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

CHAPTER V
A CLOSE SHAVE

Although Sidney had been on the ledge but little more than twenty-four hours, and a goodly portion of this time had been spent in sleeping, he was already beginning to feel that sense of imprisonment which comes to those who, for the first time, are confined to any limited space, and the idea of being afloat once more was very pleasing.

"Are you going out fishing with us, Mr. Peters?" he asked when the meal was nearly at an end, and the first assistant replied promptly:

"Not a bit of it, lad. I reckon if one of this 'ere crew fools away a forenoon, it's about as much nonsense as is allowed by the rules an' regerlations. I'll keep to work on your boat, an' do my best to get her inter shape before an easterly gale puts an end to the job."

"It doesn't seem like nonsense, sir, to go after fish when you need them for food," Sidney suggested timidly, and Mr. Peters replied, with an accusing glance at Captain Eph:

"If that was all you counted on, it might look different to a hard-workin' man like me; but the keeper of this 'ere light never goes fishin' till he's hankerin' for what he calls sport, an' the food part of it is only an excuse for idlin'."

"Watch close when we get back with a good fare of cod, Sonny, an' you'll see Sammy put himself outside of four or five pounds jest as quick as if they'd been caught by right hard work that had no sport in it."

"Of course I'll eat the fish when they are caught," Mr. Peters exclaimed indignantly. "Do you suppose I'm that wasteful to let fresh cod spoil? I haven't got anything agin folks goin' fishin', only when you come to thinkin' that as soon as a storm springs up we'll be shut off from workin' on the motor boat, it seems a good deal like wastin' time, since we ain't really dyin' for need of that kind of food."

"Well, well, Sammy," Captain Eph said soothingly, "I allow that as much work will be done by you alone, as if all hands of us turned to and lent a hand, for you'd be desperately sorry if Uncle Zenas or I insisted on drivin' a single nail."

Then the keeper descended the ladder leading from the kitchen to the rocks, and Sidney would have followed immediately, but that Uncle Zenas insisted on dressing him in a suit of oil-skins before he went outside.

A comical appearance did the lad present when he was clad in oiled garments which had been made for the cook. It was necessary to turn back the sleeves of the coat until he had around his wrists huge rolls of the stiff fabric, causing Mr. Peters to remark that in case they "needed fenders for the boat it would only be necessary for Sonny to let his arms hang over the rail." The legs of the trousers were treated in the same manner as the sleeves, and when he was fully clad, the skirt of the coat dragged on the ground, while the waistband of the trousers was fastened under his arms.

"I don't know whether I could catch fish, even if I was properly dressed for it," Sidney said with a laugh as Uncle Zenas folded the coat around him, using a piece of rope as a belt; "but no matter how sharply they bite, it wouldn't be possible for me to pull one in while I am rigged up in this fashion."

"Better never catch a fish, than catch a cold," Uncle Zenas said soothingly. "This 'ere fog will wet a man through almost as soon as rain, an' you're likely to be out in the boat three or four hours, for Captain Eph always counts on goin' to the shoal near the whistlin' buoy, and that means a long pull from here."

By the time Sidney was ready for the voyage Captain Eph had launched the light-house boat until she rested on the foot of the ways, with her stern just touching the water, and when the lad came up the keeper tossed him gently into the boat, jumping in after him as he shoved her off into the little cove.

"Sit right here in the stern-sheets, for I allow you wouldn't cut any very great figure at handlin' such oars as we use, seein's how they are much too heavy an' too long for your short arms."

"Can't I steer, Captain Eph?"

"I don't reckon you'd do yourself very proud by tryin' anything of the kind, Sonny. In this 'ere smother it's a case of goin' by ear, an' I'll pull up to the sound of the whistle, so make yourself comfortable in the stern-sheets. The line you see there I laid out for you, an' it wouldn't be a bad idee, if you want to be at work on somethin', to overhaul it. The bait is in this 'ere can amidships."

Then Captain Eph settled down to the oars, pulling with a long, steady stroke that sent the light dory ahead at a smart rate of speed, and Sidney, who had never been in such a craft before, was surprised to find how buoyantly she rode the waves.

