Chapter 3

They found a place under the rocks for their cave. When they pretended that they were pirates, they hid their treasures in the cave. Their treasures were things they found on the beach. There were shells and boxes, and bottles and queer bits of china and glass. Hero was a fierce monster guarding the treasure.

Sometimes the boys put Hero in the cave and pretended he was a lion. Then they stole into his den and captured him and sold him to a circus man. The circus man was Roy, a little boy who liked to play with them.

One day Bob and Paul and Roy saw some big boys standing on the wharf. They were catching crabs. First they baited their lines and then threw them into the water. When the crabs "bit" they drew them in. It looked very exciting. The three little boys wanted to try.

So they found strings and the big boys gave them some bait. Bob and Roy had good luck. But Paul was so excited he couldn't pull his line in quickly enough to catch a crab. At last he thought, "If I wade into the water I'll be near the crabs. Then it won't be so hard to pull them in."

So down he climbed and into the water he waded. Soon Bob and Roy heard him call, "Oh, Oh, Oh, come quick!"

"What is it?" called Bob. "Have you caught a big crab?"

"Oh, no," said Paul. He was half laughing and half crying, and all the time he was shaking his foot as hard as he could. "Oh, no, I haven't caught a crab. A--crab--has--caught me!" And sure enough, a big fat crab had nipped Paul's toe and was holding it fast.

Bob climbed down and pulled it off. Paul went home and tied up his sore toe. Then he came back and sat on the wharf and watched the others. Somehow, he didn't feel like catching crabs. So he pretended he was a sailor who had been bitten by a big shark.

One day Bob and Paul found a very nice bottle on the beach. It had a tight cork so that the water could not soak in. At first they thought they would hide it in their treasure cave. But that didn't seem exciting enough. So they thought and thought what to do with it. At last Bob said, "I know! Let's write our names and where we live on a piece of paper and put it in the bottle. Then let's throw the bottle out to sea." So he wrote:

They put the paper in the bottle and corked the bottle tightly. Then they threw it out into the ocean. At first the bottle bobbed up and down in the water. But soon a big wave caught it and carried it out of sight.

"Suppose," said Paul, "the bottle goes way out to sea and a big whale swallows it. And suppose it makes the big whale so sick that he swims near to the shore. Then some fishermen will catch him and kill him. When they cut him open they will find the bottle, and when they read our names they will know we are the boys who helped them get the great big whale."

"Or," said Bob, "suppose the bottle goes out to sea and a man in a seaplane sees it and opens it. And suppose he comes flying to Fairport and when he lands here he asks where we are. Then when he finds us he takes us for a long, long ride in his seaplane."

It was great fun supposing. The next morning Bob and Paul went to the beach all ready to have some more supposes.

But what was that small thing lying on the sand? It looked very much like a bottle. Yes, it was. It was _the_ bottle!

Bob picked it up and looked rather disappointed. Paul looked disappointed too. "Our supposes are no good now," he said. "Oh yes," cried Bob, "I know a fine suppose. It's so good it's almost true. Let's pretend a big wave was the parcel postman." When he saw the bottle away out in the ocean with our names in it, he brought it straight to us. "Why, of course," said Paul. "The parcel postman had to bring the bottle to us. He couldn't take it to the whale or to the man with the seaplane. It wasn't addressed to them."

One day Bob's father took Paul and Bob out fishing. They carried their bait in a tin can and they took a larger can to hold their fish. They stood on a high rock and threw their lines out into the deep water. The fish bit very well. Mr. Johnson caught five or six. But the boys were so excited they could not wait. They drew up their lines too soon. Once Paul felt a pull and waited. When he felt another pull he drew in his line. On it was a very tiny fish. "It's too small to keep," said Mr. Johnson. So he took it carefully off the hook and threw it back into the water.

In a little while Bob felt a pull on his line. He held it very still and waited. Soon there was another pull--a very strong one. Then there came a jerk that almost threw him down. "Now draw in your line," said Mr. Johnson. "Steady, steady!" Bob pulled. His line almost broke. He pulled and tugged and pulled again. Then up came the line and on it was a fish--a big, beautiful fish flapping and twisting. "Good, good," cried Mr. Johnson. "That's a prize catch."

