by Anonymous
CHAPTER VIII.
FLUFF A HERO.
During the work of rescue Benny was fully employed, according toinstructions received from Keeper Downey, in ministering to those whohad been brought on shore.
The clothing of the men was water-soaked, as a matter of course, andvery shortly after gaining the shore these saturated garments werefrozen stiff. Therefore it was necessary that the rescued be keptmoving to and fro as rapidly as possible, and when one or another,exhausted by previous exposure, would have succumbed to the drowsinesswhich precedes death by freezing, Benny urged him to walk about,employing threats when entreaties were of no avail.
Immediately after the brave sailor had met his death Keeper Downeycalled sharply for Benny, and when the lad stood before him, asked:
"Are you willing to make another try at finding the station, lad?"
"Yes, indeed, sir?"
"The rescued men should be able to get there under your guidance morequickly than by remaining with us. If you can keep your wits in thissmother of snow, set out, and see to it that every man moves at hisbest pace. The fog-horn will give you the direction. Once you havearrived oblige the men to strip off their frozen garments, and supplythem with dry clothing. I am trusting you to take all six of them in,Benny, and it isn't impossible one or more, half-dazed as they are, mayrefuse to move as rapidly as is necessary, therefore you must keep asharp lookout."
"Shall I go now, sir?"
"Be off as quickly as you can," Tom Downey replied, and Benny notedwith pride that the keeper turned immediately away to attend to thereloading of the beach-wagon, a fact which, to the lad's mind, provedthat he was trusted implicitly.
"You are to come with me," Benny said, going to where the rescued menwere tramping round-about in a circle, threshing their arms togetherto keep up the circulation of blood. "Mr. Downey says you must be keptmoving at full speed, and since I'm not big enough to carry out theorders if there's any kick made, your captain ought to see that thereis no loitering."
"Our captain was the last to leave the schooner, and you know he didnot gain the shore," one of the men replied, his voice choking withemotion. "I'm the mate, however, and you'll find we can obey orders. Aman would be a poor stick who didn't carry out any instructions givenby those who have met death more than half-way to save him."
"I'm not very certain of the road, but if we follow the sound of thefog-horn we'll come out near the station, and we'd best get off now,else Mr. Downey will think we're loafing."
"Strike out, an' we'll keep at your heels," the mate replied, and,trusting to this promise, Benny set off, bending low to protect hisface from the pitiless lashing of the snow.
Very proud was the boy at having been given this share in the laborof rescue, and when the way was difficult, or the elements beat himback, he repeated to himself again and again that if this duty shouldbe performed worthily he would most likely be entrusted with others asoccasion might arise.
The journey to the station was simply a repetition of the one madeafter the schooner was first sighted, except that on this occasion hehad companionship, and his mind was taken from the difficulties of theway in a great measure by the responsibility which had been put uponhim.
The mate urged the crew to keep pace with Benny, but every man amongthem found it more difficult to press on than did the lad; yet thehinder-most was no more than a dozen yards in the rear when the guidegained the door of the station and was welcomed by the shrill barkingof Fluff, who had distinguished his master's footsteps even above thehowling of the gale.
Since the _Amazonia_ sailed from Calcutta this was the first time thetiny dog had been left alone, and the welcome he gave Benny was sovigorous that it seemed as if the noise would shake his tiny body intofragments.
"Be a good dog, Fluff, and wait just a little bit till I get dryclothes for the men. I'm just as glad to see you as you are to see me,but while there's work to be done we mustn't spend time telling eachother about it."
The dog danced and capered and barked at Benny's heels as he went backand forth from the store-room to where the sailors were gathered aroundthe glowing fire, and it was much as if he fancied himself assisting inthe labor--as if Fluff also counted on being a surfman.
The cook, who had retired before the crew set out, now came down toperform his regular share of the work in such cases, which was to makea fresh supply of coffee and prepare a meal for the exhausted men.
Benny had faithfully carried out the instructions given him by thekeeper, and there was nothing more he could do until the crew shouldreturn, when he knew full well his services would be welcomed gladly bythe weary, half-frozen life savers.
The mate was disposed to indulge in conversation, and after havingdrank a bowl of hot coffee, he told the lad that the schooner whichwas being torn to pieces on Skinner's Point was the _Three Brothers_,coal-laden, from Philadelphia to Portland. At noon on that day, so lowdid the temperature fall that ice had formed about the craft until shewas unmanageable, and during five hours had been driven at the mercy ofwind and waves.
"Knowing the schooner was bound to go ashore, we hoped it might be inthe vicinity of where she did strike."
"But why did you want her wrecked there? It seems to me a worse placecouldn't be found."
"We knew there was a life-saving station near, and when the red glareof the Coston signal flashed out through the snow, all hands understoodthat a crew of good men and true stood ready to do whatsoever layin their power to give us aid. I answered that signal, and then ranover in my mind the instructions which the service sends out to everyship-master and mate."