"Yes, a dory knocks a keel-boat all to pieces in a sea-way," Captain Eph replied when the lad spoke of their craft. "Providin' you can keep her head to the wind, she'll live through a gale that would swamp an ordinary schooner."

Then the keeper began questioning the lad regarding his past, and before they were come to the fishing grounds, Sidney had told all the story of his short life.

"I reckon we'll anchor, for we're in the shoalest part of the water," Captain Eph said, as if it had been possible for him to see distinctly, instead of being enveloped in dense fog as they were, and a moment later, when the dory had come up on the cable, he announced that they were directly over the shoal.

"I don't understand how you could find just this spot when it's impossible to see anything," Sidney said wonderingly, and Captain Eph replied in a tone of satisfaction:

"I reckon comin' out from the ledge has become what you might call second nature with me, seein's how I've been knockin' about here so long; but there ain't anything very astonishin' in findin' a shoal that stands close by a buoy, for a man's ears ought to be as good as his eyes. Howsomever, we're here, an' now it's our business to catch as many fish as we can. I'll bait your hook, Sonny, an' you're to let it down until you feel that the lead strikes bottom, then pull her up four or five feet an' wait till you get a good, strong jerk. After that it's a case of landin' your fish, or losin' it, cordin' to the amount of common sense you bring into play."

In less than five minutes Sidney had caught his first fish, and as he hauled it over the rail after considerable labor, during which Captain Eph watched him keenly, but without giving any advice, he decided that deep-sea fishing went ahead of any sport in which he had ever indulged.

"You're a born fisherman, an' no mistake, Sonny," Captain Eph said as he took the fish from the hook, and put on fresh bait. "Uncle Zenas couldn't have done any better, an' he kind'er prides himself on bein' a master hand at handlin' a hook. You've taken the first fish, an' I'm lookin' to see you come out high-line on this 'ere voyage."

After this, but little conversation was indulged in during the half hour which followed. The fish bit well, and it seemed to Sidney that they had taken all the light-house crew could eat in a month, when he saw Captain Eph raise his head suddenly as he peered into the fog.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Don't you hear anythin,' Sonny?"

"If you mean that pounding, I've been hearing it quite a while, and it sounds louder every minute."

"It's the paddle-wheel of a steamer, lad, an' what a craft of that kind is doin' 'round here beats me. She's comin' straight for us, countin' to leave the buoy to starboard, I reckon, an' if we only had my report here, what a great chance this would be to send it ashore!"

Now that he knew the cause of the thud-thud-thud which came across the waters, Sidney wondered why he had been so dull in recognizing it. He had often heard similar sounds when on the deck of his father's vessel, but then they were not so distinct or threatening as now, when he was nearer the surface of the sea.

He had been hoping it might be possible for him to catch more fish than did his companion, and he gave all his attention to the line once more, until he noted the fact that an expression of anxiety had come over the keeper's face.

"Is anything gone wrong, sir?" he asked with mild curiosity.

"I wish I knew, Sonny, an' that's a fact. I can't make out why a side-wheel steamer should be comin' so near the ledge, an' then agin, why don't she shift her course? It ain't as if they couldn't hear the whistle."

Even then Sidney failed to understand that they might be in any danger, until Captain Eph began shouting at the full strength of his lungs as he hauled up the anchor hurriedly, and again the lad asked:

"Is there any danger, sir?"

"I can't make out why the idjuts don't shift their course! Unless they take a turn at the wheel mighty soon, they'll not only run us down, but stand a precious good show of pilin' up high an' dry on Carys' Ledge! Sing out, Sonny, an' make all the noise you can!"

Sidney obeyed instantly, for now the churning noise sounded so near at hand that he almost began to believe he could distinguish the bow of the steamer amid the thick gray mist, and both he and Captain Eph screamed at the full force of their lungs, the keeper shouting now and then:

"Port! Port your hel'um, or you'll be on the ledge!"

Nearer and nearer the noise came until it seemed as if the stranger was directly upon them, and Captain Eph had thrown off his coat and boots ready for the worst, when there was an answering toot from the steam whistle.

"Port! Port, you lubbers! You're close afoul of Carys' Ledge!"

