“Well I was shipwrecked often enough to be,” was Sam’s answer, as he smiled. “Jack Stilkins will know who’s here when he gets that message,” he added, and the little girl went into the lower part of the lighthouse.
[CHAPTER XVI]
LANDING A SHARK
“Hello, Sam! Up to some of your jokes again, eh?” asked a hearty voice, and a short, stout man, with blue eyes, which contrasted strangely with the bronze of his face, came from the tower. “I knew it must be you, when the lassie came in, all excited, at having seen Robinson. How are you? Where you going? Who are the lads with you? How’ve you been?”
“I’ll give you my log book and let you take a look at it if that’s the way you’re going to go at me,” answered Sam. “The fact of the matter is the boys, here, want to see a lighthouse. They’re landlubbers, you know.”
There was no use of resenting the way in which Sam spoke. He meant no offense, and the boys, realizing his character, took none.
“Landlubbers, eh?” commented Mr. Stilkins. “Well, it’s too bad, but I s’pose it’s not their fault.”
“No,” replied Sam gravely, as though it was a very important matter. “They was born so,” and then the two men had a hearty laugh, in which the boys joined.
“Well, I can show you the lighthouse, but there isn’t much to see,” the keeper went on. “We just keep the light going at night. That’s all there is to it. This is a flashing light. That is, it shows two red flashes at intervals of ten seconds each.”