"What kind of instructions?" Benny asked, showing by the expression onhis face that this information was something entirely new to him.
"If you care to find out, you will find a small, black, water-proofedbook, something like a note-case, in the pocket of the coat I took off,and there everything is set down so plainly any sailor can understandwhat should be done when the life-saving crew appears. But you here inthe station should know all about it."
"I haven't been here but a day or two," Benny replied gravely. "I wason the ship _Amazonia_ when she went ashore only a short distance fromthis building."
"Then you know what it is to see these men come to your assistance. Howmany were saved from the ship, lad?"
"No one but me," Benny replied, turning away quickly lest the mateshould see the tears in his eyes, and in order to avoid furtherquestioning he went in search of the book mentioned.
"It's the only thing in my pocket, lad," the mate cried, understanding,perhaps, why Benny professed such eagerness to see the instructions. "Itook it from my berth when it seemed certain the _Three Brothers_ wasdoomed. Give me the book, and I'll read that part of the printed matterwhich most interests us sailors."
After searching over the sodden clothing, which he had carefully hungon pegs behind the stove, Benny found a tiny book and brought it to themate, who read as one does who wishes to refresh his memory:
"'The patrolman, after discovering your vessel ashore and burning aCoston signal, hastens to his station for assistance. If the use ofa boat is practicable, either the large life-boat is launched fromits ways in the station and proceeds to the wreck by water, or thelighter surf-boat is hauled overland to a point opposite the wreck andlaunched, as circumstances may require.
"'Upon the boat reaching your vessel, the directions and orders of thekeeper (who always commands and steers the boat) should be implicitlyobeyed. Any headlong rushing and crowding should be prevented, and thecaptain of the vessel should remain on board, to preserve order, untilevery other person has left.
"'Women, children, helpless persons, and passengers should be passedinto the boat first.
"'Goods or baggage will positively not be taken into the boat until allare landed. If any be passed in against the keeper's remonstrance he isfully authorized to throw the same overboard.
"'Should it be inexpedient to use either the life-boat or surf-boat,recourse will be had to th
e wreck-gun and beach-apparatus for therescue by the breeches-buoy or the life-car.
"'A shot with a small line attached will be fired across your vessel.
"'Get hold of the line as soon as possible and haul on board until youget a tail-block with a whip or endless line rove through it. Thistail-block should be hauled on board as quickly as possible to preventthe whip drifting off with the set, or fouling with wreckage, etc.Therefore, if you have been driven into the rigging, where but one ortwo men can work to advantage, cut the shot-line and run it throughsome available block, such as the throat or peak-halliards block, orany block which will afford a clear lead, or even between the ratlines,that as many as possible may assist in the hauling.
"'Attached to the tail-block will be a tally-board with the followingdirections in English on one side and French on the other:
"'Make the tail of the block fast to the lower mast, well up. If themasts are gone, then to the best place you can find. Cast off theshot-line, see that the rope in the block runs free, and show a signalto the shore.
"'As soon as your signal is seen a three-inch hawser will be bent on tothe whip and hauled off to your ship by the life-saving crew.
"'If the circumstances will admit, you can assist the life-saving crewby manning that part of the whip to which the hawser is bent, andhauling with them.
"'When the end of the hawser is got on board a tally-board will befound attached, bearing the following directions in English on one sideand French on the other:
"'Make this hawser fast about two feet above the tail-block, see allclear and that the rope in the block runs free, and show a signal tothe shore.
"'Take particular care that there are no turns of the whip-line aroundthe hawser. To prevent this take the end of the hawser up between theparts of the whip before making it fast.
"'When the hawser is made fast, the whip cast off from the hawser,and your signal seen by the life-saving crew, they will haul thehawser taut and by means of the whip will haul off to your ship abreeches-buoy suspended from a traveller-block, or a life-car fromrings, running on the hawser.
"'If the breeches-buoy be sent, let one man immediately get into it,thrusting his legs through the breeches. If the life-car, remove thehatch, place as many persons into it as it will hold, and secure thehatch on the outside by the hatch-bar and hook, signal as before, andthe buoy or car will be hauled ashore.
"'In many instances two men can be landed in the breeches-buoy at thesame time by each putting a leg through a leg of the breeches andholding on to the lifts of the buoy.
"'Children, when brought ashore by the buoy, should be in the armsof older persons, or securely lashed to the buoy. Women and childrenshould be landed first.
"'Circumstances may arise, owing to the strength of the current orset, or the danger of the wreck breaking up immediately, when it wouldbe impossible to send off the hawser. In such case a breeches-buoy orlife-car will be hauled off instead by the whip, or sent off to you bythe shot-line, and you will be hauled ashore through the surf.
