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

CHAPTER VII
A LESSON ON BUOYS

Before Mr. Peters could make any reply to the rather equivocal remark of the keeper, Sidney, glancing over his shoulder carelessly, was startled into a cry of surprise, for they were close aboard the ledge, and, as if waiting for them, Uncle Zenas stood at the head of the little cove.

"What's the matter, Sonny?" Captain Eph asked solicitously.

"Nothing serious, sir. I was surprised at seeing that we were so near the light. The boat has made better time than when we went over, and yet I didn't know I was running the motor any faster."

"Very likely you kept the same pace with the machine; but this 'ere wind has been pushin' us along a good two miles an hour," the keeper replied as he waved his hand in greeting to Uncle Zenas.

"Ahoy on the boat!" the cook shouted as if he was hailing a ship half a mile distant, and Mr. Peters took it upon himself to reply:

"Hello! What seems to be creepin' over you?"

"Did I put bakin' powder on that 'ere list?"

"That you did, an' the cap'n has brought what'll last six months, even if you sit up nights tryin' to work it inter somethin' that we're bound to eat 'cause we can't get anything else."

"Way enough, Sonny!" Captain Eph cried at this moment, and Sidney shut off the supply of gas, thus bringing the screw gradually to a standstill.

A moment later Uncle Zenas seized the bow of the little craft, dragging it up on the ways, and the voyage had come to an end within six hours of its beginning.

"Hold on there!" Mr. Peters cried excitedly when Uncle Zenas would have taken from the boat the packages which had been stowed with such care. "Don't touch anythin' here; your stuff is midships."

"But what are these?" and again Uncle Zenas made a movement as if he would have taken up one of the packages; but the first assistant was so frantic in his efforts to prevent him, that Sidney could not restrain his mirth, for the battle-scarred veteran looked much like an old hen defending her chickens.

"What in the name of goodness, Sammy, have you got there?" Uncle Zenas asked in surprise, and he looked inquiringly at Captain Eph.

"I don't know anything about it," the keeper said in reply to the mute question. "He's acted jest that way ever since we took the stuff aboard – wouldn't let Sonny or me so much as put our fingers on it."

"But you must have seen what he bought," the second assistant cried as he eyed the packages suspiciously.

"He was too sharp for us, an' when I saw that he was at some kind of underhanded work, I let him have full swing, by goin' out of the shop. Lend a hand with this 'ere stuff which we ain't ashamed to show, an' then we'll have a chance to stretch our legs a bit. I'm pretty well cramped up with sittin' still so long."

While Uncle Zenas obeyed this command, Mr. Peters carried his goods into the tower, giving no heed to his comrades, and by the time the motor boat had been run up on the ways to the door of the boat-house, he came out looking exceedingly well pleased with himself.

Uncle Zenas had prepared an unusually appetizing dinner for the voyagers, and while they were giving evidence of their appreciation of his efforts by eating heartily, Captain Eph said with a long-drawn sigh of content:

"I declare it does seem good to get home! It'll be many a long day before I can be coaxed ashore agin, unless it so be that Sonny has to go on business of his own."

This remark reminded Uncle Zenas of the main object for which the voyage had been undertaken, and in answer to his questions the keeper explained what had been done.

"Then I s'pose we can look for his father almost any day?" the cook said inquiringly, and Captain Eph explained why, as Mr. Peters had presented the matter, some considerable time must necessarily elapse before any information could be received concerning Captain Harlow's movements.

"I'm allowin', since Sammy put me right on the matter, that the first word we get will come from the inspector," the keeper said as if to dismiss the subject, "an' we can count on keepin' about as we're goin' for some time yet."

By this time the meal had come to an end, and when Uncle Zenas refused all offers of assistance in stowing away the goods which had been brought from the mainland, Captain Eph went into the watch-room, followed by Sidney, for Mr. Peters had slipped out of the tower as if afraid some one might take note of his movements.

"Well, Sonny," the keeper said when he was alone with the lad, "what do you reckon you an' I had better do jest now?"

