impossible to distinguish any words spoken in the kitchen, however, and, two or three moments later, the emphatic closing of the outer door told that Mr. Peters had left the tower.
"Uncle Zenas wouldn't give him anything to eat until breakfast time, an' the poor, foolish fellow has gone off with an empty stomach, countin' on doin' a full day's work," Captain Eph said as he went to the window from which it was possible to have a view of the little cove. "I do wish our cook wasn't quite so crotchety!"
"Why didn't Mr. Peters take what he wanted from the pantry?" Sidney asked as he joined the keeper at the window.
"Then there would have been trouble," Captain Eph replied as if startled by such a bold proposition. "It has taken me a good many years to find out that when Uncle Zenas gets reg'larly set against a thing, the most peaceable way is for Sammy an' me to give in at the start."
Then the two stood gazing through the window, unable to distinguish objects clearly because of the dim, gray light, until Mr. Peters launched the dory, pulling out of the cove with a steady stroke as if to show that the loss of a breakfast was not sufficient to turn him from his purpose.
Half an hour later the lamp was extinguished, and the keeper and his young assistant set about the daily routine of making ready for another night. The work was considerably more than half completed when the voice of the cook sounded impatiently from the kitchen, as he summoned them to breakfast.
"This is one of the mornin's when I reckon we can't afford to loiter many seconds," Captain Eph said grimly, as he began to descend the stairs, Sidney following close at his heels, and when the two were in the kitchen, the old keeper asked as if in surprise:
"Where's Sammy? Didn't he hear you call?"
"He went off without his breakfast," Uncle Zenas replied in a tone of irritation.
"What's the matter?" Captain Eph asked as if wholly ignorant of what had taken place in the kitchen. "Ain't sick, is he?"
"He's pig-headed, that's what's the matter with him. He's next door to crazy, countin' on goin' alone to the wreck, an' I told him plainly that I wouldn't countenance sich foolishness by givin' him anythin' to eat till breakfast was ready. Then he rose right up in the air, an' started off empty-handed; but if he ain't sorry 'twixt now an' noon, I'm missin' my guess."
"Dear, dear, but I'm sorry!" Captain Eph exclaimed. "Sammy has got it inter his head that he can get enough from the wreck to go a long ways toward buildin' a motor boat, an' he'll work like a tiger, savin' stuff, never thinkin' that he stands a good chance of makin' himself sick by foolin' 'round while his stomach is empty."
Sidney fancied that he saw an expression of regret on the face of the cook; but decided that he had been mistaken, when Uncle Zenas said sharply:
"I ain't responsible for what he does in the way of foolishness, an' if it's his desire to go off before breakfast is ready, he'll have to take the consequences."
The keeper did not linger over his breakfast; as soon as the meal had been eaten he hurried back to the lantern, and, as a matter of course, Sidney joined him there without delay, the two working industriously and in silence until everything had been put in proper order.
Not until then did Captain Eph venture a remark, by saying as he looked toward the east, where could be seen a portion of the wreck:
"I'm allowin' that Sammy won't be able to put in a full day's work. The wind seems to be haulin' 'round, an' before noon the sea will be runnin' so high that he can't do anythin' in the way of strippin' the hulk."
"Can you see him?" Sidney asked.
"Not without the glasses. Run down an' get 'em, Sonny. We may as well watch him, as to sit here twirlin' our thumbs."
The lad obeyed promptly; but no sign of the amateur wrecker could be seen, and Captain Eph said as he turned to gaze westward:
"The hulk lays in sich a manner that we couldn't hope to see him, unless he was aloft. Hello, here comes a cat-boat from the shore, an' it wouldn't surprise me a little bit if the tinker Sammy talked about yesterday was comin' after that 'ere motor."
Because it was the first time since he landed on the ledge that he had seen a sail coming toward the light, Sidney gazed at it eagerly, until Captain Eph said:
"There's no use strainin' your eyes, Sonny, for it'll be a full hour before she gets anywhere near, with this wind. I reckon we'd better go down to the shore an' see the motor, for it ain't likely the tinker will care about stayin' here any very great while."
"Shall we let him take it before Mr. Peters comes back?" Sidney asked in surprise.