Another answer from the whistle, and the bow of the recklessly-steered craft came from out the fog not thirty feet away, while Captain Eph sprang to the oars, pulling the little dory for dear life out of the track of the steamer.

He worked with a will, and as the huge hull passed, disappearing almost immediately in the vapor, the dory was hardly more than ten yards from the mighty paddles, which would, despite the fact that the course had been shifted, have crushed the little boat into splinters, but for the old keeper's exertions.

"You lubbers!" Captain Eph screamed as he leaped to his feet and shook his fist in the direction where the steamer had disappeared. "Get a scow the next time you go out sailin', for you ain't fit to run anything that goes by steam!"

It is not probable the words were heard by those on the wildly steered craft; but the speaking of them seemed to do the old keeper a world of good, although he was very nearly thrown over-board by the violent tossing of the dory on the swell raised by the wheels.

"I've been knockin' about at sea, man an' boy, pretty much all my life, except for the spell I was in the army, an' that's the closest shave I ever had!" Captain Eph cried as he pulled in the oars to wipe the perspiration from his face. "We jest squeaked out of it, an' that's about all you can say, holdin' to the truth!"

"Did you make out what steamer it was?" Sidney asked, raising the question not so much because he was eager for information, as to hide the terror which he feared might be read on his face.

"If I had, I'd pull this 'ere dory all the way to the mainland for the sake of reportin' 'em as a crew of lunatics what ought'er be locked up before they drown themselves! It was some pleasure craft, manned by a lot of idjuts who most likely think they are sailormen because of once havin' sailed a toy boat in a wash-tub," and Captain Eph took up the oars again. "I reckon we'll let that put an end to our fishin' for this day."

Sidney was by no means sorry to go back to the ledge; he had begun to realize what deadly dangers might lurk behind that dense, gray vapor, and was eager to be in the comparative security of the light-house once more.

Captain Eph did not cease scolding at the "imitation sailors," as he called them, until the bow of the dory was run into the narrow channel between the rocks, where Mr. Peters could be dimly seen at work on the motor boat.

"Did you find out what steamer that was which went past here a little while ago?" Mr. Peters asked without raising his head, and the old keeper remained silent, as if he had cause for complaint against the first assistant.

Then Captain Eph proceeded to haul the dory up into the cement boat-house, by the aid of the windlass, Sidney assisting to the best of his ability, and Mr. Peters repeated the question.

Not until the fish had been laid out on the rocks ready for cleaning, and the boat properly cared for, did the keeper speak, and then he told the whole story to his assistant, concluding by saying:

"The master of that 'ere craft ought'er lose his certificate, an' spend the rest of his nat'ral life in jail, to prevent him from doin' mischief. The idee of cruisin' 'round here without knowin' where this light was!"

"Most like he got mixed up by the fog, an' was goin' it blind," Mr. Peters suggested so calmly that Captain Eph really lost his temper, and cried angrily:

"If you don't hold your tongue, Sammy, I shall begin to think you're almost as big a fool as the cap'n of that 'ere steamer!" and having thus apparently relieved his mind, the keeper marched stiffly toward the tower.

"Chafin' under the collar, eh, lad?" Mr. Peters said with a smile, to Sidney. "I allow he's had reason to get riled, an' it did him a whole lot of good to blow off on me. Wa'al, I'm glad I gave him the chance, for it didn't hurt a little bit, an' he'll feel a heap better."

Then Mr. Peters turned his attention once more to the work in hand, and Sidney was doubtful as to whether he should follow the keeper, or remain where he was, until Uncle Zenas came out of the tower, saying as he approached the lad:

"That 'ere fool steamer has riled Cap'n Eph so bad that I don't reckon there's any chance he'll raise his hand towards cleanin' these fish, an' the whole brunt of the work falls on me, as it allers does. Come with me, Sonny, if you've got nothin' better to do, an' I don't reckon you have, 'cause there's precious little goin' on 'round here, 'cept when the inspector comes."

"How often does he visit you?" Sidney asked, thinking it necessary to do something toward starting a conversation.