"'If your vessel is stranded during the night and discovered by thepatrolman, which you will know by his burning a brilliant red light,keep a bright lookout for signs of the arrival of the life-saving crewabreast your vessel.
"'From one to four hours may intervene between the burning of the lightand their arrival, as the patrolman will have to return to his station,perhaps three or four miles distant, and the life-saving crew draw theapparatus or surf-boat through the sand or over bad roads to where yourvessel is stranded.
"'Lights on the beach will indicate their arrival, and the sound ofcannon-firing from the shore may be taken as evidence that a line hasbeen fired across your vessel. Therefore, upon hearing the cannon, makestrict search aloft, fore, and aft, for the shot-line, for it is almostcertain to be there. Though the movements of the life-saving crew maynot be perceptible to you, owing to the darkness, your ship will be agood mark for the men experienced in the use of the wreck-gun, and thefirst shot seldom fails.'"
The mate had read thus far, Benny listening intently to every word,when the sound of voices outside, and the opening of the boat-roomdoor, told that the crew had returned.
Fluff greeted the men with his shrill barking, and Benny laid outdry clothing for each one, an attention which was fully appreciated,as could be told by the exclamations of satisfaction and of pleasureuttered by the weary crew as they entered the mess-room.
The shipwrecked men greeted their rescuers with the liveliestprotestations of gratitude, and Tom Downey replied, even while Bennywas pounding his coat with a broomstick in order to so break the icethat the keeper could take it off:
"We've only done what the Government hires us for, mates, an' our extrapay comes in when we're able to save lives, as in this case. I'd feelthat the night was more of a success if we hadn't lost a life; but weashore couldn't say how weak the spars had grown under the pounding ofthe waves."
"When the first line came aboard I thought we were doomed because itwould be impossible to help ourselves," the mate replied. "For a timeit seemed as if my arms were frozen stiff, and but for the knowledgethat death would come in a very few moments unless something could bedone to second your efforts, I believe of a verity I should have diedwhere I stood."
Then the sailors began relating their personal experiences, andsoon the rescuers were before the glowing fire while the cook andBenny passed around coffee or food, with Fluff sitting bolt uprightapparently listening intently to every word.
The two whose duty it was to go on patrol could not be excused,however excessive the labor just performed. The storm was still ragingfuriously, and the _Three Brothers_ might not be the only craft inperil on the coast that night.
Robbins and Sawyer remained in the cheery mess-room no longer than wasabsolutely necessary, and then they went out into the howling stormto walk the long beats on which might be found more work for the crewwhich had already done such brave duty.
Keeper Downey ordered Benny to bed, accompanying the command with wordsthat gave the lad most sincere pleasure:
"You've done as good work, accordin' to your experience, as any manamong us, Benjamin, an' we're proud of you."
Sam Hardy nodded his approval of this praise, and Benny, with FluffC. Foster in his arms, went up-stairs to bed feeling that he would bewilling to brave almost any danger in order to earn another complimentequal to that.
When the amateur surfman awakened next morning the sun was shiningbrightly, and, save for the roaring of the surf, nothing told of thefurious tempest which had so lately raged.
The cook had already gone down-stairs, and Benny dressed himselfhurriedly, for he was not pleased at the prospect of being late at hispost of duty.
"I counted on your waking Fluff and me," he said reproachfully as heentered the kitchen. "We were up so late----"
"That's exactly the reason why I sneaked down-stairs on the quiet.After last night's work you should have had a long nap, instead ofbeing down here before the fire is fairly going."
"We didn't do enough to hurt us," Benny replied with a laugh, "andsurely we must be needed this morning, when there are so many mouths tofeed."
"I've had a bigger family than this many a time, an' got through withthe work alone, but since you've been so foolish as to turn out, I'llbe glad of your help, for a handy lad like you makes the job a lightone."
"It seems as if I was getting praised all around," Benny said with alaugh as he made his toilet. "Pretty soon you'll be finding out that Idon't deserve it."
"I hope not, lad, for all hands of us are getting a good bit ofsatisfaction out of you and the dog."
Benny was kept busy in the kitchen a greater portion of the succeedingforty-eight hours, and then the shipwrecked sailors were sent to theneighboring city, after which the crew at the station settled down tothe old routine of drill and patrol, every man looking forward eagerlyto the reply from headquarters regarding their request in the boy'sbehalf.
Sam Hardy and Joe Cushing had ta
ken it upon themselves to teach Majethat Fluff was entitled to the liberty of the station grounds, and, atthe expense of considerable time, and much loss of temper on the partof Maje, the lesson was so nearly learned that the big dog allowed thelittle one to go here and there without interference, but Benny did nottrust wholly to appearances.
"It won't do any harm if I keep my eye on Fluff when he goes out," thelad said gravely after Sam Hardy had suggested that there was no longerany good reason for being suspicious of Maje. "Of course your dog isbound to be jealous for a spell, and till he gets over it I wouldn'twant to trust Fluff alone with him very long at a time."
