CAPTAIN JOE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 698, 24 December 1909, Page 13

CAPTAIN JOE.

By F. HOPKINSON SMITH,

TXT ANTED—A • submarine i engineer, ■ experi- ' enced in handling' heavy stone'under water. • Apply, etc;' 11l answer to this advertisement, a man, looking like a sailor and .wearing a rough jacket, opened my office-.door. "I'm Captain Joe Bell, out o£ n. job. .Seeiu' your advertisement, I: called up. Where is th® work, and what is.it?" '■ ' I explained:briefly.' A'lighthOuse was to be built in the "Race," off Fisher's Island j the foundation was o£ rough stone protected by. granite blocks weighing ten tons each. These blocks .were,to be laid, by a diver, as an enrockment, their edges touching. The current in . the Race ran six miles ;an hour. This increased the difficulties of. the: wcrk. . "While my visitor bent over the plans, tracing each detail with a blunted finger that looked like a worn-out tholepin, I had.-time to look him over. He was about fifty ■ years of age, powerfully built, short, and as broad as he was long. The very fit of his clothes indicated his enormous strength; His , pea-jacket had long-since been pulled out [ of shape in "the effort'to accommodate itself to the. spread of his shoulders. ' His trousers were corrugated, and 'half way up his ankles, in tho lifelong struggle to protect: equally seat and knee—each wrinkle outlining a .knotted muscle,, twisted up and down a pair of legs 6hort and sturdy as rudderposts.. His': brown hair protruded from under a close-fitting cloth cap, and curled over. a ■neck seamed and bronzed, showing - bumps where almost every other man had hollows: these short, curls were streaked with gray. His face was round, ruddy, arid wind-tanned, the; chin hidden ' in ' a, stubby ..beard, which clung to. his lower lip; the mouth was: firm, the teeth, were like. a'row' of corn, the jaws strong and determined. Everything about him indicated reserve force, endurance, capacity,' and push. " ':. Two things struck me instantly:'his voice, which was deep and' musical, and his vejre, which looked through, you—a" clear, laughing, kindling, tender eye,-that changed, every instant,- boring like a gimlet, as he pored over the plans, or lighting up with, a: flash in the suggestion "of .-ways, and means to execute them, As he leaned over the table,':l noticed that his wrist was bandaged, ■ the cotton wrappings showing beneathhis coat-sleeve, discovering a.partly-healed scar. ■ "Burnt?" I -asked. "No, scraped. It don't, bother now, but it was pretty bad a'month back." ■'■ ■■ "How?" . "Oh, a-wreckin'. I've been four years with the Off-shore Wreckin' Company. Left yesterday." ' . f ."What for?". ; . He looked me straight in the eye, and said, slowly emphasising each word: "Me and the. president didn't ' gee. . 'Ho hadn't no fault to find with me; but 'I didn't his ways,'and I quit." ■ So* trahsparent'.was nis honesty,, self-reliance, and. grit,' that such precautionary, measures'as references or inquiries never once entered my mind. • Before he" closed my .'door behind hiin the-terms were agreed upon. The..following week he took charge of the force and-the work began.- '•:'■ ' .-'As"the'summer:wore on,the masses of;granite were lowered into; position, ' Captain Joe placing each block himself, the'steam-lighter holding'to': her"Tanchors:in the rip of ; the Kace. When the autumn came a cottage .was rented on the shore of the nearest harbour, and the captain|s" family of six moved in.' Later 1110ticed some'new faces in the home circle, a pale,, sad. .woman' and a delica,te : lookinj; bhild, .both dressed in black.' They: would sometimes remain' a week 1 ariditlien disappear, only to .return Vagain..: She was'.introduced ,by ,the cap-taitt-.as "Jennie, widow of my old uiate Jim." ■f "What happened to .him, -Captain Joe?" I asked' one'evening when she left , the room to take' the child to beJ, 'leavins us' alone in the modest sitting-room, from the, windows ,of which.l caught > a glimpse in, the twilight of the tall .masts of the sohooners, coal laden, and : the jibs of tho smacks at anchor near : tho village wharves. • "Drownded, sir; two year • ago.". I And ho looked Uhe ; other way. . ; "VVashed overboa'rd ?" I asked, noticing his husky voice. .