"Why not? When a man comes as far as he has while a storm seems to be brewin', it would kind'er be hard lines to hold him because Sammy was off wreckin'. We'll load on the motor as soon as it can be done, an' send him back while the weather is decent, else he might be on our hands quite a spell. People can't get out here at this time of year jest when the fancy strikes 'em."
Although the motor was not particularly heavy, Captain Eph and Sidney soon came to understand that it would be quite a difficult task to get it down to the cove where it might be put aboard the boat, for the jagged rocks presented most serious obstacles.
However, the old keeper set about the task with a will, and by the time the stranger had run into the cove the work was well advanced.
"I allowed that you'd be wantin' to put about as soon as might be, owin' to the looks of the weather, so Sonny an' I have been at work gettin' this 'ere thing where it could be handled. I reckon this is what you've come after," and the keeper pointed to the motor.
"Yes, that's what brought me out here, though I wish now I'd staid at home, for the wind is likely to blow pretty fresh before I can get back," the machinist replied as he made his boat fast to the ways, and began to make a critical inspection of the motor.
"Well, what about it?" Captain Eph asked after it seemed as if the newcomer must have made himself acquainted with every portion of the machinery. "Think you can put it in shape?"
"Sure," was the confident reply. "It hasn't been hurt any to speak of, an' I can have it runnin' in a couple of days. Where's the man who made the trade with me?"
The keeper explained why Mr. Peters was absent and before he was at an end Sidney cried:
"He's coming now; there is the dory!"
Both the men looked up quickly, and then it was that Captain Eph cried excitedly:
"That's our dory, sure enough; but she's empty! Went adrift I reckon, an' Sammy is in the biggest kind of luck because of his fiddlin' 'round 'bout the motor, else he'd be likely to stay on the wreck quite a spell, seein's we couldn't go after him. Say, Mister, I reckon you won't kick against pickin' our boat up, eh?" and the keeper turned to the machinist, who replied in a not particularly cheerful tone:
"Of course I'm bound to do that much, seein's you're in a pickle; but I don't like the idea of loafin' out here any longer than is necessary, for my boat ain't overly handy in a heavy sea, such as we're likely to have precious soon."
"Pick up the dory, an' we'll help you put the motor aboard before goin' after Sammy."
The machinist set off at once, refusing any assistance from Captain Eph, and ten minutes later he returned with the dory in tow. The boat was half laden with blocks and tackle which had evidently been taken from the wreck, and both pairs of oars were lying on top of the cargo.
When the runaway craft had been hauled up on the rocks beyond reach of the tide, and unloaded, the old keeper and Sidney set about carrying out their part of the bargain; but nearly an hour was spent before the motor had been stowed aboard the cat-boat to the satisfaction of all concerned.
While the visitor was working his boat out of the cove, Captain Eph said to Sidney:
"Run into the kitchen an' get your coat. Tell Uncle Zenas why we're goin' out, an' skip lively, for Sammy won't have any idea the tinker was here jest when we most needed him, an' will be in a terrible stew, thinkin' there's no way for him to get off the shoal."
Sidney obeyed promptly; but it was necessary to answer Uncle Zenas' eager questions, and fully five minutes more were spent before the rescuers could set off.
The cook came down to the cove before the dory had been pushed out, and the expression on his face told that he was very anxious regarding the safety of the first assistant.
"You ought'er started the very minute the dory was picked up, Ephraim Downs!" he cried. "It ain't no ways certain that the poor fellow didn't tumble out of the boat, an' has been swimmin' 'round ever since!"
"I'll go bail that Sammy never tumbled over-board," Captain Eph replied cheerily as he pulled the dory around until she was headed toward the east. "He's too good a sailor to do a trick like that; but I reckon he hasn't been any too comfortable in mind since the boat drifted away."
Then, when they were beyond sound of Uncle Zenas' voice, the old keeper muttered, as if to convince himself:
"Of course nothin' has happened to Sammy, beyond losin' the boat; but I do wish Uncle Zenas wouldn't do quite so much croakin'. Jest because he was set agin the wreckin', he'll be conjurin' up all sorts of terrible things that might have happened, an' Sammy won't have the pleasantest time that ever was, when he gets back."
"How do you suppose the dory got adrift?" Sidney asked, not knowing what else to say, and beginning to feel a bit nervous.
"That's what beats me. I'd never thought Sammy could be so careless, but it seems that he was."
