CHAPTER XVIII.
A CONSULTATION.
Benny was in a state of mind bordering on despair when the crewpostponed any decided action on the letter from this uncle of whomhe had never heard before. For the moment it seemed as if almost anydecision would have been better than the suspense.
It appeared as if his comrades avoided even so much as looking towardhim, and this gave him a sense of loneliness such as had come into hisheart when he found himself amid strangers, the only survivor of the_Amazonia_.
As a matter of fact there was not a member of the crew but that wouldhave enjoyed taking the lad in his arms and declaring that he shouldnever leave the station, no matter how many uncles might send for him;but every man understood the question was too important to be decidedhastily, and also that it would be cruel, perhaps, to speak such wordsas might influence the boy.
Benny waited a moment or more, hoping Sam Hardy might give him someconsolation; but as the surfman remained silent with averted face,the sore-hearted lad, gathering Fluff in his arms, went out upon thewind-swept rocks to struggle as best he might with the great griefwhich had so suddenly come upon him.
Seating himself within view of the reef upon which the _Amazonia_ hadgone to pieces, and covering Fluff with his coat as best he might, thelad gave himself up to reflection--not as to what was best for him todo regarding the matter of going to his uncle; but concerning the crueltricks which fortune seemed to be playing him.
"I know neither mother nor Mrs. Clark would want us to go off to thatold man who never cared for us a cent's worth till he saw the news ofthe shipwreck in the papers, and it's horrible for him to interferejust when we'd got into such a nice place!"
The dog licked his master's face, and interpreting this as meaningFluff fully agreed with him, Benny continued mournfully:
"We won't go, Fluffy, and that's all there is to it. If the crew say wecan't stay here because that man claims the right to order us 'round,we'll run off somewhere by our own two selves, an' see if it won't bepossible to make another home. But we'll never find such a pleasantplace as this, no matter how much good luck we have! It seemed as ifthe men liked us, an' after there'd been time to grow, we'd come out asregular surfmen."
The dog whined because he was cold, but Benny fully believed it to bein reply.
"Of course you're sorry, Fluff! Anybody'd be; an' what _is_ to becomeof us? You've got a collar and a medal, and there's my two suits ofclothes; but we'll need some place to sleep in the very first night ofleaving here, and where'll we find it? The money the passengers gave usis in the bank, and I suppose Andrew Foster will think it belongs tohim, so we can't count on that."
Fluff twisted and squirmed until he escaped from his master's arms, forthe embrace was much too close to please him, and as he capered anddanced, begging to be taken back to the station Benny's grief increased:
"I know you want to stay here, Fluffy; but how can I fix things? It'sgoing to be terrible hard on you to go where folks won't want you inthe house 'cause you're a dog, an' we can't be together much of thetime. Oh, what shall we do, you poor little man!"
Believing himself hidden from view of the life savers, the lad gave wayto the grief in his heart, and, lying face downward upon the rocks, heallowed the tears to flow unchecked.
It was Sam Hardy who, missing Benny from the station, had come outfearing to find him in much such a frame of mind.
During two or three minutes the kindly-hearted surfman stood over himin silence, while Fluff remained near by wagging his tail as if askingwhat had gone wrong so suddenly, and then, bending over, Sam Hardylifted the sorrowing boy in his arms.
"Look you, lad, it's wrong to get all down to the heel in this fashionwhen a question comes up which is to be settled as nearly for your goodas we can figger it out. A life-savin' station ain't the kind of a homewhich is needed by a boy of your age."
"It's the only kind I want!" Benny sobbed. "Fluffy an' I'll never findanother so good!"
"That's what you believe now, No. 8; but----"
"Why do you call me No. 8? If I'm to be sent away from here it shows Inever was one of the crew!"
"But you have been, an' always will be, Benny, lad. Even if you go awaywe shall never speak or think of you except as 'No. 8,' the grittylittle mate who brought something like sunshine into the dull station,and kept the gleam there every minute he stayed with us."
"Don't talk like that, Mr. Hardy, _please_ don't talk like that! Whenyou say you're sorry, and yet keep on talking as if it was settled thatI'd got to go, it breaks me all up!"
"Poor little chicken, it strikes me you're badly broken up already!"And Sam stroked the boy's hair with his huge, rough hand, while Fluffcrept under the life saver's arm as if asking that he be given dueshare of the caresses. "If we of the crew did only that which pleasedus best, you'd never have a show for leavin'; but, as Tom Downey says,we're bound to think only of what may be for your good, an' in makingup our minds it is with the hope we'll go right for your sake."
"That man, Andrew Foster, don't care about Fluffy an' me, 'cause henever so much as saw us!"
"That same thought has been in my mind, Benny, lad, an' Joe Cushinghas been makin' similar talk. If we were certain he'd care for you aswe do, the matter would be settled, for it stands to reason you shouldhave a different home than this. But I don't like the way his letterreads, nor do the rest of the boys; so you see, lad, the question ain'tsettled by a long chalk yet."
"Please try to make the men want to keep me! Please try, Mr. Hardy."