••••"No. Smothered in his divin'rdressi with, a. dumb"fool, at' the.'other.ond'of his life-line.' We wuz to'work' on the' Scotland, 6unk in six'fathoms of water off Sandy. Hook. Tho president sent for me to,come to the city, and I left Jim alone. ' That week wo wuz . workin'■ in her lower hold, Jim and me, I ,tendin' and Jim divin', and , then I goin' below- and he lookin' out after my air hose and. line, lie; bein' away . that day, ; they , put a duffer at the pump. Jim got, his. lioso-tangled up in a fluke of ;,the ; anchor," :they misunderstood his signals, and hauled taut when they should have eased away. He made a dash nt the hoso with his. knife, but whether it wuz the brass, wire ..wove in it, or: because he wiiz beat for. br.eath, .we don't know. Anyways 'he warn't strong enough to cut her through, and when, they, got him'.up he wuz done for., That wuz mighty rough on me,, bein' with Jim l'nor'n . ten years, in and out o' water. So I look] out for Jennie and the young one. No, it ain't, notliin' straiige nor new;, While I've got-: a.roof over me she's welcome. He'd done tho-same, for! me,, and I've, got the best of it, for,, there's only: two,of • his'n, and there's six o" mine." ' ." •• ' ■ .: i;'

~ Gradually, an accumulation of old rope, blocks, chains, diving-gear,' and odds and ends ,of. wrecker's . outfit .were'/ heaped, up on the small, dock; -.below, the' cottage, • . where. a "shanty," -vacated ; by some fishermen, ■ served as a storehouse. . . .. - •As tho. work on the lighthouse progressed, the force and plant increased. A, steam-tug was added,.'stone-sloops were chartered, and ,the gradual filling-up of the interior of the toundation began. Tho owner of one of these sloops was a tall,- sunken-cheeked old man named Marrows, who lived near the village on a small stone-incrusted- farm. Outside of its" scanty crop-.this sloop. and hec earnings were his sole resource... ..... . , • - Late one afternoon she. returned to-the har. bourwith .her shrouds loose,, her mast started, and her. forefoot chewed .into splinters. Her captain,.,a retired, boiiy fisherman, named Barrett, had miscalculated the tide,'which cut like' a mill-tail ~in the Race, ;had swifled, bow on, atop .of tho stone pile. When , : she struck, Captain Joe .was in his , dress, his helmet off.; In a,moment-he had loosed his heavy iron ; shoes,, caught up'a ..crow-bar, and was bounding, over the rugged rocks surrounding tho , giving : quick, . sharp orders to his men, who sprang into a yawl and'began paying cut a heavy line, Captain Joe follow, the'shoro end of it, and taking breath meanwhile", to swear' at Barrett': for : his stupidity. , .'. ' ■ . - - ' . .."Haul'.-that 'line ; taut,, you! Make- fast to your. starboard-clea,ts aft. Quick, you-—-fool! do you want, her masts .out of her?. ~ Now drop that kMge into the yawl.""- . ' .. . i ■ While the men in, the ya.wl-pulled, as for dear life, astern of. the endangered sloop, and slung 1 the kedge anchor far enough out •to. get holding ground, others' were leaping over her rail and running aft to the windlass, winding up: the line, which tightened ;with a strain, on the kedge.- /' i-All this time Captain - Joe was under her bowsprit, his: back braced ; against her chains, his lego- rigid as hydraulic jacks.: Every time the sloop, surged, he -straightened out, concen-trating'-his .enormous -strength; aiid . assisting .the movement, so tha:t;.wheii:slie struck again she came a few inches short, the'wave having spent its force. ' There, he : stood:.for -.half-.an hour shaking ' his head fiee from the great sheets of white foam breaking clear over him, shouting his orders until the stern line began to', draw, and the sloop .was windlassed clear of I the stono pilo and saved. 