Captain Eph tasted the savory mixture critically and then said thoughtfully:
"I reckon you're right about his needin' it, though it does seem too bad to waken the little shaver while he's bottlin' up so much sleep. But have your own way. How are you goin' to do the job?"
"You lift him up, an' I'll pour it down," Uncle Zenas replied in a tone which showed that he had already settled the details in his own mind. "The sooner we do it the better, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', so s'pose you lead the way."
There was an expression of deepest anxiety on Captain Eph's face as he ascended the iron stairs, and on arriving at the floor above he stood for a moment gazing at the childish face which could be seen amid the mountain of bed-clothing, for in his desire to do all that might be possible for the little fellow, Mr. Peters had piled upon the bed every blanket and comfortable to be found in the tower.
"Better get right at it," Uncle Zenas said in a whisper, as he halted by the bedside with the bowl of soup in his hands.
Captain Eph raised the boy so gently that his slumber was not disturbed; but when Uncle Zenas attempted to pour the warm liquid down his throat, he opened his eyes, crying in distress:
"What is it? What do you men want? Where am I?"
"You're safe and sound in Carys' Ledge light, Sonny, an' we've come up to give you somethin' to eat," Captain Eph replied, as he pressed the lad closely to him. "You've been havin' a hard time, an' are needin' what we've brought. Drink it down like a little man, an' then you may go to sleep agin."
Just for an instant the little fellow looked around wildly, and then, as if reassured by the friendly pressure of Captain Eph's arms, began to swallow the soup, slowly at first, as if from a sense of duty, and then eagerly as hunger asserted itself.
"My! but that was good!" he exclaimed as Captain Eph laid him back upon the pillow, and Uncle Zenas asked eagerly: