These will-o'-the-wisps, flashed suddenly from out a
desolate coast, have sent a thrill of hope through the
heart of many a man clinging to frozen rigging or
lashed to some piece of wreckage that the hungry
surf, lying in wait, would pounce upon and chew
to shreds.
The men listened gravely to the captain's words
and took up their duties. Most of them knew them
before, and no minute explanations were necessary.
Skilled men understand the value of discipline and
prefer it to any milder form of government. Archie
was the only member who raised his eyes in astonishment
when the captain, looking his way, mentioned
the scrubbing and washing, each man to take
his turn, but he made no reply except to nudge Tod
and say under his breath:
"Wouldn't you like to see Aunt Lucy's face when
she comes some Saturday morning? She'll be
pleased, won't she?" As to the cooking, that did not
bother him; he and Tod had cooked many a meal
on Fogarty's stove, and mother Fogarty had always
said Archie could beat her any day making biscuit
and doughnuts and frying ham.
Before the second week was out the Station had
fallen into its regular routine. The casual visitor
during the sunny hours of the soft September days
when practice drill was over might see only a lonely
house built on the sand; and upon entering, a few
men leaning back in their chairs against the wall of
the living-room reading the papers or smoking their
pipes, and perhaps a few others leisurely overhauling
the apparatus, making minor repairs, or polishing
up some detail the weather had dulled.
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