1 Marrows was on tho -little harbour dock, peering through , the twilight: when his sloop dropped anchor. Captain Joe held the tiller. He began' as soon as Marrows's gaunt figure outlined against the evening Sky .caught his eye: ; - ' ■ "I tell you, old man, Captain Barrett ain't fittin'. to,fool round that rock. He'll get hurt. I tell, you. he- ain't fittin'." :.- "I believe you, and I've told him ». Is she sprung,-. Captain 'Joe?" . "A leetle mite forrard, and her mast a touch to starboard, but nothin' to' hurt." • "Will she .bq.tany good: any niore?" Then, as he came nearer, "Why,, you'ro soaking wet; the boys say you was clear under he'/." Theu, lowering, his voice, "Yon . know. Captain Joe, she is a gond'deal to me." The captain laid .his great rough hand tenderly on, the old-man's shoulder. . "I-know it, I know it; that's, why I wuz under her chains." Then, raising his voice, "But Barrett ain't fittin'; mind I tell you: ho ain't-fittin';" ■ ■ : The-,next.:day)l)eirig.stormy, with a gale ,outside,, and "no work possible; Captain Joo lightencdup th© shrouds of the disabled sloop liim'. self; reset the maist, lecturing Barrett nil.the while,- and. then sent word to Marrows that she", was "tight as .a ,keg; betler'n ever, land <fc®rythin' . aboard, Joeptin'. thuboii}- fisherman who' wu', out' of & job. •

Tho, 1 winter closed, in with, the foundation but partly completed. Before tho first December galo broke on the rock the . 'derricks Were stripped, of their rigging and left to- battle with the winters storms, the tools were stowed in. the shanty, nnd all work was suspended until, the spring.: During the long 'winter that fol-' lowed .Captain Joe took to tho sen,, having transferred, his diving-gear to the sloop; and before April three coal-laden schooners were anchored, or strauded, as befitted their, condition, on the; shoals in front of Ms dock in the village harbour. It made no difference* to., him how severe .was. the gale, or how badly, strained the helpless vessel; he was •under , her bottom almost as soon as • a line could reach' her, and 'a: patch of canvas, or half a cargo of empty oil-barrels,, buoyed" her up' until the tug'could tighten a line over her bow, and so on to an anchorage' inside; tho lighthouse. It seemed in truth'that winter as if: each luckless craft, in its journey up the Sound,, did its level best to keep its rail above water long enough to. sing peacefully and restfully upon some bar or shoal within reach of, Captain Joe's diving-tackle. There it died contented, feeling sure of a speedy resurrection.'" , ' . '

If a wrecked ..schooner, coal laden,, was an unusual sight, along the' harbour ' shore, a wrecker, distributing, her cargo free to . his neighbours, was >a. proceeding unknown to, the oldest inhabitant.: And : yet. '.this always occurred' when a fresh meek, grounded on • tho .flats. . '..' . | ■ ■ "That's : all right," l he- would 6ay; "better take. acouple of boat-loads more. "; Seemsto met .as if we wuz . goin*. to have a late spring. No. I don't.know the price, 'cause.!;ain't settled with the underwriters; but'then she oamo up mighty , easy, for .me, and a, few tons of coal don!t,mako'no difference, nohow." ... .. When, .the •'settling, day. came, and his' share .as, salvage was determined :upon, there .was'.'of courso a heavy shortage. He alwavs laughed heartily. , ' . •■■ ■ • "Better put' that down to me," he would say. "Some of : the .folks along here bbatcd-off a< little. 1 Guess they wuz careless, and didn't know how much they took."' Little indiscretions liko this soon endeared .him, to his'neighbours. Before long every, one up'and down the shore knew him, and eveh> body sent a cheery, word flying; after him Whenever; they .caught sight of ,Ins active, .restless figuro'moving along the vessel's deck, or busy about his dock, and wreckiug-gear. Even tho gruff doctor, would crane 'his head around ..the edge of his curtained wagon, to call out "Good:' morning," although 'he might be, clear out of hailing distance,... So' passed the winter. With the first breath of spring over the marsh the shanty for the men \on . the • rock . was. rebuilt and; the work resumed. ' ; '•' .

