*CHAPTER XIX.*
*IMPROVING THE TIME.*
"Only two more days, boys, and the boat will be here for us, and thetents will have to come down," exclaimed Joe, as he stood on the beachwith a handful of pebbles, skipping one after another out over theswimming-pool.
"That's so," said Ben, sighing over lost opportunities.
"The question is what to do first now. Shall we show Ralph and you thesights?"
"Oh, it's jolly just to be here, Joe, without hunting up any fun!" saidRalph, leaning back in his rocky seat. "I could lie on the rocks here,and be comfortable, and call it a good time, too, after our dismalexperience."
"Having had that, it's all the more reason you should have all thepleasure we can crowd into these two days," said Joe, putting his handon Ralph's shoulder.
"Yes," said Dave; "we must stretch these next two days over all the funwe can."
"The archery and rifle matches come off this afternoon; but I shan'tfire another arrow till then. It is too bad your bow and rifle wereleft behind, boys: but you can use my bow, Ralph; and there are plentyof fellows in the rifle club to lend you a rifle, Ben," said Joe.
The offers followed at once, but the two boys declined, and Ben, who wasa member of the rifle club, and one of the best marksmen, said, "No,indeed; I haven't practised for a fortnight, and I should disgrace myrecord if I should join in the match to-day. No; I'll look on andapplaud."
"Let's go and swim a while, and after that take a run over to thelighthouse," suggested Joe.
"And show the boys the place where Walt and Ned acted Robinson Crusoe,"added Don.
"Which was Robinson, and which Friday?"
"I don't think that question was ever decided," answered Nedgood-naturedly.
"Ho, for a swim! Who will go in?" cried Fred.
"I," and "I," answered the boys, as they ran for their bathing-suits.
They soon appeared dressed in all imaginable costumes, and a band offantastics could hardly have been funnier. Into the water they walkedor leaped or dived, with much shouting and shrieking over the cold.Ralph was a timid swimmer, and did not like the water well enough toattempt any fancy motions, contenting himself with paddling about wherehe could reach the shore very quickly, if he chose. Ben, however, wasstrong and bold, and followed Joe and the others in diving from therocks and swimming under water. Nearly the whole school were in thewater together this morning, to celebrate Ralph and Ben's arrival. Thetwo boys from the lighthouse were there also, and under Joe'sinstruction were learning to "strike out" quite boldly. Little Max wasalso learning, and he shouted to his father, who sat on the rocks,laughing at the antics of his boys, "See, father, how many strokes I cantake. Now you count. I can go 'dog paw,' too."
The time passed so quickly that the boys could hardly believe that Mr.Bernard's watch was reliable when he gave the signal for an exodus fromthe water. As usual, there was pleading for a few minutes more,--onemore dive, or one more race across the pool,--then a great splashing anddashing and general commotion, as the multitude obeyed the order,followed by a scamper of the dripping mermen to the tents. Afterdressing, they met for further discussion as to the next thing in order,and, after much debate, most of those who were not intending to practisefor the matches decided to go over to the lighthouse.
"Is the wreck there now?" asked Ralph.
"Yes, it's there, what there is of it, but it is 'most all to pieces,"answered John Kramer.
"And where are the men?"
"Oh, father took them across in his boat after they had done all theycould to save things. I tell you, they were awful plucky about gettingthings out. Father says he wouldn't have risked his bones on the oldhull for nobody."
"No, I don't believe he would, boy," said Walter dryly, recalling theslowness with which he responded to their petitions for help when he andNed were in trouble. "Your father will never come to his death throughwant of care for himself, rest sure of that, Johnny; so don't you lieawake at night worrying about him."
The path to the lighthouse lay through that part of the pasture wherethe blueberries were most plentiful and tempting, so it was long beforethe boys reached their destination; and their blue mouths told thesecret of their delay.
After the lighthouse had been visited and examined, the boys led the wayto the fishing-ground, where the tide had come up over their fish andlunches and rods. Here all began to talk together, relating theexperience of that eventful day, and though they all spoke one language,it seemed like a second Babel, but little inferior in point of sound tothe first. Each boy having had an experience that differed a littlefrom his neighbour's, felt it necessary to make a statement of facts.After a while Joe shouted above the din,--
"See here, boys, it is low tide; let's go around and see the 'Exiles'Rock!'" and he led the way down to the spur around which Walter and Nedhad run to hide.