"I was watching the buoys as we went into the harbor, and wondered how it was you knew so well on which side of them the channel was to be found."

"I've been expectin' you'd ask that same question jest as soon as you'd got well inter this 'ere light-house business, an' it strikes me you'll know more about it by readin' somethin' I've put by here, than if I spent the whole day tryin' to tell it in my clumsy way," the keeper said as he gave to Sidney an open book, from which the lad read that which follows:

"The buoy is to the seaman by day what the light is at night, and what the fog signal is in thick weather. It tells him by its size, form, color, and number how to avoid rocks and shoals, and shows the way in and out of harbor.

"The buoy service has its own code of laws, State and national, a fleet of small steamers for its maintenance, and a corps of contractors to attend to the buoyage of coves and inlets impracticable to the steamers. It has its depots for the storage of iron buoys, where they are painted and numbered, or repaired, and also where wooden buoys are made ready for service. It has its own directory printed yearly, in thirteen volumes, distributed gratuitously for the benefit of commerce, in which each one is mentioned by name, located by station, and described by size, color, number, and vicinity.

"Congress prescribed, by act of September 28, 1850, that red buoys, with even numbers, be placed on the right-hand side, and black buoys, with odd numbers, on the left-hand side of channels approached from seaward; that buoys placed on wrecks and other obstructions, having a channel on each side, be painted with red and black horizontal stripes; that those buoys placed in mid-channel, and which indicate that they must be passed close-to to avoid danger, be painted with white and black perpendicular stripes; and, finally, that perches, with balls, cages, etc., when placed on buoys, will indicate a turning-point, the color and number of the buoy showing the side on which they are to be passed.

"Iron buoys are hollow, with air-tight compartments, and are made of three shapes, called nun, can, and ice-buoys. The nun-buoys are almost conical in form; the can-buoy is in shape the frustum of a cone, nearly approaching a cylinder, and the ice-buoy is found much like a spar-buoy, of great length, slight thickness, and of the largest diameter near its middle. Each shape is classified by size, and diversified by color and number. They were once made of wooden staves, like barrels, but their rapid destruction by submarine worms caused the substitution of boiler-iron.

"The cost of these buoys varies with the price of iron, and they have been sold to the Government for $41.81 in the case of third-class buoys, up to $150 for those of the first-class.

"Buoys are exposed to many dangers, not the least of which is that of being run down and ripped open by passing steamers. As the iron buoys are made with compartments, they are rarely sunk, but their line of floatation is often lowered, and their usefulness accordingly decreased.

"Spar-buoys frequently lose a portion of their length, which is cut off by strokes of colliding propeller-blades. Despite state and national statutes forbidding it, vessels will sometimes make fast to buoys, thus gradually dragging them off their bearings. A buoy has sometimes been set adrift that a reward might be obtained for its recovery; but this is not a profitable operation, as the reward paid is varied with the circumstances of each case.

"The buoy's worst enemy, however, is ice, when moving in mass, and with a tide or current. A well-made, well-moored buoy at the mouth of a narrow river can create an ice-gorge; but usually, when the ice moves in force, the buoys met have their mooring-loops torn out, their mooring-chains broken, or their mooring-anchors weighed; and in each case the buoys are carried out to sea, when the buoy tenders give chase, and, if successful in their capture, return them to position.

"The sea-going qualities of the large buoys are shown by their volunteer voyages. One is now anchored off the coast of Ireland, where it was picked up, about six weeks after it had been wrenched from its place in New York harbor, and turned over to the Irish light-house establishment, by which it was reported to the United States Light-House Board, when it was presented to the Irish Board, who simply added to its former marks their own, and moored it near the point where it came ashore, in commemoration of its peculiar voyage.

"The iron ice-buoy is made of boiler-iron, and is divided into compartments, so that any one may be pierced without sinking the buoy. One of the first-class costs $275, is fifty feet long, and stands twenty-two feet out of water. One of the second-class costs $181, is forty feet long, and stands seventeen feet out of water. As with wooden spar-buoys, the ice passes over them without carrying them away; but, unlike the wooden buoys, they break the propeller blades which strike them, instead of being broken, and, thus defending themselves, last many times longer than spar-buoys, and, though costing more at first, are more economical in the end."