"He makes a reg'lar inspection of every blessed thing four times a year, an' sometimes the tender comes oftener to pay us off; but we can't really count on that last."

"Don't you ever go to the mainland on a vacation?"

"Oh, bless you, yes, every once in a while. I was off three years ago last July, an' the year before that Cap'n Eph went; but Sammy sticks here pretty close. He allows that it makes a man flighty to go gallivantin' 'round as much as I do, but I tell him he's so flighty already that he couldn't well be any worse."

"Could you go oftener if you wanted to?"

"Bless you, lad, yes, so long as two were left behind to look after the light; but 'cordin' to my idee we're away as much as is good for us."

"Don't you ever get lonesome, especially in the winter, when no one can land on the ledge?" Sidney asked, and Uncle Zenas replied as if in surprise.

"Why should we? Ain't three of us enough for company? When all hands get to loafin' 'round the kitchen I think it's reg'larly crowded. The fact of the matter is, Sonny, we don't really have time for anything of that kind. What with keepin' the place cleaned 'cordin' to the rules an' regerlations, an' doin' the odd chores, about all the time is so took up we couldn't be lonesome if we wanted to; but we don't."

Uncle Zenas had been industriously cleaning the fish while talking, and the task was nearly finished when, after a long time of silence, Sidney asked timidly:

"Had you just as soon tell me why all the crew call me 'Sonny,' when my right name is Sidney?"

"Wa'al, I can't say, 'cept that Cap'n Eph is allers talkin' 'bout his little Sonny, what died ever so many years ago, an' when he gave the name to you, it come kind'er nat'ral for Sammy an' me to use it."

Sidney dimly understood that Captain Eph had done him a great favor by calling him Sonny, and from that moment, while he remained on Carys' Ledge, he felt in a certain degree slighted when any other name was bestowed upon him.

Uncle Zenas explained that only a few of the fish would be cooked at once, while the remainder were to be put into pickle until the sun shone, when, spread out on the rocks, they could be cured.

"Then they'll be somethin' worth talkin' about," the cook said as Sidney helped him carry into the tower such of the morning's catch as were to be served for dinner. "Folks ashore will eat most anything that looks like a salt fish, an' think it's jest what it ought'er be, the poor, ignorant things! I'll show you some with pork scraps that'll make your eyes water, if you stay here long enough."

At this point Captain Eph came down from the upper portion of the tower looking as calm and contented as before the experience on the shoal, and, noting the change, Uncle Zenas asked as he set about frying the fish:

"Feel better now?"

"Indeed I do," the keeper replied emphatically. "I've writ down in the log all I know about the lubbers what came so near stavin' in our dory, an' if the Board don't do somethin' toward stoppin' sich recklessness, it'll be because they don't care anything 'bout Government property an' them as are hired to look out for it."

"But how can anything be done when you don't know the name of the steamer?" Uncle Zenas asked in perplexity, and Captain Eph replied sharply:

"It ain't for me to show the Government how things should be done. I've let the Board know how they came near to losin' a light keeper, an' it's their business to put a stop to sich fool work as runnin' full speed between the buoy an' the ledge. Wa'al, Sonny," and the keeper turned toward Sidney, "what's your idee of deep-sea fishin'?"

"There's lots of fun in it; but I believe that I'd rather not go out again while the fog is so thick."

"The fog ain't half so bad as imitation sailormen; but it isn't likely we'll need to go again very soon, because Uncle Zenas has got all the fish he can take care of for quite a spell. We'll have fresh cod for dinner, corned cod for breakfast, an' so on till there's a chance for boiled salt cod with plenty of pork."

When a lad is eager to be of assistance to those around him, there is always ample opportunity, and during the remainder of this day Sidney found something with which to occupy his time. More than once was he able to render valuable service in the work of repairing the boat; Uncle Zenas declared that the lad had "helped him out wonderfully," and Captain Eph discovered that the visitor's penmanship was very much more legible than his own, therefore the "report" to the Board relative to the coming of a boat belonging to the schooner West Wind was copied neatly, with much advantage, so far as the general appearance of the document was concerned.

At the supper table Mr. Peters announced that his task would be completed by noon of the next day, and proposed that Sidney try the motor to make certain it was in running order.

