The Light Keepers Part 9

"Then what's to hinder your gettin' a mess of fish for dinner? We've eaten salt meat so long that I'm afraid of drownin' myself through drinkin' so much water."

"You shall have all the fish you can cook, Uncle Zenas," Captain Eph replied, and, turning to Sidney, he asked, "Would you like to go out for a spell, Sonny? There ain't much sport to deep-sea fishin'; but it's a change after a man has hung 'round this 'ere ledge in a fog-storm."

It is hardly necessary to state that the lad accepted the invitation eagerly, and before he took his place at the table Uncle Zenas brought out his own oil-skins for the lad to wear, saying as he did so:

"This 'ere fog is about the same as rain, an' if the fish bite well Cap'n Eph is likely to stay a long spell, for it seems to me he reg'larly loses his head as soon as he gets a cod-line in his hand."

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 s.p.a.ce, 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 a.s.sistant 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 ash.o.r.e!"

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!"