Captain Eph had remained patiently near the window during all the time Sidney was reading that which has been given here, and a smile overspread his face as the lad said when he closed the book:

"It seems as if I ought to know all about buoys, after reading so much, and I'll try not to forget it."

"The longer you stay with us, Sonny, the bigger idee you'll get of the money it costs to keep the waters of this 'ere country in proper trim for sailors. I reckon there ain't more'n one landsman in twenty who, when he sees a light-house, could give any reasonable guess as to the bigness of the service."

"There's a lot to learn about it," Sidney said with a sigh, and Captain Eph replied laughingly:

"Indeed there is, Sonny, an' you ain't forced to wade through it all unless your curiosity leads that way. There's a big fleet of steamers to be talked about yet, an' they must surely cost a lot of money."

The keeper was interrupted by the voice of Uncle Zenas from the kitchen:

"Ephraim Downs, I want to know if your losin' your senses entirely?"

"Now Uncle Zenas, what seems to be the trouble with you?" the keeper called down through the door. "Has the cookin' gone wrong, or didn't we buy all the gim-cracks you wanted?"

"In case you haven't lost your senses, why is Sammy allowed to make a jumpin' jack of himself all over this 'ere ledge? If anybody should see him, it would be told everywhere on the mainland that we'd gone crazy, an' then goodness only knows what might happen!"

"I didn't know Sammy was up to any capers, Uncle Zenas; but I'll look into the matter, an' if he's doin' anything agin the rules an' regerlations, I'll straighten him out in short order. Don't worry about his bein' seen, for there isn't so much as a fisherman's dory in sight."

"He'd be cavortin' 'round jest the same if a whole fleet had hove to off here," Uncle Zenas cried, and without waiting to make any reply, Captain Eph hurried to one of the windows, from which Sidney was already gazing out with a look of wonderment on his face.

"What in the name of goodness has come over Sammy?" the old keeper cried to no one in particular; but Sidney replied in a tone of perplexity:

"It looks as if he was nailin' up a lot of sticks, sir."

"But he can't nail 'em to the rocks, an' whatever he puts up there will be carried away by the first wave that breaks over the ledge!"

Mr. Peters certainly was acting in a very peculiar manner. He had in his arms five or six strips of boards or planks, which had the appearance of having been washed up from some wreck, and was striding to and fro, evidently trying to find some place where he could place them in a sort of frame-work, for, during the short time Captain Eph and Sidney watched from the window, he made two unsuccessful attempts to secure them in an upright position.

The old keeper watched his first assistant narrowly for some time, evidently losing a tiny bit of his temper each moment, and presently it was impossible for him to remain silent any longer:

"I ain't so certain but that we'll have to set about makin' a straight-jacket for Sammy, an' we sha'n't have much more'n time to do it before the lamp must be lighted. Come down with me, an' we'll try to soothe him a little. I thought he acted queer about that stuff he bought, an' most likely this spell was jest comin' on."

Sidney was not prepared to believe that the first assistant had become insane so suddenly; but he followed the keeper down the narrow stairs, eager to hear what explanation Mr. Peters might give for his peculiar behavior.

When the lad entered the kitchen he saw Uncle Zenas standing in the open door leading to the outside ladder, looking out as if in greatest alarm.

"Have you seen Sammy?" he asked in a whisper, and with such a comical expression of fear on his face that Sidney was forced to laugh outright.

"You don't seem to think there's anything the matter with him," Uncle Zenas said reproachfully. "That's because you don't know Sammy very well. In all the years I've lived on this 'ere ledge, I never saw him cuttin' up any sich capers as he's flingin' now."

"It looks to me as if he was hunting for a chance to build something, sir. I can't see that he is acting very queerly."