"Bless your heart, No. 8, there's no need of my tryin' to do anythingof the kind. The only trouble is we're so eager for you to staythat we're afraid of ourselves--afraid we sha'n't be actin' squareby you. Here's Tom Downey been sayin' that he'd be willin' to giveup ten dollars a month out of his pay for so long a time as he is inthe service, for the sake of havin' you 'round, an' Dick Sawyer isthreatenin' all sorts of terrible things against your uncle because hewrote the letter. We want you, lad, as badly as you want to be with us,an' that's what's makin' it so hard to settle the matter."
Benny twined his arms around the surfman's neck, and the latter,lifting him as tenderly as he would an infant, carried him back tothe station, Fluff following close at his heels, barking with delightbecause they had finally decided to go in out of the cold wind.
Now it was that Benny's grief became more intense; this time becauseof the unusual tenderness and attention shown by every member of thecrew. Each man appeared as if striving to show the boy some particularattention as proof of the esteem in which he was held, and try as hemight, No. 8 could not hold back the tears of mingled pleasure andsorrow.
During the remainder of the day each member of the crew went aroundsoftly, hardly speaking above a whisper, as one does when in thepresence of some great affliction, and the cook positively forbadeBenny's going into the kitchen for the purpose of assisting in the work.
"It seems as if I was going right off in the morning," No. 8 saidconfidently to Sam Hardy, his voice breaking now and then because ofthe sobs. "But suppose it is decided that I must leave, will I have tostart right off?"
"Why, bless you, lad, there'd be no call for anything like that.Writing to your uncle an' getting an answer back will take a week atthe best, and then we shall try to--Well, there, No. 8, what's thesense of our talkin' about your goin' away? When it comes right down tothe fact, I ain't sure as I could say that you'd best go to this AndrewFoster, even though I might know it was for your good. Let's put masterFluff through his lessons, and see if we can't work something likecheerfulness into this crew, for it's gettin' to be as solemn a time asI ever took part in."
Fluff was ready and even eager to do what he might to dispel the gloom,although it is not to be supposed that he had such an idea in his whitehead when he obeyed the surfman's command to "sit up and smoke hispipe."
During the evening the men, and with them Benny, grew more cheerful.Now and then one would speak of what No. 8 must do as soon as the warmweather
came, as if the matter was already settled that the lad shouldremain.
The cook exerted himself to prepare a most appetizing supper, and itwas served half an hour earlier than usual so that all hands, save thelookout on the hill, might be present. The men told stories and madejokes during the meal as if the sole object was to prevent their ownand No. 8's thoughts from roaming into the future.
Yet after all these efforts it was impossible to impart a thoroughair of gayety to the scene, and it was with something like a sense ofrelief that the crew heard the hoof-beats of a horse over the stoneroad, telling that a visitor was near at hand.
Dick Sawyer opened the door to welcome this opportune arrival, and ashe peered out into the twilight an exclamation of glad surprise burstfrom his lips.
"Why, it's Mr. Bradford! Most likely he's come to see how the newuniform fits, an' accordin' to my way of thinkin', he couldn't haveappeared in a better time, for now we'll be able to get a bit of adviceon a difficult question from one who is interested in the case."
The gentleman whose coming was thus announced must have been surprisedby the warmth with which he was received. The members of the crewgreeted him as an old friend, and each appeared eager to engage him inconversation.
Benny, holding Fluff in his arms, stood in the background, waitinguntil his comrades had come to an end of their words of welcome, and,catching a glimpse of him, Mr. Bradford made his way toward thatportion of the room, in total disregard of the fact that Dick Sawyerwas doing his best to explain how an unusually large bag of ducks mightbe taken in a certain cove not far from the building.
"Why, my boy, you're lookin' as solemn as an owl, and even young Mr.Fluff isn't as cheerful as when I saw him last! What's the matter?Didn't the uniform fit?"
"Oh, yes, sir, and it's beautiful--beautiful; and I sha'n't be able towear it because I've got to go away."
Then a particularly big sob came into Benny's throat, and he found itimpossible to speak further.
"Go away?" Mr. Bradford repeated in surprise, and turning to the othershe asked, "What does the lad mean?"
It was proper Tom Downey should act as spokesman, and, recognizing thisfact, he began the necessary explanations by handing the visitor theletter which had caused so much sorrow at the station.
"Take off your overcoat, and make yourself comfortable here by thetable while you read this; then you'll know what Benny means. Buthe goes a little too far when he says he's _got_ to leave, for wehaven't settled the question yet, and since you're here, if the restof the crew are willing, I go in for leavin' it to you. We want him tostay; yet are afraid of doin' what mightn't be to his best interests,therefore it puts us in a bad fix, so far as makin' up our minds isconcerned."
Mr. Bradford looked thoroughly mystified, as he had good cause forbeing, but he did as the speaker had suggested, in the way of makinghimself comfortable, and then read the letter from Mr. Andrew Foster,studying it so long that Benny began to fear perhaps he did not wish toventure an opinion on the subject.