Then Captain Eph pulled vigorously and in silence, Sidney steering to the best of his ability with one of the heavy oars, and the little craft rose and fell with an uneasy motion on the rising sea.
"There's the wreck!" Sidney cried as he swung the dory around, and Captain Eph turned quickly to look, as he asked huskily:
"See anythin' of Sammy?"
"He must be under the forecastle deck working, and perhaps doesn't know that the boat went adrift," Sidney replied, as he searched in vain with his eyes for some sign of the first assistant.
There was an expression of deepest anxiety on Captain Eph's face as he labored yet more energetically at the oars; but not a word was spoken until the dory was as near the hulk as was safe while the waves were running so high.
Then it was the old keeper shouted again and again at the full strength of his lungs, Sidney growing pale with fear as the hail remained unanswered.
"He ain't there, Sonny, he ain't there!" Captain Eph cried in a tearful tone as he turned toward the lad.
"But where can he be?" Sidney cried in an agony of fear.
"The good Lord knows, an' we'll pray that He may guide us toward him!" the keeper said as he raised his sou'wester reverentially. "It's our business to find out what has happened, if so be we can. I reckon we'd best pull 'round to the other side of the hulk, an' if needs be I'll go aboard."
"Are you afraid he may have got hurt, an' can't answer the hail?" Sidney asked in a tremulous voice.
"There's somethin' wrong, an' we'll hope that he's on board, with the breath of life yet in his body."
Then Captain Eph swung the dory around, and, ordering Sidney to take a pair of oars, made ready to board the hulk on the northerly side.
"Pull in till I sing out, an' then back water the best you know how," he said sharply. "It's a risky piece of business to board her with a lad like you at the oars; but I'd take bigger chances by a good bit, rather than go away without searchin' this 'ere hulk."
It was no more than natural that the lad should be frightened by the muttered words, and he was trembling violently as he obeyed the command.
"Fair an' softly, Sonny!" Captain Eph cried. "Don't get worked up over what may all turn out to be the simplest kind of a simple matter, an' keep your wits about you. Now! Back water for all you're worth!"
As he spoke the keeper had leaped for the shattered timbers of the hulk, and not daring to turn his head in order to see if a landing had been effected safely, Sidney threw all his strength on the oars, until the burden on his mind was lifted by hearing Captain Eph's cheery cry, which told that no accident had befallen him:
"Way enough, Sonny! Hold her as she is a minute!"
Sidney did not dare venture to turn his head lest the wind should swing the little craft around where the waves might throw her against the hulk; but worked at the oars to hold her as nearly in one position as possible, until he heard Captain Eph cry again:
"Now pull in, Sonny; but stand by to stop her mighty sudden when you get the word. Way enough! Keep her steady! One more stroke! Back! Back the best you know how!" and at the instant Sidney put all his strength on the oars, the dory rocked to and fro violently as Captain Eph leaped aboard.
An instant later and the keeper was pulling the little craft around, while Sidney clambered astern to his former seat.
"You didn't find anything, sir?" the lad asked timidly.
"No, Sonny, meanin' that Sammy wasn't there; but he's left signs enough to show he made into a raft sich timbers as he could get at, which gives us the biggest kind of a hope, for I'm allowin' he was on the raft when the dory went adrift."
"Would he be carried out to sea, sir?"
"This wind ought'er sent him toward the mainland, an' it's in that direction we must look for him."
It was quite natural Sidney should suppose Captain Eph would set off on the search without delay; but to his surprise the keeper ordered him to steer for the ledge, and at the same time keep a sharp lookout for anything in the shape of a raft.
"Why are we going back to the light, sir? Do you think he may have drifted in there?"
"Not a bit of it, Sonny. He must have pulled the raft clear of the wreck, an' then, when well off the shoal, stepped on it to make some of the timbers fast. In which case the wind would take him clear of Carys' Ledge."
"Then why don't we pull in the direction you think he may have gone?"
Instead of answering the question, Captain Eph asked abruptly: "Think you'd have any trouble in lightin' the lamp an' startin' the clock, Sonny?"
"I could do that much all right, I am positive."
"Then I'm goin' to leave you in charge while Uncle Zenas an' I go after Sammy. It ain't anyways likely we shall be away till after sunset; but there's allers the chance; an' no one can say how fast his raft may be travelin'."
"You don't want me in the boat with you?" Sidney asked tremulously.