"It's queer for him to be runnin' 'round so when there's no need of it," Captain Eph interrupted. "Sammy don't like work overly well, an' I never saw him do any more than he could help. I'm goin' to know what's the matter, though."

Then the keeper, while descending the ladder, called softly, as if afraid of frightening his first assistant:

"Hello, Sammy, what seems to be the matter with you?"

"With me?" Mr. Peters repeated in astonishment. "What made you think there was anything wrong?"

"What are you runnin' 'round so after?"

"An' why shouldn't I, if the notion strikes me? Are you afraid I'll do any harm to the rocks?"

"Now don't get excited, Sammy; but it kind'er bothers Uncle Zenas an' me to see you runnin' around as if you'd lost your head."

"Don't look, an' then you won't feel so bad," the first assistant said sharply, as once more he attempted to fasten the strips of board in an upright position, and Captain Eph asked impatiently:

"What are you tryin' to do, Samuel Peters? As the keeper of this 'ere light, I call upon you to explain your actions."

Mr. Peters dropped the sticks and stared at Captain Eph in astonishment while one might have counted ten, and then asked irritably:

"Is there anything in the rules an' regerlations to stop me from nailin' these boards together, an' standin' 'em up on end, if so be it can be done?"

"Not a thing, Sammy, not a thing; but it makes Uncle Zenas an' me feel kind'er bad to see you jumpin' 'round at sich a rate. Does your old wound trouble you any?"

By this time Mr. Peters began to understand somewhat of the fears in the minds of his comrades, and it all seemed to him very comical. He laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks, and his mirth brought on such an attack of coughing that Sidney was really afraid he would be strangled.

"Thought I'd gone crazy, eh?" he cried as soon as it was possible for him to speak. "You an' Uncle Zenas have been figgerin' how you could get me into the hospital, I s'pose? Crazy!" and again the first assistant laughed until he choked and gasped for breath. "Let me tell you, Cap'n Eph, that when I do go off the hooks you won't see me loafin' 'round peaceable as this, for I'll think I'm in front of Petersburg again, an' cut up in a way that you can't call pleasant."

"But what are you tryin' to do, Sammy?" Captain Eph asked eagerly. "What's the meanin' of your runnin' 'round with them strips of board under your arm?"

"I'm tryin' to set up what you might call a frame; but can't find a place to put it."

"But, Sammy, it wouldn't stand against the first wave that ever washed over the ledge!"

"I know that, Cap'n Eph, an' I only want it to hold together till 'bout eight o'clock to-night, an' then it can go drown itself for all I care."

"Now you're talkin' queer, agin, Sammy," the old keeper said in a tone of real concern, and the first assistant replied as he struggled to restrain his mirth:

"Look here, Cap'n Eph, jest try to hold in till eight o'clock to-night, an' then you'll understand all about it. This 'ere is a little surprise of mine, an' I reckon there ain't anythin' in the rules an' regerlations to prevent me from springin' it."

Even Uncle Zenas was convinced by this time that Mr. Peters had not lost any portion of his mind, and Captain Eph returned to the kitchen, where he said, as if having solved some important problem:

"What Sammy bought when he was ashore has got somethin' to do with the surprise he's countin' on givin' us, an' I s'pose we may as well let him have his fling, for he always was a good deal of a boy."

As a matter of fact, so Uncle Zenas afterward told Sidney, Mr. Peters was two years older than Captain Eph, but one might have thought, from the way the others treated him, that the first assistant was a mere child as compared with them.

The cook was brimming over with curiosity as to the nature of the surprise which Mr. Peters had in store for them, and Captain Eph confessed that he was "all in the dark"; but, remembering the shape of some of the packages the first assistant brought with him, and his fear lest they should get wet, Sidney believed he could make a very good guess as to what was coming.

"He sha'n't be the only one on this 'ere ledge who can rig up a surprise," Uncle Zenas finally said. "You two are to get out of this kitchen, an' stay out until after the light is started; when I call you to supper, come runnin', or I'll make considerable trouble."