During'all: these months the captain never once .referred to bis early life, or associations, or,gave me the slightest clue' to his'antecedent's. Now arid, then he would speak' oi.Jim, his 'dead mate, asVbeing a "cur'us square man," and' occasionally lio would ■ refer 'to the "president '■ of the-Off-shore Wrecking Company, his former employer, as, "that skin." Such'information; as I-.did:gather about his earlier days was fragmentary and, disconnected, and generally came .from .his ri>,£n, who idolised him, and who had absolute belief.- in; his judgment. and the blinds est confidence in his. ceaseless care : for.' their personal isafety. This care was necessary:-the swiftness-of'the-current and 6udden changes of wind, bringing a -heavy, south-east rail,- submerged the . rock at wave ' intervals, while the slippery, slimy surface, and the frequent falling of tne. heavy "derricks made the work extremely dangerous. Ho deserved ; .their confidcnce,' for thrpngh his:constant watchfulness,but one limn was hurt.on tho work during the six years of ■its construction/ arid'this'occurred .during the captain's absence. .' • : ' . One; morning when' tacking across the' Race in a small bbat 7 in a stiff breeze, with only tho ;captain and .myself 'for. crew, I tried- to' make him; talk of himself and,his earlier life, and.so said, suddenly:'". •• v , r'.'O ,Captain' Joe! T met' a-friend :of "yours yesterday' who/wished iho to ask yoir how you stopped; tho: leak in- tho'Hoboken ferry-boat, aria» jthy you'lef(;,the;cmplpy' of .'tlto'Qff-slipto /Wrecking Companj-." Tr • '•'(--t Ho raised his eyes quickly, a smile lighting his'weather-beaten face. " .- ,

/ Who was it—the. president?."' Ho always spoke of his .'employer, in':that way. > - ''-'Yes —but of one of -the J>ig insurance* companies; not your Wrecking, (impanv.", - : "No;: reck'n not. He; ought to keep pretty still about it." . - "Tell mo about it." ' "Oh, there'ain't nothin'. to tell.' She got foul of a tug, and listed some, and I sorter : plugged her up till they hauled her into the slip. Been so long ago I 'most-forgot.'about it." •. ' Butj not -another - word could be coaxed out of him, except 'that. ho remembered tha-t tho water .was "blamed., cold,". and his arm was "pretty well tore up for a month." ' In the shanty which was built on tho completed part of . the w ; ork,. and which sheltered th© working force for the three years' of this section of the construction, were gathered -.that night a'crew of a dozen men, many .of 'Whom had- served.-with Captain-JoeWhen Jini was alive.-While tho ; captain was'asleep in the little -wooden bunk, -boarded-of! for his especial ■ use;' the ceaseless thrash of the sea sounding in' our ears, I managed: after.,much questioning and 'piecing out of personal reminiscences to gather i these details. - ,- '• On© morning in January, f two years before, when .-the ,-ic© in th© ; Hudson River ran .unusually, heavy,, a Hobokon' ferry-boat slowly crunchcd .-hpr way -.'through the -floating floes, until the thickness of the pack choked her paddles.in mid-river.' Tho weather had beau.bitterly cold for weeks, and' the keen north-west' wind had blown: the-great fields of..floating, ice inio'; a; hard .pack along.- the - New ■ York' shore. It' was.the earljr morning trip and the decks were; crowded with labouring men, the drivo,ways choked \rith teams; the: women and children standing, inside the .cabins, a .solid mass up to "the swinging doors. -.While'she-was gathering strength-for a. further.effort, an ocean tug. sheered to iavoid.'her, veered a point, and crashed ; into . her. sides, cutting her below the water-line in a- great-.V-shaped gash. The next instant-, a shriek went, up .'from a -hundred throats.. Women, with, blanched faces, caught terror-stricken , children , in their arms, while men, crazed with .fear, scaled : the rails and upper/decks, to. escape, the. plunging of. tho over-, thrown horses. A momeiit more and'the'Si&abled "boat, careened from. the shock and fell over. on' her beam helpless. Into , tho V-shaped gash th© water poured a torrent. It seemed but a question of minute beforo' she would lunge headlong below the ice. ■ Within.' t.wo' hnndred yards.'of .both" boats, and free, of < the heaviest ice, steamed the wrecking tug Hcliance of the Offrshoro Wrecking Company, making.'her way up' tbtf Now Jersey shot© to coal at 'Weehawken.Oil her deck