"No, Sonny, an' for two mighty good reasons. The first is that it's goin' to blow hard inside of an hour, an' I'll need Uncle Zenas at one pair of oars. Then agin, the place is not to be left alone, no matter what straits we are in. Sammy would be the first to say we mustn't try to help him if it can't be done without takin' the risk of showin' no light at sunset. You'll be safe on the ledge, an' that's what I'm thinkin' about."
The temptation to beg that he might go to the rescue with Captain Eph, leaving the cook to care for the light, was very great; but he succeeded in holding his peace, knowing that it was not for him, at such a time, to make any change in the plan the keeper had formed.
"I'm allowin' we may have to pull eight or ten miles before catchin' the poor fellow, an' it'll be hard work in a heavy sea, so Uncle Zenas must do his share."
It was not necessary to spend any time warning the second assistant of what had been learned. Uncle Zenas was at the head of the cove when they pulled in, and in the fewest possible words Captain Eph made him acquainted with the situation.
"Get in, Uncle Zenas. Sonny will take care of the light, if so be we're called on to go further than now seems likely."
"An' I sent the poor fellow off without any breakfast!" the cook said tearfully, as he clambered aboard the boat with a certain eagerness which told how anxious he was to have a share in the rescue. "If I had only been half-way decent when he asked for somethin' to eat!"
"Keep your upper lip stiff, Sonny!" Captain Eph cried as he pulled the dory around. "By stayin' to care for the light you're doin' a good deal more towards findin' Sammy, than if you went with us in the boat. You can watch us best by goin' inter the lantern with the glasses."
"Be sure to get your dinner, Sonny," Uncle Zenas cried in a mournful tone. "Everything is on the stove, an' what you can't eat had better be put back in the pantry. If I could only give poor Sammy his share an' my own with it, how relieved I'd be!"
By this time the dory was out of the cove, with both men at the oars, and Sidney noted, before turning to obey Captain Eph's command, that the boat was headed southwest, leaving the ledge behind her in a lively fashion because of the strong wind, which helped her along as much if not more than the oars.
Now that he was alone—alone on the ledge beyond sight of land—Sidney found it very difficult to keep the tears from his eyes; but he made a brave effort, and went into the tower to do as Uncle Zenas had bidden him.
He had no desire for food—could not have eaten a mouthful save after a real exertion; but the keepers would need it when they returned, therefore it must be cared for in such a manner that it would be appetizing.
By thus looking forward to the time when the searchers might return, Sidney provoked the alarming question as to whether they would ever come back. Captain Eph had predicted that a storm was near at hand, and even if they did not lose their lives, it was well within the possibilities that many days might elapse before he saw them again.
Then it was that Sidney gave way to tears, feeling as if he had been abandoned—left to die on the desolate ledge; but after thus yielding to his sorrow for ten minutes or more, he resolutely put from him all forebodings, as he said aloud:
"I've been left in charge, and if it hadn't been for my being here Uncle Zenas couldn't have gone to help Captain Eph pull the boat. I'm not a baby; but if I don't mind my eye the keepers will have good reason for thinking I am one."
Suddenly the thought came into his mind that he had missed the chance of watching the dory as it sped before the wind on its errand of mercy, and, running up-stairs at full speed, he threw open that window in the watch-room which gave toward the south.
The rescuers had made such good speed that he could barely distinguish the boat with the naked eye, but by the aid of the glasses he saw that both men were rowing strongly and steadily, as if knowing exactly at what point the missing man could be found.
Search as he might, it was impossible to see anything floating on the sea. If Mr. Peters had been carried away by the raft, it must have been at an early hour in the forenoon, otherwise it should have been possible to see him.
Sidney watched the rapidly retreating dory as long as it was possible to distinguish the forms of her crew, and then, with a lump in his throat which threatened to choke him, he went into the kitchen.
Here he cared for the food, replenished the fire, swept the floor, and worked at whatsoever he could find for his hands to do until the room was seemingly as neat and tidy as ever it had been under Uncle Zenas' supervision.
It seemed to him that he must have been at work a full hour, and yet when he looked at the clock the hands were but ten minutes farther on their journey around the dial than when he began.
Again he went into the watch-room; but now it was impossible to see even the dory, and he felt more forsaken than before.
