"You"re right, it hasn"t," a.s.sented Lester grimly. "But now while we are up here, I"d better light the lamps. Then I can go down and eat with an easy conscience."
Accordingly, he lit the wicks of the great lamps and, after a.s.suring himself that everything was in perfect order, he and the other boys descended to the dining room. There they found everything in readiness and made one of the hearty and satisfactory meals that the lighthouse larder never failed to afford.
As they ate, they could feel the building shake to the furious blasts that smote against it, and Mr. Lee shook his head gravely.
"It will be a wild night on the ocean, I"m thinking," he remarked, "and we can thank our lucky stars that we"re all in a snug shelter and well out of harm"s way. I feel sorry for those who have to be abroad on the water to-night."
"So do I," echoed Fred. "Just listen to that wind roar, will you? It seems as though a million demons were yelling at once."
"And the ocean"s a good second," chimed in Teddy. "Wow!" he cried, as a giant breaker thundered down on the reef, "that must have been the daddy of them all, I guess. Let"s go up to the lookout room as soon as we"re through and watch the storm."
The other boys were quite as eager as Teddy, and when they had finished their meal they went up the stairs to what might be called the observation room. This was situated just below the room in which the lamps were placed, and had windows of thick gla.s.s facing the sea. A door led out from it on to a balcony that ran completely around the structure. This door also faced the ocean, and Teddy, always enterprising, thought that he would like to go out on the balcony to feel the force of the wind.
He attempted to push the door open, but without success. He tried again, with the same result.
"Guess the old thing must be locked," he remarked, "but I don"t see the key anywhere. Have you got it with you, Lester?"
"No," replied Lester, who had been watching Teddy"s ineffectual efforts with a smile, "but that door isn"t locked. The reason you couldn"t open it was because the wind was blowing so fiercely against it. I doubt if the four of us put together could do it."
"It"s no wonder that I had trouble then. But never mind. The wind can"t keep me from _looking_ out, anyway."
He shaded his eyes with his hands and peered through the thick plate gla.s.s windows. The others followed his example, and saw a sight that they never forgot.
The wind had piled the waves up higher and higher, until they looked like an endless succession of undulating, constantly advancing hills and valleys. From the ragged crests the spray was torn and blown in solid sheets before the raging wind so that at times it was impossible to see the heaving waters beneath. As the breakers came up against the lighthouse ledge, their tops would curve over and come crashing down with mighty blows that it seemed must pulverize the solid granite. The rebounding spray was s.n.a.t.c.hed up by the gale and hurled against the lighthouse, as though the elements were furious at this one obstacle that prevented them from wreaking their full rage on some unfortunate ship and were resolved to sweep it from their path once and for all.
The boys gazed spellbound at the awe-inspiring spectacle, and for a time none of them uttered a word. Lester was the first to break the long silence.
"I"ve never seen anything better--or worse--than this," he said. "I guess the barometer knew what it was doing to-day."
"It surely is a tremendous thing to watch," a.s.sented Fred, and again applied himself to the window, where the others kept their faces glued, too fascinated with the elemental turmoil to think of anything else.
They tore themselves away at last and went up into the lamp room where Mr. Lee was on duty.
He had just finished tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the wicks when the boys entered.
"What do you think of this for a storm?" he quizzed. "Is it blowing hard enough to suit you?"
"It"s tremendous!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Ross. "I never knew that wind could blow so hard or waves get so big. It"s something to remember for a lifetime."
Mr. Lee smiled at his earnestness and nodded his head.
"You may well say so," he observed. "Of course, I"ve seen worse winds in the tropics, when they developed into hurricanes or typhoons. But for this coast, it doesn"t often blow harder. There"s more than one fine ship will lay her bones down on some reef or beach this night."
While Mr. Lee was speaking, the boys had noticed several dull blows against the outside lens of the light, and Teddy took the first opportunity to inquire the cause.
"That"s caused by sea-gulls and other water birds dashing themselves against the light," explained Lester. "They"re driven by the wind, and are so confused and terrified that I don"t suppose they know what they"re doing. Or perhaps the bright light has an attraction for them.