forward, sighting the heavy'cakes; and calling out' cautionary' orders io the -mat© in ' the pilot-house, 'stood Captain Joe. When thewean tug reversed her engines -after th© collision and backed'-olear. of- the shattered wheel-house'.of the' ferry-boat, -he sprang for.ward, stooped ' down,, ran' his eye : along' • the waterrlme, noted' in .a; flash every shattered plank,-climbed -into, the' pilot-house of his ■ own boat, /spun- her - wheel hard- down, and before th© astonished- pilot could catch- his '.breath ran: the no's© of the; Reliance ■ along.' the- rail of the ferry-boat' and'dropped upon ■ the iatter's deck like a rat. , •" ■If: he. -had', fallen- from '.a' passing, cloud the effect could not have been more, startling. Men crowded' about, him and' caught at' his hands; Women-sank, on their knees, and hugged their children, ahd '.a ,sudden ■ peace and stillness possessed every soul- on board; Tearing: a;-' lifepreserver, from the man nearest him and throwing it overboard, hoi backed the coward-ahead of him through the swaying mob, ordering the people to stand/clear, and forcing tho \vho!< mass to the. starboard ■ side. Th© increased weight gradually-righted the stricken boat, : until, she regained a nearly even keel.' '• • With a'threat-to throw overboard any:man who stirred, he dropped into the engine-room, met th© engineer half nay up the ladder, compelled him to return,' dragged the. mattresses from th© crew's bunks, stripped off blankets, racks of clothes,: overalls,' cotton waste, -and rags of carpets, cramming them into tho great rent -left- by' the,tug's cutwater, until'the space of each broken -planki/was replaced, except one. 'Through anil over this space tho water 6tiii-combed, deluging the floors and swashing down between the.gratings into - the' hold below. ; . - . "Another mattress, quick!-. 'All - gone? A ..blanket, then—carpet—anytbin'—five minutes mora and she'll right-'herself.'-.Quick, for God's sake!" • . It was Useless. .; Everything, even.to-ih©'oil-rap, had been'used, 'Your coat,- then. Think of the babies, man;' do you hear them?" '' , : ; ' Coats and 'vests' were .off in. an instant; tho engineer -on his knees, .bracing : the shattered planking, Cajitain JiJu . forcing the garments liito' the splintered openings. :. , : .• ' It was.'UEaless. 1 Little liv little -the. water gained,.bu'rstiug. out first, below,.'then-on one #id«,' euly.'.to. In : tecalkod,*- aad vuly to iwj|-in a£um

• Captain Joe stood a moment as .if undecided, ran .his eye searching! jv. over :.ihe engine-, rooni, saw. that tor his needs it was empty, then, deliberately tore down the top wall of calking ■he' had so carefully Ijuilt up, and, before the .engineer could protest, hud'forced his own body auto the gap■ with ■ his- arm outside level 'witn the.drifting ice. . »■ » .. t>; . .. , AtT hour. later the with every soul on'board,', was towed ; into the Ho:bokMi slip. ' , • . ,• ; they lifted tlio'captairi from tho wreck he was unconscious and barely alive. /The water had- frozen his blood, and tb® floating ifo had torn tho flesh from his protruding arm, from shoulder to wrist! /An hour later, when the colour .began .to creep back. to. his cheeks, hp opened his_ eyes,/and to the- doctor who was winding the bandages: • "Wuz any of them b'fibics.hurtr' • A month' passed before' he, regained his strength, • and : another week before the arm had healed sjj that ho could get his cbat.on. Then lie went back to his work aboard tho Reliance. • In the meantime the Off-shore Wrecking Company had presented a bill to I he'ferry company for salvage, claiming that the'safety of the ferry-boat was due-to one of the employees of the Wrecking Company. Payment had been refused, resulting in legal proceedings, : which had already begun. J The: morning following this action Captain Joe was called into tile president's office. "Captain," said that official, "we're going to have some trouble getting our pay for that ferry job. Here's an affidavit for - you to - swear to." The captain took , the paper, to. the Windojr and read it through'without a comment, then laid it back on the president's desk, picked "up his bat, and moved toythc door. " , "Did you signet?"