CHAPTER VI.
THE MIDNIGHT LIGHT.
"I WISH we could get to fishing right off," Charley observed, "but Ibelieve it will pay us best to get everything fixed up right first,then we will have nothing to bother us and we will be able to fishsteadily without any interruptions."
"Issue your commands, boss, and they shall be carried out," Walterassured him.
"The cabin is the first thing to be attended to. There isn't muchfixing required, as I can see, except to clean it up a little. But weneed something for beds, bare planks make pretty hard sleeping. How doyou suppose some clean dry sea moss would do for couches?"
"Just the thing," Captain Westfield declared. "I like the sweet saltysmell of it. I'll bring some up from the beach, and clean up the housetoo, that's my job."
"We had ought to have some kind of a fireplace to cook on," Charleycontinued. "It's a little trouble to build one, but there's lots ofrock on the beach and it hadn't ought to take very long."
"Dis nigger's goin' to 'tend to dat," announced Chris. "I'se de cookan' I knows jes' what kind ob oven I wants. I'se goin' to see if Ican't find something to eat too. We ain't got but mighty little grubleft an' we best save it all we can."
"Well, Walter and I will try to manage the rest of the work, then. Comeon, Walt, we have got to build a small dock and racks for our nets."
There was plenty of driftwood on the beach and with proper tools thetwo boys would have taken but a short time to complete their tasks, butthe only implements they possessed were their sheath knives.
"This is a case where necessity has got to be the mother of invention,"Charley observed. "Let's pick out our driftwood as near of the samelength as we can, that will save some cutting which would be an almostimpossible job without saw or axe. We had better tackle the dock jobfirst because it's the hardest. Let's see--we will want six stoutpieces for posts, three others for cross pieces, and a lot of planksfor the top."
Although the driftwood was plentiful, it took the boys some time tofind just what they wanted and carry it all to the place they haddecided to have their wharf.
"Now comes the hardest part of the job," Charley announced, as theydumped their last load on the sand. "That is to get our posts set. Idon't see any way to do but get overboard and work them down by hand."
"Here goes, then," said Walter, beginning to shed his clothing.
The water was not very deep and the boys stood one of the posts uprightand attempted to work the end down into the bottom by swaying the topback and forth.
"It's no go," panted Walter after half an hour of hard labor which onlysank the post a few inches in the hard sand. "It would take us tenyears to put them all far enough down to hold."
"I expect we will have to give up the dock for the present," Charleyagreed, ruefully. "Too bad. Of course one is not absolutely necessarybut it would save us a good deal of trouble and also wet feet."
"It is lucky that your assistant is a person of great intelligence,"Walter observed, slyly. "Your methods are primitive, clumsy, hand-labormethods. This is an age of machinery and brains. Now, if I were bossof this, job, I would call in the aid of machinery to replace the handmethods which have been tried and found wanting."
"I resign as superintendent in your favor," Charley grinned. "There ismore honor than pay attached to the position, anyway. It will be a goodopening for you. You will be able to say in future years that you heldat least one position where you were not paid more than you were worth."
"Your words are prompted by intellectual jealousy," declared his chum,calmly. "However, it is the misfortune of the truly great not to beappreciated until they are dead. If you will bring the launch inhere, I'll explain my plan so simply that a child, or even you, canunderstand it."
Charley, deciding that he was getting the worst of the good-naturedbanter, obediently waded out and brought the launch in.
"I don't know whether you are well enough acquainted with engines torealize it," mocked Walter, who had only made the discovery himselfthat morning, "but the cylinder of this engine, as you will see when Ipoint it out, is inclosed in a hollow iron jacket. This thing down hereis a pump, and you will notice that there is one pipe running from itdown through the bottom of the boat and also another pipe leading intothe jacket. Observe also that there is a short piece of pipe in thejacket to which is fastened a piece of hose that runs out over the sideof the boat. Do you take in all that?"
"I do," said Charley, briefly.
"All right, though I am quite surprised. Now, when the engine isrunning that pump sucks up water through the pipe that goes through thebottom of the boat. The water is forced through the other pipe into thejacket and passes overboard again through the short pipe and hose. Theconstant circulation of cold water keeps the engine from heating up andexploding."
"You know more about engines than I suspected yesterday," Charley said,dryly.
"I know many things that would surprise you," observed Walter, calmly."Now, I will show you how simple it is for a brainy person to makepractical use of such things. Now, we'll just fasten the end of thathose to the end of the post and start up the engine. The force of theexpelled water will wash away the sand from below the post permittingit to sink."
"Yes, and you will start the engine the wrong way and pump the poorpost out of the water," Charley jeered.
"The superintendent does not stoop to manual labor," replied Walter,calmly. "I shall simply order my assistant to start the engine."
