“No, sir; we pay no rent, as we live in Cliff Castle free for keeping it, and I have a good garden, and there is plenty of game and fish for the shooting and catching.”
“What do you do when it storms too hard to carry the mail?”
“I always go, sir, for my skiff is a lifeboat, and stands any weather.”
“How did you manage to come out to our aid?”
“I was on the cliff, sir, watching the storm, and saw you round the point and run for an anchorage. I know that anchors will not hold on the bottom of Hopeless Haven, and the currents in the bay make the sea very wild, so I determined to go out and pilot you into Cliff Castle harbor.”
“And swam out to us in the face of that storm?”
“Well, sir, I had not time to go to the bay and run out in my skiff, so I slipped down the bluff and jumped in, for it was not a very long swim, sir.”
“Well, I should call it a very remarkable swim, my lad, and I regard you as a phenomenal young sailor. We all owe you our lives, I feel assured, and I shall beg of the President a naval cadetship for you. We have raised a purse, which we ask you to accept, with our best wishes for your future success.”
The dark face of Mark Merrill flushed as with shame, while he said, quickly:
“Oh, sir, I cannot accept money from you, though I thank you all. I would not touch a dollar of money for what I did if I was starving, but I will appreciate your kind promise to make me a midshipman, and it seems too much to hope for, sir.”