/ . ■;'/■' ' i<~ "No; and I ain't a-goin' to." , i' ■ . •nVh.v?" _ :. . . ■ ■ .".'Cause I ain't'so Burned meim 'asyoube. Look at this arm. Do you think'l'd got into that hell-hole if it hadn't 'a' been for them women cryin', and the babies a-hollerin'?. And you want 'em to pay for it. If your head wnzn't white,- I'd mash it." - r Then he walked straight to tho cashier, demanded his week's pay, waited until the money was counted out, slainmcd: tho offico 'door behind him, and walked out, cursing liko ft pirate. The. next day ho answered, my advertisement. .-The .following year, whon tho masonry was rapidly Hearing the top' or coping course, and tho five years of labour were • bringing . forth their fruit—the foundation and the pier, being then almost ready,-for: the keeper's house and lantera,. from which -sinco has flashed a welcome light to many a. storm-driven coaster—' one lovely spring morning- I was sitting overlooking'the. sen; ,tlie rock.' witli its cluster" of derricks being just visible far out \on, the water-line. . ■ ' Beside me sat a man famous in the literaturo jf our , country—one 7 who. bad embalmed in song and 1 story tho heroic deeds of common men, .which are now, and will be, .household words so long as the language is read. To him I outlined; the story, adding': ...!"It is but half a mile to the captain's cottage, and, being Sunday morning, we shall find him at home; let him tell it in his.own way." We took the -broad road skirting the'shore, overlooking the harbour with its' white yachts glinting against the blue. ' High up, revelling in. the warm sunlight, tho gray gulls poised and curved; while across the yellow" marshes tho tall tower of thp harbour light was pencilled against- the morning' sky; Over old fences, patched with driftwood and broken oars and festooned" with, fishermen's nets, stretched the .boughs of apple trees loaded with blossoms, and in scattered Sheltered spots the buttercups and dandelions brightened ; tho green grass. A turn in the road, a swinging gate, a flagged path leading-to the porch of a low-cottage, and. a bis: burly fellow held out both hands. It was Captain: Joe. -. He wasi in his Sunday best, with' white : shirt-sleeves,, his face clean-shaven to the very edge of the tuft on his chin. • -» , ' With -a .child on- each knee,, tho younger , a new-comer since • the building of : the - .lighthouse, wo talked of the "work." his neighbours, the ; "wrack" the winter before—the . one on FisherV Island,: when the captain-was drowned —the late spring, the. cussed sou'-east jrind that Iteo' a-blowin' till-you thought; it Weren't never goin'- to wollup rbund' to' thh west'ard- again; in shoi't,- of-everything—but<himself,'-!;..■ ■ Beating tho hush -with'-allusions to. sinking vessels, collisions, at, sea, suits for salyase, and this like only flushed- un : such reminiscences its'fall to. the lot of seafaring men the world over—but nothing'more. In despair I' put: the question straight l at;him. . ; \. ■ "Tell him,. Captain Joei ; of that morning in the ice, off Hoboken, whon you:, boarded tho ferry-boat." liL." . ••He 'would, but, he'had' 'most forgotten, beeii . so:long;ago.' So )\iany J pf..tliCse thjnfes a-comin' up , when'., a-, man's ioangin':. round! "it's, hard' to : keep. track on 'em. Remembered there wuz a moss, of: jieoDle aboard, .mostly : women and babies, and they wuz.'all arliollerin' to wunsh' Ho wuz workin' on the " Reliance at the tiiho—captain of her..! Come to think of it, lie. fohndVher, log' week in his old sea-cncst, whon he .wuz lookin' for some 1 rubber cloth to natch . his -. divin'-siiit. "If -his Wife■ would ' retthe book out, ho guessed it wuz, all/there. He wuz always.partic'ler .about kcepin'ilog,aboard ■ ship. \ ' ■-.■•' ■ When the old well-thumbed book/was found .lie perched. his' glasses on- his nose and began turning .the loaves with that same old tholepin of a finger, stopping'at every page to; remoisten it, and adding a-, running commentary of his own over the long-forgotten' l records: /' ' "January 23.—Yes!':'that's when we-worked on the /Hurricane. -, She ".was sunk/off: Sandy. Hoofc,' loaded with sugar ; nasty mess that. It •wo? somewhere- about that 'time. 'for '. I .remember the water ''pretty-'cold,' and the ice ; a-runnin'. . Ah! here it is. Knowed "I t hadn't , forgot it. You can read it yourself ;• my eyes \ ain't so good as thej' wuz"—pointing. to the ; entry -on the -ink-stained' page.;:. / It*r?ad as follows:—: ' ■: " '.Tanuarv 30.—Left -Jersey/City: .7 , a.m. Ice rnhning 'heavy. Captain Joe stopped leak in ; ferry-boat." ,' ■ / / : ■ -V' ■