Uncle Zenas was too good a housekeeper to leave very much work undone at that time in the day, and, search as he might, Sidney could find nothing with which to keep his hands busy.
With such a weight of sorrow in his heart he could not read, and he went to and fro between the lantern and the kitchen, hardly conscious of what he did. Again and again he searched the surface of the heaving waters with the glasses, but without seeing the smallest object which his fancy could shape into a raft or a boat.
When the clock in the kitchen struck the hour of four, it was as if his heart ceased beating, for he understood that even if the dory should come in sight immediately, it would be impossible for the keepers to reach the ledge before sunset, and he felt positive they would never return. He would be the sole occupant of that lonely tower until the inspector found an opportunity of visiting Carys' Ledge.
The wind was increasing in force, as he could understand by the howling and shrieking around the lantern, while his eyes told him that the sea was running higher than at any time since the storm which had wrecked the Nautilus.
Suppose the keepers should return at the earliest possible moment—suppose the dory was even then headed toward the light? The men might not be able to make a landing on the ledge, and he could do absolutely nothing to aid them!
Five o'clock!
He went into the lantern ready to light the lamp at the exact moment of sunset. He was surrounded by the angry waters, which were creeping slowly but surely toward the tower, and there was nothing in sight to give him courage!
The tears nearly blinded the lad as he lighted the lamp, started the clock, and watched to make certain it was running smoothly. Then he raised the wick until the flame was of the same size as Captain Eph had said was required to get the greatest amount of light without danger of smoke, and, closing the door of the lantern softly lest the echoes should be aroused, crept down to the kitchen.
Here he lighted a small lamp; raked out the ashes from the fire, put on fresh coal, and then stood in the middle of the room asking himself if it was possible he could stay there alone all night.
"That's a foolish question," he said, speaking aloud as if to hear the sound of his own voice. "I've got to stay, because I couldn't go away if I was willing to leave the light alone. It isn't likely any of them will be back before morning, and I'd be ashamed to confess that I'd made a baby of myself at a time when it is possible to be of some service to those who have been so kind to me."
It was as if this little self-lecture did him good, for his face was brighter when he ascended the stairs to make certain the lamp was burning at its best.
Then back to the kitchen, where he put the dishes on the table so that a meal might be made ready quickly, if it so chanced that the keepers succeeded in gaining the ledge before another day had come. The coffee pot, full as when Uncle Zenas left it, was set on the back of the stove, and then he forced himself to eat a little.
"I'll go into the lantern every half-hour till sunrise," he said aloud. "There's no danger I shall feel like going to sleep while I'm here alone, and climbing the stairs so often will take up just so much of the time."
As he had said, so he did; but yet the hours passed so slowly that at times it really seemed as if the hands of the clock stood still. He tried in vain to read; but the words danced before his eyes, and he found himself listening to the moaning of the wind, instead of taking heed to that which was before him.
At eight o'clock it seemed as if the night must have passed, and from then until nine, each second was as a minute. It was hardly more than bed-time; eight more hours must elapse before a new day dawned, and there would be such a long, dreary time of waiting.
Then, suddenly, he heard what sounded like a human voice, and he ran swiftly to the door, but paused there, saying to himself it was foolish to allow such ideas to enter his mind, for none save the keepers themselves would come to that lonely ledge in the night, and it was not possible they had returned.
"Ahoy! Sonny! Fetch a lantern!"
It was Captain Eph's voice, and with a shrill cry of relief and joyful surprise, Sidney flung wide open the outer door, letting the light stream out from the kitchen in rays of welcome.
"Hello Sonny! Gettin' lonesome, eh? Bring the lantern that's hangin' behind the stove!"
It seemed to Sidney as if he had never been so clumsy before; twice the matches went out before the wick was lighted, and when he finally succeeded, he had difficulty in shutting down the globe.
When it had been made ready he descended the ladder as rapidly as possible, not stopping for coat or hat; but before gaining the rocks below the question came into his mind as to why all hands were remaining at the boat waiting for him to come with a lantern, when one could run her up on the ways without assistance.
"Did you find him?" Sidney shouted as he scrambled over the jagged rocks, and Captain Eph replied mournfully:
"Ay, we've got the poor fellow."
"What?" and the lad stopped suddenly. "He isn't—isn't—"
"He's alive, Sonny, an' that's about the best that can be said; but, thank God, we overtook him before it was too late."
