Bobby of the Labrador

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XIII

  HOW THE "GOOD AND SURE" BROUGHT TROUBLE

  The two or three hours of the midsummer Labrador night were long hoursfor Bobby and Jimmy--the longest hours they had ever experienced. Atintervals, guiding their course by the stars, they paddled, and thisdrove away the deadening chill that threatened to overcome them.

  But at last dawn came, and with the growing light the sense ofhelplessness which had enveloped them during the period of darkness fellaway, and to some extent Bobby's confidence, hopefulness, and buoyancyof spirits returned, and he rallied Jimmy, also, into a better frame ofmind.

  "Hurrah!" shouted Bobby, at length. "See there, Jimmy!"

  And Jimmy, looking, saw upon the western horizon a long, gray line.

  "Why, there's the land!" he exclaimed.

  "Isn't it great to see it again!" said Bobby.

  "Let's paddle hard, and see if we can't make it. The tide's beendrifting us in, and the paddling we've done in the night has beenhelping."

  "It didn't seem to, but it must have," agreed Jimmy, working as hard ashe could with his short paddle. "The exercise kept me warm, and that'sabout the only good I thought it was doing, but it did help, didn't it?"

  "It certainly did," agreed Bobby. "My, but I'm hungry!"

  "So am I," said Jimmy. "Won't the sun feel good when it rises?"

  "I wonder which way we lie from home?"

  "South, of course, for that's the drift of the current. All the bergsdrift south."

  "Yes, but how far?"

  "Oh, I don't know, but we must be some bit south of the island."

  And so they calculated and chatted, while the glow grew in the easternsky, and until the sun rose, at last, to comfort them and warm stiffenedfingers and chilled bodies. But with the sun a westerly breeze also setin to retard them, and their progress was tedious and slow.

  The shore still lay a long way off, though a little nearer than whenthey first discovered it in the morning light, and Bobby had justremarked that they had gained a little, when Jimmy suddenly ceasedpaddling, and rising to his feet gazed eagerly to the southward.

  "What is it?" asked Bobby. "What do you see?"

  "A sail! A sail!" Jimmy almost shouted a moment later. "I wasn't sure atfirst, but now I'm certain!"

  Bobby was on his feet in an instant, and the two, balancing themselvesdexterously while the skiff rose and fell upon the swell, watchedexcitedly as the sail increased in size.

  "It's a schooner!" said Jimmy.

  "And it'll pick us up!" said Bobby.

  "If it doesn't pass too far to windward to see us," suggested Jimmy.

  "They'll be sure to see us," insisted the optimistic Bobby. "They can'tpass between us and the land without seeing us."

  And so it came to pass. Nearer and nearer the schooner drew, until atlength her whole black hull was visible, and then Bobby and Jimmy tookoff their jackets and waved them and waved them, until presently mencrowded at the rail of the schooner and waved in answer, and in duetime, when the schooner came abreast of them, a boat was lowered, andpointed directly toward them.

  "Now we'll be all right," said Bobby, with immense relief, as theywatched the four long oars, pulled by four husky men, rise and fall andglint in the sunshine, while a fifth man sculled astern. "They'll eitherdrop us in at Itigailit Island or lend us oars for the skiff!"

  "Yes, and it's great luck for us that they saw us," remarked Jimmy. "Idon't believe we ever could have made land with these short paddles."

  "The first thing I want is something to eat and drink," declared Bobby."I'm getting hungrier every minute."

  But the boat was upon them already, and they were soon to have a plentyto eat, and the adventure after all had amounted to nothing but a littleinconvenience. It was all in a day's work, and already they hadforgotten the dismal night, or if they had not in fact forgotten it theyhad at least put it behind them as an experience of small importance.

  "Look sharp now, lads!" shouted the man at the sculling oar, as the boatand the skiff, rising and falling upon the swell, approached each other."Look sharp! Now, heave her, b'y!"

  And Jimmy, in the bow of the skiff, with coiled painter ready, tossed itto one of the men. The boats were straightened out, the skiff drawnalongside, and in a moment Jimmy and Bobby were aboard, with SkipperEd's skiff trailing behind.

