The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-house Service — John Shaqi
The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-house ServiceOtis, James
General
The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-house Service
Otis, James
Lighthouse keepers -- Juvenile fiction
"Number 125 is longer; but it ain't hard to catch the general idee of
it. 'When the light is extinguished in the morning the keeper must hang
the lantern curtains and immediately begin to put the apparatus in order
for relighting. While doing this the linen aprons provided for the
keeper's use must be worn, that the lens may not suffer from contact
with the wearing apparel. The illuminating apparatus must be carefully
covered before the cleaning is begun.' Now here's Sammy's apron for you,
an' this one is mine," Captain Eph said, as he took the articles in
question from a locker, and showed Sidney how to put one on. "These 'ere
are the lantern curtains which we'll hang up at sunrise."
It was quite like a game, Sidney thought, and he was in high glee by
the time Captain Eph was ready to read his rule 126.
"Here she is, an' there's a good bit of meanin' to it, lad. 'The lens
and the glass of the lantern must be cleaned daily and always kept in
the best possible condition. Before beginning to clean the lens it must
be brushed with the feather brush to remove all dust. It must then be
wiped with a soft linen cloth, and finally polished with buff-skin. If
there is oil or grease on any part, it must be taken off with a linen
cloth, moistened with spirits of wine, and then polished with a
buff-skin. Under no circumstances must a skin which has been wet or damp
be used, as this will scratch the lens.'"
"The Board seems to be mighty particular about how the work shall be
done," Sidney said with a laugh, and Captain Eph replied:
"If they wasn't we shouldn't have sich lights in this country as we have
got. I ain't claimin' that we're the only nation on the face of the
earth who knows how to light a coast; but I will say, an' I've heard the
same from masters of foreign vessels, that we do the thing up brown
regardless of expense. Listen to rule 127, an' than I reckon it'll be
time to turn off the light: 'To clean reflectors, first dust them and
then rub with a buff-skin, lightly dusted with rouge powder, kept in a
small double bag of muslin; then rub lightly with another skin, and
finally with a third, which should be passed over the reflector in a
light, quick manner with a circular motion. Leakage of gas from the pipe
of the stove used in the watch-room should be carefully guarded against,
as this gas will badly tarnish a reflector.' Now we'll turn off the
light, stop the clock, an' get to work," and Captain Eph suited the
motions to the words.
Sidney stood ready with the lantern curtains until the keeper should
show him how they ought to be hung, for he had come to believe there was
a rule for the most trifling labor, when an exclamation of surprise
caused him to turn toward the door in the floor, and he saw the head and
shoulders of Mr. Peters, who was surveying the scene with a comical
expression on his face.
"Have I lost my job?" he cried with a laugh, and Captain Eph replied
grimly:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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