"Don't undertake to leave the cove, Sonny," Captain Eph said quickly, "unless it so be that this 'ere fog mull lifts, in which case I'll go with you."

"I'll undertake to run that boat to the mainland, fog or no fog!" Mr. Peters cried. "Do you mean to say, Cap'n Eph, that you allow to wait for clear weather before we take your report ashore?"

"If you can run the motor, Sammy, you're at liberty to make the trip any time you please; but I won't allow Sonny to take chances," the keeper said very decidedly.

"Perhaps you think I can't be trusted to steer for him even in fair weather?" Mr. Peters cried impatiently.

"So far as runnin' a boat from here to the mainland, I'd trust you, Sammy, in any weather, day or night, for there's nobody who could do it better; but for all that, when Sonny runs the motor, I shall be at the helm every time, for I ain't takin' any chances."

"Do you mean to say I can't go ashore with him?"

"Not a bit of it, Sammy. In fair weather there's no reason why both of us shouldn't leave the light, so long as Uncle Zenas stays on duty; but Sonny don't go away from this ledge without me, until his own father comes after him, an' then all hands of us'll be sorry to part with the little shaver."

Captain Eph spoke in a tone which told his comrades that he would not listen to any argument, and Mr. Peters looked as if he was on the verge of a fit of the sulks, when Uncle Zenas said placidly, probably with the idea of restoring good humor:

"I think it would be a proper plan for both of you to go; by startin' in the mornin' after the lantern is cleaned, you should be back by noon, an' if two are ashore, we can get a lot of shoppin' done. There are a good many things I'm needin' that the Board don't furnish."

Captain Eph suggested that a list be made of the articles needed, and Sidney wrote as the others directed, until Mr. Peters forgot that he had been displeased at the idea of Captain Eph's making one of the party, and laid so many plans for the "outing" that a full week would not have sufficed to carry them all into execution.

That night Sidney tried to persuade the keeper to sleep in his own room, and let him use one of the beds on the upper floor; but Captain Eph was so emphatic in his refusal that the lad could do no less than hold his peace.

He did not sleep very soundly on this night, however, because of being eager to go on watch with the keeper. It seemed as if he awakened every ten minutes, and strained his ears to detect any sound which betokened the changing of the watches, while twice he crept softly to the head of the stairs to make certain Captain Eph was yet in bed.

It seemed to the lad like a piece of rare good luck that he chanced to be awake when it was time for the keeper to go on duty, and then, dressing hurriedly, he crept up to the watch-room, enjoying it hugely when the old man started in surprise as his footstep sounded on the floor.

"Didn't think I could waken, did you?" he cried gleefully, and Captain Eph took him in his arms as he replied:

"I didn't allow you should, if I could help it, because there's no reason for you to turn out so early."

"But I had rather; it makes it seem as if I was of some use here, instead of being a loafer."

"Bless your soul, Sonny, you'd be of use if you didn't do more than let us old shell-backs look at you," and Captain Eph seated himself in the chair, rocking the lad as if he had been a baby. "You never can know how much good it has done us to have you here. If it wasn't for the sore heart I know your father has this minute, I'd thank God you got lost in the fog, an' pray that you might never find your way off this 'ere ledge so long as I lived."

"You're mighty good to me," Sidney said, at a loss for words.

"It's me who's gettin' all the good out of it," Captain Eph replied with a vain attempt to speak in a careless tone. "Say, you don't mind if I rock you here on my knee while there's nobody by to see us, do you, Sonny? You put me in mind of a little shaver who spent a good many hours in my lap an' it kind'er makes me feel better to put my arms around you."

"Mind it, of course I don't, except that I'm glad to have you hold me," Sidney cried, guessing something of that which was in the old man's heart, and laying his head on the keeper's shoulder.

The clock which regulated the flashing of the light ticked loudly; the boom of the surf against the black reef sounded like distant thunder; but Captain Eph heard nothing save the soft breathing of the lad after he fell asleep, and saw nothing save the face of the "little shaver" against which he pressed his lips from time to time, while his eyelids glistened in the lamp-light as if they had been wet with dew.