"This way, Sonny," Captain Eph said with a laugh. "I reckon our place is up-stairs whether they want us to go or not, for there's gettin' to be altogether too much mystery about this 'ere ledge to suit me."

Sidney followed the keeper, and when the two were climbing the stairs, the lad said:

"This must be one of the highest towers the Government ever built, Captain."

"Indeed it isn't, Sonny, not by a long chalk. From the ledge to the light is only one hundred an' twenty feet; but I've got up-stairs an account of the highest tower the Board ever built, an' you shall read it. I ain't tryin' to fill you chock-a-block with facts about light-houses, but when you spring these 'ere questions on me I can't help flashin' up what I know about 'em, which ain't a great deal when you come to simmer it right down."

When the two were once more in the watch-room, the keeper handed Sidney a slip of paper on which was printed the following:

"The tallest skeleton iron tower erected by the United States Light-House Services was at Hell Gate, Astoria, N. Y., in 1883-84. Its height was two hundred fifty-five feet and five-eighths of an inch. It was built in the form of a frustum of a pyramid, and was fifty-four feet square at the bottom and six feet square at the top. It cost $11,000, and showed nine electric lights, each of which was of six thousand candle power. It was designed to illuminate the narrow, intricate, and dangerous channel as by artificial daylight. At night the effect was grand. The tower itself could not be seen, and the lights appeared as if hung from the heavens. It accomplished all that was intended, and more, for the light was so brilliant that it dazzled the eyes of the pilots, and prevented them from seeing objects beyond the circle illumined. The shadows thrown were so heavy that they took the form of obstacles. So the light was discontinued in 1886, at the instance of those who had obtained its establishment. The tower was sold as it stood, for old iron; but it was so strongly built that dynamite had to be used to accomplish its overthrow."

"Captain Eph," Sidney asked as he ceased reading, "what shape is the 'frustum of a pyramid'?"

"Wa'al, Sonny, that 'ere bothered me so much when I first came here, that I studied the thing up in a dictionary the inspector lent me, till I knew all about it. You know what a 'pyramid' is in shape? Wa'al, jest cut off the top, and what's left will be the frustum. It's like a good many other words that puzzle a fellow, mighty simple when you study into 'em."

At this point conversation was interrupted by the sound of angry voices below, and, going to the stairway, Captain Eph shouted:

"What's happenin' down there?"

"It's that 'ere Sammy," Uncle Zenas replied. "He's kickin' up a terrible row out here, an' I wish you'd poke your head through the window so's to make him mind his eye!"

"What's he doin'?"

"Tryin' to get in, an' I've got the door locked."

"Why don't you open it?"

"'Cause he can't come in till supper's ready. He went amblin' 'round the ledge gettin' up his surprise, an' now he'll stay where he is for a spell."

"I declare it does seem as if all hands of this crew had gone crazy since daybreak!" Captain Eph exclaimed as he went to the window.

Opening it he looked out for an instant, and then, his weather-beaten face convulsed with mirth, he said to Sidney:

"Come here, Sonny, an' have a squint at Sammy. I declare he looks jest like a big grasshopper tryin' to crawl up a blade of grass."

After some difficulty, Sidney succeeded in getting a glimpse of Mr. Peters as he stood on the iron ladder in front of the kitchen door, pounding on it vigorously with his fist.

"Ahoy there!" Captain Eph cried as soon as he could control his mirth. "What'er you doin', Sammy Peters?"

"I'm tryin' to get in, that's what I'm doin'!" the first assistant cried angrily. "That pig of a Zenas Stubbs has locked the door in my face!"

"Go down an' 'tend to your surprise, Sammy," the keeper commanded. "Uncle Zenas allows that he's got jest as much right to rig up fool things as you have, an' it looks to me as if the only way was to hold on till he's ready to spring on us whatever he's got."

"How long will that be?" Mr. Peters demanded angrily.

"Till after the light is started for the night, so he told me."

"An' where am I to stay all that time?"

"Crawl inter the boat-house, if you can't do any better, for I allow Zenas Stubbs is standin' on his rights as the second assistant keeper of this 'ere light."