Meanwhile the life savers seated themselves around him, each manlooking inquiringly, eagerly, at the one whom they had thus suddenlydecided should be the judge.
Finally Mr. Bradford looked up from the paper toward Benny and asked:
"When did you hear from your uncle--before this, I mean?"
"I never knew there was such a man, and wish he'd kept his letters tohimself."
"Was your mother sick long before she died?"
"Only two weeks, sir."
"And didn't she mention the name of Andrew Foster--never speak of yourUncle Andrew?"
"I don't think so, sir; I am sure she never said very much about him,and I can't remember ever having heard his name."
"Not a very affectionate letter, eh, Downey?" and Mr. Bradford held outthe missive as if thinking the keeper might like to see it again beforereplying.
"That's the way it struck all hands of us, and is one thing which hascaused us to think perhaps it would be as well for Benny to stay here."
"You want to keep him?"
"Yes, Mr. Bradford; we would like to have him and Fluff stay, if it sobe the lad wouldn't be injurin' his prospects in life. We've come tolook upon him as belongin' to us in a sort of way. Perhaps you can'tunderstand it; but we who live here alone, tied down to the station dayand night, get kind of peculiar, I reckon. You see, we're mostly byourselves all winter, and run into whims an' fancies more than othermen. The sea brought the boy to us, so to speak, and, even though he'swhere he can hear it, I must say a better lad never lived--leastways,so far as my experience goes. Here's the whole hitch: we can't hopeto make more than a surfman out of him, and it may be the good Lordhas fitted him for something better, though he couldn't follow a morehonest callin'. Now if this uncle of his would send him to college, andstart him out into the world as many a boy is started, we'd put asideour own feelin's, knowin' No. 8 was to be benefited; but if he's goin''way up there in the middle of York State to do the drudgery of a farm,or some such kind of work, why, then, unless it's contrary to law, we'dhold him here in spite of his uncle."
"Have you answered this letter?"
"No, sir. You see, it didn't get here till a few hours ago, an' we hadagreed not to make up our minds before to-morrow mornin'."
"Don't you think it would be a good idea to find out who Mr. AndrewFoster is, and whether he's likely to give the boy a good home?"
"It would, for a fact, sir; but how might that be done? We are notallowed to leave the station for a longer time than twenty-four hours,and then only one of the crew can have a furlough."
"There are many easier methods of learning all the public may knowconcerning a man than to send a messenger in search of the knowledge.Suppose you authorize me to make the necessary inquiries--it won'tcost you anything,--and in the course of perhaps a week I shall beable to tell you as much regarding Benny's uncle as his neighbors can.I suppose, as a matter of fact, that by applying to the courts he mayhave himself appointed guardian for the lad and take him away; but Iquestion whether an uncle who wasn't spoken of in terms of affection bythe boy's father and mother would take such trouble."
"It's no use talkin', we ain't fit to settle any kind of a discussion,"Sam Hardy exclaimed emphatically. "Here we've been moonin' 'roundtryin' to make up our minds whether Benny should go or not, an' neveronce thinkin' of what would have come into another man's mind at thejump. Of course we want to know who Andrew Foster is, and what he'slikely to do for Benny? Then it's only a question of sayin' who willgive the boy the best start in the world."
"An' you'll look after this matter for us, Mr. Bradford?" Tom Downeyasked, an expression of relief coming over his face.
"Certainly I will, and be glad of the opportunity of doing a favor forNo. 8. Cheer up, my lad," he added turning toward Benny who, as theconversation progressed, had been gradually drawing nearer the friendlyvisitor. "You're a long ways from leaving this crew yet, and I'll besurprised if the matter comes out differently from what you wish. Withall hands of us to consider which may be the best move, there shouldn'tremain any chance for mistake. Choke back those sobs; go up and putyour uniform on, and let me see how you and Fluff C. Foster look onparade."
It was really astonishing what a change Mr. Bradford had wrought by afew commonplace words.
The expression of gloom disappeared from all the faces, and the menwhose time for going on patrol had arrived set about making ready forthe duty with the greatest alacrity.
Benny ran up-stairs, eager to do as this kindly friend suggested, andin an instant, as it were, something very like joy reigned where latelyall had been mourning.
No. 8 displayed himself in all his finery; Fluff performed his tricksin the most approved fashion; the keeper and the surfmen told storieswhich were not all concerning wrecks and loss of life; the cook made alobster salad as his portion of the merrymaking, and the evening whichhad bade fair to be such a gloomy one, was, as all declared, the mostenjoyable that had been spent in the station for many a month.
Then, promising to report by telephone whenever he should have gainedany information, the visitor took his departure, and it was time forSam Hardy and No. 8 to do their share of patrol work.
"Come, lad," the surfman said cheerily. "I had counted on your stayin'under cover to-night; but seein' 's how you're likely to hold on here,for I believe Mr. Bradford will fix things accordin' to our likin', youmay just as well continue to toughen up."
Then the two went out into the night, and it would be difficult to saywhich carried the lighter heart in his bosom.