The joke was on Charley and he owned it by starting up the enginewithout further parley.
"Now get overboard and hold the post steady," Walter commanded, and hischum meekly obeyed.
The idea was really an excellent one. The post sank rapidly and inan hour all six were sunk to the required depth. Charley labored inthe water with suspicious willingness while Walter, bare-backed, satproudly and comfortably in the launch tending the switch and givingorders with sarcastic comments on the worker's ability. From time totime, Charley glanced up with a malicious grin at him sitting in nakedstate by the engine. That grin made Walter uneasy, for it was not oftenthat he got the best of his chum in a joke and Charley's meekness wassuspicious.
"Now for the cross pieces. Put them on next," he ordered. "By jove, howare we going to fasten them though. We have got no nails or hammer."
"This is an age of machinery and brains," quoted Charley. "Surely mybrilliant superintendent can overcome such a little difficulty."
Walter puzzled for a few minutes. "I'll have to give up," he admitted."I resign as superintendent. Give your orders, Mr. Super and I'llexecute them." He flopped over the launch's side into the water.
"Ouch!" he yelled. "What's the matter with this water? It smarts melike fire."
"There's nothing the matter with the water," grinned Charley, "it isjust nice, cool, clear sea water. I am enjoying it. The salt in it doesnot agree with a badly sunburned back, however."
"My! I should say it doesn't," agreed his chum, as the reason for thesmarting dawned upon him. "Now laugh. Go ahead, don't mind my feelings.I am not sensitive."
And thus with good-natured banter, the two boys made light work oftheir heavy, disagreeable task.
Charley solved the lack of nails and hammer, by plaiting some stoutropes of cocoanut fiber with which he securely bound the cross piecesin place. After that it was only a few minutes' task to lay on theplanks for the top and their wharf was completed.
The net racks gave them less trouble, as they consisted merely of twopoles about four feet apart set up on posts.
By noon, the boys' tasks were completed and they repaired to the cabinwhere they found that the captain and Chris had not wasted their time.The cabin had been made neat and clean and in each corner was a greatheap of dry fragrant sea moss upon which their blankets were alreadyspread.
Just outside the door, Chris had cunningly constructed a kind of rude,flat-topped stove out of rocks, and the fragrant odors coming from itcaused the boys to quicken their steps.
"M
y, Chris, if that dinner tastes as good as it smells, it will be allright," Charley said.
The little negro beamed with delight. "Trust dis nigger to git plentyto eat," he grinned. "Don't make no difference if dat poor white trashsteals all the grub, dis nigger can get up a good meal all right. I'sejust got up a kind of feast to-day 'cause hit's our first meal on deIsland."
And a feast it truly was. First came a thick soup or stew that wasdelicious. "What's this, Chris?" Charley asked, as he smacked his lipsover the first spoonful. "It's a new one on me."
"Dem's stewed scallops. I find lots of dem on the flats," declared thedelighted little negro. "Dey are powerful hard to open an' clean, butdey sure beat oysters all hollow for tastiness. Don't eat too much obdem, Massa Chas, 'cause dar's lots ob other things comin' yet."
The next dish was a large fish baked until the juicy meat was droppingfrom the bones. With it came the tender, baked bud of a palmettocabbage, and great red, boiled claws of stone crabs. To top off with,there were golden brown, feather-weight flap-jacks with syrup andwhite, milky cocoa plums.
The little party ate like cannibals, while Chris urged more upon them,tickled with the success of the feast he had prepared.
"I hate to quit, but I haven't got room for another mouthful," Charleydeclared, at last. "Come on, Walt, stop it. There is more work to dothis afternoon and I don't want to do it all by myself. Besides you aregoing to get another meal to-night."
"That's right, begrudge me a few mouthfuls of food," grumbled Walter ashe rose slowly and painfully from the table.
The afternoon was busily spent in putting their nets on the racks,overhauling the skiffs, and making themselves more familiar with thelaunch's engine. Night found all hands tired and sleepy. As soon assupper was over, they stretched out on their soft spicy couches readyto get back the sleep they had lost the night before.
At midnight Charley sat up suddenly wide awake. For a moment he satstill and alert. Everything was quiet. Yet he knew that somethingunusual had occurred to rouse him from his sound slumber. This suddenawakening was a habit bred by his adventurous life amid the perils ofsea and forest. Silently he waited, every nerve alert, to sense whathad happened. At last it came again, a deep, mellow, horn-like sound.One, two, three times it vibrated on the still night air, then camesilence again.
Softly he crept over and awakened Walter and the captain. "I don't knowwhat's the matter, but some one is signaling on a conch shell," heexplained, "and the sound is not far off."