  "Why, it's Skipper Ed's partner an' Abel Zachariah's lad! My eyes! Myeyes now! And whatever brings you driftin' around the sea at this timeof the mornin', and with nary an oar?" exclaimed the man astern, whoproved to be Captain Higgles of the Newfoundland fishing schooner _Goodand Sure_, who for as long as the lads could remember had anchored forat least one night each summer on his outward voyage down north, or onhis homeward voyage south, in the shelter of the island upon whichSkipper Ed had always fished, or behind Itigailit Island. And so ithappened that Captain Higgles recognized Bobby and Jimmy, and theyrecognized him.

  "Oh," explained Bobby, "we were getting ice off a berg yesterday, whenshe shifted and turned us over and we lost our oars."

  "Yesterday, was it? And so you young scallawags ha' been cruisin' aboutsince yesterday, eh, with nary an oar. Now listen t' that, b'ys!Cruisin' around with nary an oar! My eyes! Oh, my eyes!" and the captainroared with laughter, as though it were a great joke, and the fourseamen laughed with him.

  "And neither of you'd be eatin' a biscuit, an' drinkin' a mug o' tea,now, if you had un!" he continued. "I'll be bound both o' you youngdaredevils'd turn up your nose at a mug o' tea and a biscuit, now.Wouldn't ye?"

  "No, sir," said Jimmy, "we wouldn't turn up our nose at anything good toeat."

  "I could eat the oarlocks this minute!" broke in Bobby.

  At which Captain Higgles exclaimed, "My eyes! Oh, my eyes!" and indulgedin another burst of hearty guffaws.

  "Well, b'ys," said the captain, "I know how you feels, an' I knows whereyou'll get th' tea and th' biscuit. An' th' cook aboard th' _Good an'Sure_'ll show you."

  "Thank you," said Bobby.

  '"Twere lucky I sees you," continued the captain. "There's a sick ladwith a rash aboard, an' it's a wonderful troublesome rash, and makes hesick. I were just turnin' in t' see Skipper Ed, thinkin' he might knowwhat t' do for the little lad t' relieve he, when we sights you."

  "What, sir!" exclaimed Jimmy, "are we as far south as that?"

  "Aye," said the captain, "we're just t' th' s'uth'ard o' Skipper Ed'sfishin' place. An' weren't you comin' from there when you goes adrift?"

  "No, sir," explained Jimmy. "Partner and I are down at Itigailit Islandwith Abel Zachariah this year, and we went adrift from there."

  "An' there we goes, then!" said the captain. "Another hour's sail, buttime saved. Lucky for you that we sights you, an' lucky for th' sicklad, an' lucky for me--lucky all around. My eyes! 'Tis like t' be alucky day."

  And so it came about that Bobby and Jimmy were presently aboard the_Good and Sure_, satisfying an accumulated and vast appetite uponCaptain Higgles' good hardtack and tea, while the schooner laid hercourse for Itigailit Island.

  An hour later, as the captain had predicted, the _Good and Sure_ came tooff Abel Zachariah's fishing place, and almost before the anchor chainshad ceased rattling Skipper Ed and Abel pulled alongside in a boat andwere expressing their relief upon the safe return of the two lads, whosesudden and unexplained disappearance had puzzled them and caused them adeal of worry.

  "I finds th' young scallawags driftin' around th' sea, and bearin' nocourse whatever," explained Captain Higgles, "an' I picks un up assalvage. But I don't want un. My eyes! I don't want un. I don't want anysuch two scallawags as they about the _Good an' Sure_. They'd be causin'me no end o' trouble, and you can have un free o' charge if you'll buttake a look at a sick lad I has below, sir, an' tell us what t' do forun. 'Tis Hen. Blink's lad, sir. He has a wonderful rash all over he--myeyes, 'tis a wonderful rash, and it makes th' lad sick."

  Skipper Ed followed the captain to the cluttered little cabin, and Abeland Jimmy and Bobby, curious to see the
wonderful rash, also followed.