How proud Bob felt as he landed his fish. He wouldn't let his father help take it off the hook. He did it all himself. For a moment he stood with the beautiful prize fish in his hand. Some people were fishing near-by and he wanted them to see. He wanted them to know of his prize catch. He felt very proud. "Look," said one of them; "what a great big fish!" Bob heard and felt prouder than ever. He threw his fish into the can as if he were saying, "Oh, that's nothing, I _always_ catch the biggest fish." Then he began to bait his hook again.

Just then Paul cried out, "Oh, Oh, Oh!" quickly. Bob turned just in time to see his prize fish flop out of the can and back into the sea.

"Oh, Oh, Oh!" He was no longer a proud fisherman. He was just a very sad little boy.

On another day Bob and Paul stopped in front of a little cottage. A man was in the yard mending a big fish net and they liked to watch him. The man was a strong young fisherman.

At the door of the cottage sat an old, old man with white hair. A cane was by his side. He spoke to Bob and Paul and let them come in and sit on the steps near him. He was the fisherman's father. He was called Captain John. He had once been a fisherman himself. Now he was too old to work, but he knew many stories of the sea. Bob and Paul never grew tired of hearing them. Every day they came to the cottage. Captain John was always there sitting in the doorway, with his cane by his side. He was always ready to tell them an exciting true story of the sea.

One day a big gray cat was curled up at Captain John's feet. "Is pussy your pet, Captain John?" asked Bob. "No, little lad," said the old man. "She belongs to my daughter. My pet is almost as old as I am. She's a brave old friend. We have stuck by each other for over fifty years. We've seen hard times and good times together. And now we are growing old side by side."

"Will you show her to us, please, Captain John?" said the two little boys.

"Yes, yes," replied the old man; "come with me." He took his cane and walking very, very slowly, he took the boys around the cottage to a tiny garden. There was one spot in the garden that was bright with flowers.

Captain John led them there. "Here she is," he said. "Here's my old friend, the _Sea Gull_, dressed up in her Sunday clothes."

The boys looked and saw that the _Sea Gull_ was a boat. She was Captain John's pet--almost as old as he was. She was his brave old friend who had stuck by him for over fifty years. Now she was too old for the sea so she had a home in the tiny garden. The flowers that had been planted in her were her "Sunday clothes."

"She seems alive to me," said Captain John. "I am glad we can grow old side by side."

I wish you could hear of all the good times Bob and Paul had at Fairport. Every day was packed with fun and both little boys grew taller and very brown.

At last vacation time was nearly over. Bob left Fairport first. He and his family went home in his father's automobile. They camped out every night. The camping tents and the pots and pans were strapped on the back of the automobile. They rode all day. They went over hills, through valleys, and into cities.

One day they passed a flower farm. "Oh, Mother," begged Bob, "May I stop and buy some flowers?" "Why, Bob," said his mother, "What do you want with flowers? We haven't any room for them in the automobile."

"I don't want them to take home," said Bob, "I want to send them by the postman to Captain John. They are for the _Sea Gull_."

So the automobile stopped and Bob spent his birthday money at the flower farm. The next day the parcel post brought Captain John a box of spring bulbs and fall plants. With them was a card in Bob's very best writing:

Paul stayed in Fairport a week after Bob had left.

He was not lonely, for his daddy had come. Paul and his daddy were great friends. They went around together like two chums.

The day before Daddy's week was up they went out for a long sail. Mrs. Ray was afraid to go, but Paul was not. He felt very big and brave. With Daddy to sail the boat everything would be all right. The sun shone, the wind blew, and away they started. The boat seemed to skim along as lightly as a sea gull.

At last they landed on a little island. Paul helped his daddy gather sticks and build a fire. Mr. Ray put four ears of corn under the wood. Paul thought they would burn up, but they didn't. The husks covered them. Next Mr. Ray put a pan on the fire and fried some bacon and some potatoes. Paul unpacked a basket of sandwiches, and by that time everything was ready. They had no plates and no napkins. They ate with their fingers, in just the way little boys sometimes wish to do and mustn't, when they are at the table.