Both Sam and Joe were positive Maje could be depended upon to behavehimself, and appeared eager Benny should allow matters to take theirnatural course, so far as the two animals were concerned, therefore theboy permitted Fluff to go out of doors whenever he was so disposed; buthe was careful to first make certain that Maje was not in the immediatevicinity.
It was nearly sunset on the day the shipwrecked mariners had beenconveyed to the city. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the seawas so calm that it was almost difficult to believe it could ever bearoused to a roaring fury.
The lookout on day-duty had come down to the station for supper, andthe two whose time for patrol began at sunset were already eating theevening meal that they might be ready to set out at the exact moment.
Benny had been assisting the cook as usual, but was now waiting uponthe men who were about to go on patrol.
Fluff, ten minutes previous, had whined for permission to go out ofdoors for a stroll, and, after learning that Maje was in the oil-room,where he usually found a shelter during exceedingly cold or stormyweather, Benny opened the door for his pet.
So white was Fluff, thanks to his master's custom of giving him a bathevery other day, that it was almost impossible to distinguish him inthe gloom of early twilight while he remained on the snow, and Bennylost sight of him before he had gone a hundred feet from the building.
Then he was called by one of the men, and while attending to whatevertrifling duty had been set him, it was observed that the boy appearedanxious.
"What's the matter, Benjamin?" Sam Hardy asked. "Anything wrong withMr. Fluff C. Foster?"
"I hope not, sir; but he disappeared so soon after leaving the housethat I'm wondering if he didn't get into the oil-room."
"I reckon not, else we'd heard something from Maje before this. I'mgoin' out, though, an' will look after him."
Sam opened the door as he spoke, and at that instant Fluff could beheard in the distance, barking shrilly.
Benny leaped to his feet and ran toward the door, calling the dog byname.
From the noise it could be told that Fluff came nearer the building inobedience to the summons, and then stopped, yelping and barking as ifin dire distress.
"Come here, sir! Come this minute!" Benny cried peremptorily, and tothe surprise of all, for the dog usually obeyed readily, the yelpingincreased as Fluff retreated from the house.
Benny ran after him, and Sam Hardy followed quickly, as if he believedsomething serious was the cause of the animal's disobedience.
The remainder of the crew stood near the open door curiously, and aftera brief interval they heard Benny calling yet more peremptorily to thedog, when for reply the yelping was changed to most dismal howls.
"Maje shall have a sound flogging if he has dared to touch that littlefellow!" Keeper Downey said threateningly as he took up his cap toleave the building, and just at that instant the crew were startled byhearing Sam Hardy shout:
"Man overboard! Out with the surf-boat!"
Members of a life-saving crew never stop to question a statement ofsuch a nature as that made by their comrade.
Every man sprang to the boat-room door, and the surf-boat was outsidethe building ready for launching by the time Sam came up, breathlesswith rapid running, but not excited.
"Beyond the Horseshoe!" he cried, taking his proper station with theothers, and in what to a stranger would have seemed an incredibly shortspace of time the light craft was in the water, leaping from wave towave under the impetus given by three pairs of oars.
The "Horseshoe" was a circular reef which made out from the main shorefive or six hundred yards from the station, and the cook ran with allspeed across the bluff, with the idea that he might arrive there inadvance of the boat.
His legs were no match for the life savers' arms, however, and when hegained the cliff which overlooked the reef the crew were dragging thebody of a man over the surf-boat's rail, while a light gunning-skiff,overturned, a short distance away, was sufficient evidence as to thecause of the disaster.
"Some greenhorn out here alone, sneaking along the shore hoping to baga few ducks just at sunset, has come near paying dearly for the sport,"the cook muttered in an angry tone. "After two or three more accidentsof the same kind, sportsmen from the city will begin to understand, Ihope, that such fun is dangerous."
It was the third mishap of a similar nature that season, and in onecase the venturesome hunter had lost his life, therefore the cook mightwell be excused for losing his temper over such carelessness.
When he returned to the station the half-drowned man had been carriedinto the building, but he still retained sufficient consciousness tounderstand how his rescue had been brought about, and the cook heardhim say to Tom Downey:
"If it hadn't been for your toy dog I should have drowned, for I'dswallowed so much salt water that it was impossible to make a very loudnoise."
"Yes, I reckon you can set it down as a fact that Fluff C. Foster savedyour life, mister, and from this out he, as well as his master, is amember of this 'ere crew if I can bring it about!" Joe Cushing saidemphatically, as he emptied fully half the contents of the sugar-bowlinto a saucer and gave it to Fluff, who was dancing to and fro, wagginghis white tail furiously, as if calling attention to the fact that evena "toy" dog might be of some service in the world.