Now it was possible for Sidney to see the apparently lifeless form of Mr. Peters in the bottom of the dory; but before he had time for more than a passing glance, Captain Eph said softly:
"Now go ahead of us, Sonny, an' hold the lantern behind you so we can see our way over the rocks. Walk slowly, son, for we don't dare to hurry."
Then Captain Eph and Uncle Zenas lifted with womanly tenderness the limp form, and the little procession crept over the ledge, giving due heed to their steps lest the unconscious man should receive yet further injury.
It was difficult to carry him up the ladder, and from the kitchen to his own room; but the task was performed after an expenditure of much time, and when he was lying on his own bed Uncle Zenas said, in a whisper:
"We'd better give him somethin' hot first, Ephraim. If you'll heat the coffee, I'll get his clothes off."
Sidney ran ahead of the keeper, rejoicing because he had made ready for the home-coming even when it seemed impossible they could get there, and while Captain Eph was pouring out the coffee, he asked:
"What has happened to him, sir?"
"That's what we don't jest know, Sonny. We overtook the raft ten miles or more from here, an' poor little Sammy was stretched out at full length on it as if he was dead, with the waves washin' clean over him every now an' then. It didn't take us long to find that there was some little life left in his body, an' you can make up your mind that we jumped it to the dory after takin' him aboard, for the only hope of fetchin' him around was to get back here. Uncle Zenas an' I were feelin' mighty glum, as you can well guess; but there was a big lot of gladness come inter our hearts when we saw the light streamin' out from Carys' Ledge, an' knew that the little shaver we'd left behind was bucklin' right down to duty."
Having said this, Captain Eph went hurriedly up the stairs with the smoking-hot coffee, and Sidney said to himself as he put on the table such food as had been cooked for dinner:
"I'm afraid Captain Eph wouldn't have said quite what he did, if he'd known how lonesome and discouraged I got because of being alone here on the reef."
Not until nearly an hour had passed did either of the keepers come down-stairs, and then it was Uncle Zenas who entered the kitchen, exclaiming as he saw the preparations for supper:
"I declare for it, Sonny, you've done the work up in proper shape! I wouldn't have believed sich a little chap had it in him to look after things so well!"
"Is Mr. Peters any better, sir?" Sidney asked, feeling more than a little ashamed because of being praised when he believed it was not deserved.
"I'm hopin' he is, Sonny. He came to long enough to ask how we knew he was adrift, an' then it seemed as if he fell off to sleep. Cap'n Eph. is sittin' with him so's I can get supper; but, 'cordin' to the looks of things, it's already got."
"Do you think Mr. Peters hurt himself in any way?"
"It must be, Sonny, else he wouldn't act so kind of queer. All Cap'n Eph an' I can figger out is that he got squeezed in some way between the timbers of the raft, for it stands to reason he didn't put 'em together very carefully. Oh Sonny, Sonny, if only I hadn't refused to give the poor fellow his breakfast when he asked for it! Somehow I felt last night as if it wasn't right for him to go off to the wreck alone, an' when he came down-stairs this mornin' reg'larly achin' to be off, I lost my temper, an' that's the fact. The worst part of this world is that after you say or do anythin' that's wrong or mean, you can't take it back agin! Jest as likely as not he'd be in better shape now, if he'd had a full stomach when he went away!"
Uncle Zenas paced to and fro as if in great mental distress, until Captain Eph stole softly down the stairs, and said:
"There's no question but that he's asleep, an' I thought I'd get a cup of coffee, for I'm chilled clean through to the bone. Brace yourself up, Zenas, an' don't take on so 'bout the words you had this mornin'. I'll venture to say that Sammy had forgot all about 'em by the time he went aboard the wreck."
Uncle Zenas refused to be comforted for some time; but by alternately scolding and coaxing, Captain Eph succeeded in soothing him to such an extent that he finally ate supper, much to Sidney's relief of mind.
All hands stood watch during the night. Sidney felt positive he could not close his eyes in slumber if he went to bed, and Captain Eph did not urge him, understanding full well how the lad felt. Uncle Zenas claimed that it was his right, because of what had happened in the morning, to sit by the side of Mr. Peters, even though it might not be possible to do him any good, and thus it was that the crew remained on duty throughout the hours of darkness.