At any rate, they always do it in a big storm, and in large numbers too.
Why, in the morning we can go out and find hundreds of dead birds where they"ve dropped at the base of the tower."
"What a shame!" exclaimed Teddy, who always had a tender place in his heart for dumb creatures. "I suppose they don"t see the gla.s.s at all, and think they can keep right on going."
"That"s about the way of it, I guess," affirmed Mr. Lee. "They come against the gla.s.s with such force sometimes that I"m almost afraid they"ll break it. It"s too bad, but there"s no help for it yet, though men are at work trying to find some device to prevent it."
"How long do you think the storm will last?" inquired Fred.
"Chances are that it"ll last out all to-morrow," answered their host, "though it"s blowing so hard that it may blow itself out before that.
There"s no telling."
"We"ll have a good chance to mend up our fishing tackle then," remarked Fred, "because it doesn"t look as though there"d be much chance doing anything outdoors."
"If you find time hanging heavy on your hands," observed Mr. Lee with a sly twinkle in his eye, "you might get busy and clean out the lamps.
They"re about due for a good scouring, and it might help you to pa.s.s away a long day indoors."
"That"s certainly a great idea," said Lester reflectively, "but there"s nothing in it for me. I"ve done it before and there"s no novelty in it.
But I"m sure that Teddy and Fred would enjoy it immensely."
"Nothing doing," replied Teddy hastily. "Fred and I aren"t going to come to see you, Lester, and then b.u.t.t in on all your simple pleasures. You just go ahead and enjoy yourself cleaning out the lamps, just as though we weren"t around. We"ll manage to plug along some way in the meantime."
They all laughed at this sally and shortly afterwards the boys took leave of Mr. Lee and returned to the observation room. The wind roared and the ocean boomed on the rocks with undiminished force, and they spent the rest of the evening gazing out through the streaming windows and wondering at the mighty spectacle spread out before them.
At last Lester, to whom the fury of a storm was a more common thing than to his companions, proposed that they go to bed, and they reluctantly tore themselves away. The last thing the lads heard as they sank into dreamless slumber was the crash of tumbling waves and the maddened shrieks of the wind as it hurtled past the lighthouse.
CHAPTER XXIII
AN UNEXPECTED WINDFALL
Dawn broke the following day without any sign of the storm"s abating, and the boys were forced to keep close within doors. Despite their forced imprisonment, time did not hang heavily, and they found plenty with which to occupy their hands and minds.
Of course, all about the lighthouse was new to Ross, and he spent a good many hours exploring its delightful mysteries under the guidance of Lester and Mr. Lee himself, who had taken an instant liking to this new addition to his household and had given him a most cordial welcome, not only on his own account, but on account of his romantic story, which had appealed strongly to the old man"s fancy and sympathy.
Bill busied himself with overhauling and getting into first-cla.s.s shape his fishing paraphernalia, and discharged a neglected duty in writing a long letter to his mother, filled with enthusiastic descriptions of the glorious times he was having, and dwelling most, as may be imagined, on the hooking of the shark the day before.
Fred and Teddy had been delighted to find letters waiting them from the family at home, including one from their Uncle Aaron. They pounced upon the letters eagerly. That from their mother, to which their father had added a few lines as postscript, was full of pride at Fred"s exploit and delight at the prospect opened up of being useful to their uncle in case they found the missing gold.
Teddy tore open the letter which bore the precise handwriting of his uncle with a broad grin on his face.
"Just think, Fred, of opening a letter from Uncle Aaron that doesn"t contain a scolding!" he exclaimed.
"Don"t be too sure," laughed Fred. "Perhaps he"ll scold you for not having found the chest, instead of telling him you hoped to find it.
h.e.l.lo, what"s that?" as a blue slip fluttered out from the envelope and fell to the floor.
Teddy was on it like a hawk.
"Glory, hallelujah!" he yelled, as he capered around the floor, waving the paper in the air. "It"s a money order for fifty dollars."