  The lad, a boy of ten years or thereabouts, was stretched upon a bunk,and he was indeed afflicted with a wonderful rash. The moment Skipper Edset eyes upon him his face assumed a very grave expression. He askedseveral questions, which the child's mother answered, and then he askedthe boy:

  "How you feeling, little lad?"

  "Terrible sick," answered the boy, "but I'd be fine if I could go abovedeck, sir."

  "'Twill never do for you to go above deck with this rash," said SkipperEd, "but there'll be better luck by and by, lad; better luck, lad."

  And then he directed the mother to give the child no cold drink, to keephim below decks, and not on any account to permit him to become chilleduntil the rash had disappeared and he felt quite well and normal again.To this he added some simple directions as to food.

  "Is I goin' t' die?" asked the boy anxiously.

  "No, no, lad, not if you do as your mother tells you, now. You'll beall right, but it'll be some time. Can't weigh your anchor and hoistyour sails for a little while. Better luck by and by, though."

  "What's th' matter with un, Skipper?" asked Captain Higgles when theywere again on deck.

  "Measles," answered Skipper Ed.

  "Measles! Measles!" exclaimed the Captain in instant consternation. "Myeyes! Oh--my--eyes! And we're all like to cotch measles! And measleskills folks! Oh--my--eyes! 'Tis like t' ruin th' v'yage!"

  "'Tis too bad, but it can't be helped," Skipper Ed sympathized. "The ladhas the measles, and if any of you haven't had measles you're likely toget 'em now. The only thing for you to do if any one breaks out with therash, is to treat him just as I said to treat the boy. Don't let 'em goout or get chilled till the rash is well."

  "My eyes!" said Captain Higgles. "Measles! 'Tis a wonderful dangerouscomplaint. I minds when th' folks cotched un one summer in Black RunHarbor, and most every one that cotched un died! Oh, my eyes!"

  "Aye, 'tis like t' be a dangerous complaint down here on The Labrador,where we folk have poor means for caring for our sick," agreed SkipperEd, dropping into the dialect of the people, as he often did whenconversing with them. "But you have a schooner, and you're not so badlyoff as we are in our tents."

  "My eyes!" repeated Captain Higgles. "Measles! 'Tis like t' ruin th'v'yage!"

  The _Good and Sure_ spread her canvas and sailed away that morning, andquite as though nothing had occurred to disturb the even tenor of theirevery-day existence Abel Zachariah and Skipper Ed and Bobby and Jimmyturned their attention to jigging cod, and Mrs. Abel to splitting thefish and spreading them to dry, and all worked from morning until nighteach day, that none of the harvest might be lost, for that year therewas a plentiful run of fish.

  But Skipper Ed had something on his mind. After the departure of the_Good and Sure_ his face looked troubled, and more than once hemurmured, "Better luck, I hope. Better luck." And as the days passed hisanxiety increased, and Bobby and Jimmy frequently surprised him lookingintently at them.

  Then came a morning when Bobby complained of feeling ill, and Skipper Eddirected that he must not go with the others of them to jig, but mustremain in the tent, and he prepared a hot drink for Bobby, and wrappedthe lad warmly in blankets. That very day Jimmy, too, fell ill, and Abelfell ill, and a day later Mrs. Abel also complained. "Measles," saidSkipper Ed.

  And measles it was, and a serious condition of affairs confrontedSkipper Ed. He gave up his fishing and devoted his whole attention tohis four patients, and he thanked the Lord that he himself had passedthrough the ordeal as a child, and was immune.

  Because the people on the Labrador can seldom be brought to understandthat a patient with this ailment must be kept warm and free fromexposure or chill until the period of rash is passed, it is too often afatal disease there--and an epidemic is sure to result in many deaths.In tent life, in time of gales and driving storms, it is frequentlydifficult, and sometimes indeed impossible, to properly care for thepatients, for the tents of the people are seldom stormproof orrainproof.

  And so it was that Skipper Ed, who was not only nurse but cook, was morethan occupied. There were times when confinement grew irksome to hispatients, and at those times he was compelled to resort even to force toprevent one or another from going out into the chilling sea breeze. Andone morning Bobby did evade him and go out, and became chilled, and thefollowing day lay, as Skipper Ed verily believed, at the door of death.