"What's the matter?" Captain Eph asked as if wholly ignorant of what had taken place in the kitchen. "Ain't sick, is he?" "He's pig-headed, that's what's the matter with him. He's next door to crazy, countin' on goin' alone to the wreck, an' I told him plainly that I wouldn't countenance sich foolishness by givin' him anythin' to eat till breakfast was ready. Then he rose right up in the air, an' started off empty-handed; but if he ain't sorry 'twixt now an' noon, I'm missin' my guess." "Dear, dear, but I'm sorry!" Captain Eph exclaimed. "Sammy has got it inter his head that he can get enough from the wreck to go a long ways toward buildin' a motor boat, an' he'll work like a tiger, savin' stuff, never thinkin' that he stands a good chance of makin' himself sick by foolin' 'round while his stomach is empty." Sidney fancied that he saw an expression of regret on the face of the cook; but decided that he had been mistaken, when Uncle Zenas said sharply: "I ain't responsible for what he does in the way of foolishness, an' if it's his desire to go off before breakfast is ready, he'll have to take the consequences." The keeper did not linger over his breakfast; as soon as the meal had been eaten he hurried back to the lantern, and, as a matter of course, Sidney joined him there without delay, the two working industriously and in silence until everything had been put in proper order. Not until then did Captain Eph venture a remark, by saying as he looked toward the east, where could be seen a portion of the wreck: "I'm allowin' that Sammy won't be able to put in a full day's work. The wind seems to be haulin' 'round, an' before noon the sea will be runnin' so high that he can't do anythin' in the way of strippin' the hulk." "Can you see him?" Sidney asked. "Not without the glasses. Run down an' get 'em, Sonny. We may as well watch him, as to sit here twirlin' our thumbs." The lad obeyed promptly; but no sign of the amateur wrecker could be seen, and Captain Eph said as he turned to gaze westward: "The hulk lays in sich a manner that we couldn't hope to see him, unless he was aloft. Hello, here comes a cat-boat from the shore, an' it wouldn't surprise me a little bit if the tinker Sammy talked about yesterday was comin' after that 'ere motor." Because it was the first time since he landed on the ledge that he had seen a sail coming toward the light, Sidney gazed at it eagerly, until Captain Eph said: "There's no use strainin' your eyes, Sonny, for it'll be a full hour before she gets anywhere near, with this wind. I reckon we'd better go down to the shore an' see the motor, for it ain't likely the tinker will care about stayin' here any very great while." "Shall we let him take it before Mr. Peters comes back?" Sidney asked in surprise.