Daddy told stories of camping and hunting as they sat by the fire.

Time passed very quickly. It was four o'clock before they knew it.

"All aboard," cried Mr. Ray, and in a very few minutes the lunch things were packed up and they were in the boat. At first the sails filled and the boat moved swiftly on. But suddenly the sky grew dark. Great claps of thunder were heard. Lightning played all around the boat. The wind blew fiercely. The waves dashed so high that the boat was almost upset. Paul felt very small and almost afraid, but not quite. His big, brave daddy was there. "Sit still, hold tight," Daddy called. His voice sounded far away, the storm was making such a noise.

It seemed hours and hours that Paul sat still and held tight. He grew cold and stiff and wet. The sky became blacker and blacker. The wind howled louder and louder. Sometimes Daddy shouted, hoping that some one in a bigger boat would hear and come to help him. But no help came.

All at once a clear, bright light shone over the water. "The lighthouse!" cried Mr. Ray, "The lighthouse! We are saved."

He turned the boat and steered toward the light. It shone into the darkness like a kind eye.

Fighting the wind and storm was hard work, but at last the boat reached the island on which the lighthouse stood. As the boat came to the shore Mr. Ray called and called. At last the door of the lighthouse opened and the keeper came out. He helped pull the boat to shore. Then he lifted Paul out and carried him into the lighthouse and Mr. Ray followed.

At first Paul was too wet and cold and too much frightened to care about anything. But when he had been warmed and his clothes dried he began to look around. He was in a cheerful room with the lighthouse keeper and his wife. His dear daddy was there, too. And there was another person in the room. This was a little boy with a very pale face. He sat in a wheeled chair. His poor back was so weak he could not walk. But his face was bright and smiling. He held out his hand to Paul. "I'm Dick," he said, "I came to the lighthouse in a storm too, and I've been here ever since."

"Oh, please tell me about it," said Paul.

"It was eight years ago," began Dick, "when Father Moore found me in a boat. There had been a shipwreck and I must have been in it. I don't remember anything about it. I was only two years old and my back had been hurt. But Father Moore saved me and he and Mother Moore took me to be their little boy."

"Yes, he's our little boy," said the lighthouse keeper, who was "Father Moore." "We live here together and keep the light."

"Don't you get lonely?" Paul asked Dick.

"Oh, no," said Dick, "I have a great many things to play with. See!" And he pointed to a big table near his chair. On it were many small toys. There was a farm with fences, houses, horses, cows, and chickens. There were people too--a man, a woman, and two children. Everything was made of clay. There was a tall clay lighthouse and around it were clay ships and boats.

"What splendid toys," said Paul. "Did Santa Claus bring them?"

"I made them myself," said Dick proudly. "My back and legs aren't much good but my fingers do whatever I want them to. Whenever I am lonely I think of something to make and then my fingers make it. I think," he went on laughing, "I'll make you and your father after you have gone."

Paul hated to leave the lighthouse and brave little Dick. But he and Daddy had to go as soon as the storm was over. They knew Mrs. Ray would be greatly worried about them.

"I'll write to you," said Paul to Dick, "and I'll send you some of my books with pictures in them. Then you can make more things."

How glad Paul's mother was when her little boy and his daddy reached home. That night she came in to tuck him snugly in bed.

"Is my little boy sorry this is his last night at Fairport?" she asked.

"No, Mother," said Paul. "I hate to leave Captain John, and the cave, and the beach, and the ocean; but I want to get home. I want to see Bob and Betty and Peggy and Dot. I want them to help me do something for Dick."

"What do you want to do, dear?" asked Mrs. Ray.

"I want to send him something to keep his fingers busy, perhaps a tool chest and some wood," said Paul. "And, O Mother, do you think we could do something to make his back strong?"

"Perhaps we can," answered Mrs. Ray. "We must see what we can do to help him."

You may be sure that some happy days came to Dick after the five little friends had put their heads together.

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Transcriber's Note: Obvious punctuation errors repaired.