In twos and threes and groups of half a dozen the burly lighthouse builders came from the bunk-house to the mess-hall. They were a happy-go-lucky lot who could not resist a little horse play by way of a morning’s greeting and the fisticuffs and good-natured chaffing that resulted made Bongo’s face shine with merriment as he hustled about the room with big bowls of steaming victuals.
Jack, Ray and Mr. Warner crowded in beside the foreman, Big O’Brien, and fell to with as much zest as the rest of the men. The breakfast was of a rather coarse nature, to be sure, consisting chiefly of baked beans, liberal slices of salt pork, thick slices of bread, canned peaches and coffee as strong and black as Bongo could possibly brew it. But Jack ate with a decided relish, nor did he pause to compare the breakfast with those served at Drueryville.
During the entire meal Mr. Warner and Big O’Brien were in earnest conversation, to which Jack and Ray were very attentive. The men were discussing the details of the expedition to the rock, and as the lads listened to the preparations that were being made they realized more and more that they were about to embark upon a hazardous undertaking.
By quarter of six the foreman and the engineer had drained their cups and pushed back their plates. Others of the crew were doing the same thing when O’Brien stood up and shouted, “Come, bhoys, ye have t’ sha-ake a leg. In haf en hour-r we’ll man t’ bhoat and r-run out on t’ last o’ the down tide. That’ll give us an hour-r t’ fuss ar-round befer it sthar-rts a-racin’ in agin. Come on, Mike, and you, Sandy, and Lafe there, git a wiggle on yez, yer all part of the boat crew.” And presently there was the scuffle of many feet and the rasp of the benches being pushed back, and five minutes after O’Brien left the mess-hall Bongo had the place to himself.
Before collecting his crew the foreman singled out three sun-tanned workmen who were among the last to leave the mess-hall and with them at his heels the big Irishman went into one of the tool sheds. Shortly all four reappeared, one dragging a little brass cannon, such as is used by coast guards, while the others carried a big open box, into which hundreds of feet of sail cord was coiled upon pegs.
The cannon was hauled to the cliff’s edge, loaded and sighted by one of the weather-beaten trio, so as to hurl a rocket-like projectile over the ugly gray rock out there where the breakers curled.
Of course Jack and Ray could not entirely understand what it was all about, but, while they were wondering, Mr. Warner, who had gone to his office for his steel surveying tape and plumb line, arrived on the scene and explained that, when the men succeeded in landing on Cobra Head, the projectile would be fired so as to carry a rope to them. And when they had all things fast, a breeches-buoy would be rigged to carry more men from the cliff to the rock.
Upon Mr. Warner’s return, O’Brien quickly gathered his crew and, with Jack and Ray among them, they started down the pathway that led to the beach where the two whaleboats were moored. Into these the men swarmed and a few minutes later the craft shot away from the strip of sand and headed north inside the reef and toward the dangerous Cobra Head.
It was low water and the long jagged reef, exposed from end to end, looked exactly like a giant of the species after which it had been named. Outside, beyond the wicked rocks, rolled the Atlantic; great ground swells heaving in restlessly and thundering against the granite barrier with a grumbling roar. Jack and Ray, who sat in the stern of the whaleboat with Mr. Warner and Big O’Brien, were fascinated by the sight.
But, although the waves piled up outside, the strip of water between the island and the beach was unruffled, so far as the surface was concerned. Under this calm exterior, however, were currents and cross-currents that slipped oilily over the granite-strewn bottom in spite of the fact that it was the hour for slack water. Jack could see from the way Big O’Brien handled the tiller and the strength that the men put in their tugs at the oars that the force of these currents was tremendous, and he wondered what that strip of water would be like when the tide turned and began to come in.