“That won’t do any harm, and, besides, he’s bound to keep his ornaments on till our visitors leave. I reckon we’ll soon have the station to ourselves, an’ I for one won’t be sorry. This sleepin’ on the kitchen floor with not so much as a blanket to ease up on the boards, ain’t particularly pleasant, accordin’ to the way I look at it.” “I could have slept on a rock last night, I was so tired,” Benny replied, with a cheerful laugh as he began his toilet, promising Fluff that he should have his hair combed before the ladies appeared. “How are they going away?” “It was settled last night, over the telephone, that if the wind died down, a tug would be out here about eight o’clock, and it’s so calm now that there won’t be any trouble in putting them aboard.” “I wonder if the steamer was stove to pieces?” “Joe Cushing was the last man in, and he reported that she was then in fair condition for hauling off. The wrecking crews will soon be at work, and if the weather holds good it may be possible to save her.” “Will our crew be called upon?” “Not a bit of it. All that is done by contract, and those who take the job have no right to ask for the services of the life-saving men. Why don’t you take a spin out there, an’ see how she looks?” “I guess it’ll be more to my credit if I stay here pretty close while there’s so much work to be done,” Benny replied with a laugh, and then, his own toilet having been made, he set about combing Fluff, an operation which was never greatly enjoyed by the dog. While No. 8 was busily engaged in helping the cook, several of the lady passengers from the steamer held a private interview with Keeper Downey, and it seemed as if they had no slight amount of business to settle, for not until breakfast had been served did the conference come to an end. Before the meal was finished a tug hove to off the cove, and Sam Hardy announced that the passengers from the stranded steamer could be put on board whenever they were ready to leave. Before taking their departure every woman and man shook hands most cordially with Benny, and one of the ladies whispered in his ear: “You must not refuse to accept what has been left for you and Fluff. Each of us considered it a favor to be allowed to add something, and when your school days begin it will be needed.” Benny was wholly at a loss to understand the meaning of these words, and when he asked Sam Hardy if he knew to what the lady referred, that jolly surfman said with a laugh: “You’ll find out in time, No. 8, and it may be worth your while to look at Article 151 of the _Revised Regulations_.” Benny waited until all those who were to be taken to the city had been put on board the tug, for none but the passengers were to leave the vicinity, the crew and officers of the steamer remaining to assist in the labor of floating the steamer, and then he set about finding the article to which Sam Hardy referred.