"Look out there! you fellows will be caught just as we were," shoutedWalter.
"No, we won't. We know too much for that," answered Dave.
"Come on and visit the scene of your fame and glory, Walt!" exclaimedNed.
"No, sir; the fame and glory were too slim to tempt me again," was thelaughing reply, as Walter threw himself down on the rocks to wait forthe others.
"I am going. I feel curious to know how it seems to be there again,"and Ned ran after the other boys, who had disappeared around the spur."Imagine these waves ten times rougher and fiercer, leaping and roaringaway up by your very feet, with the spray flying in your faces, and youcan have some idea how Walt and I felt here," he said, after he reachedhis companions; then he added, "And yet you can't; for the worst of itall was that we didn't know where the tide would stop, or whether itwould stop at all until it had washed us off our perch."
"There couldn't be a much worse place to get caught!" exclaimed Ben,shrugging his shoulders, as he always did, to express the feeling thatmatters and things were in a bad condition.
"Let's get away from here," said Ralph. "I have had all the experiencewith the raging seas that I want."
Then, with many similar comments, the crowd of boys surged back to theplace where they had left Walter.
"Now for Spouting Horn!" cried Joe. "Here, not that way. The low-tidespouter is on this side," he added, as the boys were starting off.
"It is just about time to see the pool, too," said Fred.
"Yes, we will do both. There'll be time enough to see that after wehave watched the spout a while."
"There she blows!" exclaimed Don, as they came near the place in time tohear the report, as the column of water shot up into the air and fell indelicate spray.
A prolonged "Oh--h!" ending in a whistle from Ralph, expressed hisadmiration of the wonderful sight; and he and Ben hastened forward to beas near as possible before it spouted again.
"I don't want to hurry you, boys," said Joe, "but we have another sightto show, and the tide has turned. In a little while it will be too lateto see the pool."
There was another race of the multitude, and in spite of their haste thetide had crept nearly up to the place they had come to see. The waveswere beginning to flow up over the barrier separating the pool from theocean, and there was only time to secure a few specimens of star-fishand sea-urchins, and to admire the natural aquarium; then they wereobliged to retreat before the rushing water.
Ben, who was lying flat on the rocks, trying to get possession of abeautiful lilac-coloured sea-anemone, would not heed the shouts andshrieks of warning from his comrades, and as a result, before he couldscramble to his feet, a succession of waves rolled over him, hiding himfrom view. When the waves rolled back he was blowing the water frommouth and nose, and laughing as heartily as those who had beenspectators of the ludicrous sight.
"The great Atlantic merman!" shouted Dave, as he rolled on the rocks ina fit of laughter.
"I got the creature though!" Ben cried triumphantly. Then seeing themass of jelly in his hand, with no trace of
the beauty he had sought toseize upon, he threw it down with an expression of disgust. "Pooh! Isthat the thing? I don't want that!" he exclaimed. "Alas! I got duckedfor nothing, except to make sport for the rest of you. Well, look at meand laugh all you want to," he added good-naturedly, as he tried towring himself out. There was no need to tell the boys that, and theshrieks of laughter continued long after they started campward.
"See! see!" shouted the archers, as the boys tramped past the targets."A wreck! a wreck! Ben Carver rescued from the briny deep."
"Why this wetness, Benjamin?" cried Henry Burnham, as he paused, withhis arrow on the string.
"Oh, that was acquired in my thirst for science."
"Couldn't be satisfied without going into it head over heels, eh?"
"Here, come to our tent. I carried your valise there, Ben," said Joe."Your teeth are chattering now; I am going to get Jonas to make you someginger-tea. That'll warm you up, I tell you."
Away ran Joe, and by the time Ben had changed his garments, he returnedwith a mug.
"Here it is, piping hot. Drink that, Ben, and I'll warrant you'll beable to melt out the inside of an iceberg by just breathing on it."
Ben took the mug, and, after eying the contents with a comical look ofdistrust, took one sip, then with a wry face he said, "Here, boys, passthis beverage around. There's nothing mean about me. I always share mytreats. This will warm you so much, you will love even the misguidedwretch who invented logarithms."
The offer was laughingly declined, and Ben, pouring the contents on theledge, returned the mug to Jonas with many thanks for his liberality.