“Um!  Well, I’m much obliged to you, only—­”

“Only?”

“Only you washed them dishes with the sink cloth and wiped ’em with a piller case.”

The volunteer dishwasher’s mouth opened.

“No!” he gasped.

“Ya-as.”

“A pillow case!  Well, by George!”

“Um-hm.  I jedge you ain’t washed many dishes in your lifetime.”

“Not so very many.  No.”

They looked at each other and burst into a roar of laughter.  Brown was the first to recover.

“Well,” he observed, “I guess it’s up to me.  If you’ll kindly put me next to a genuine cloth, or sponge, or whatever is the proper caper for dish-washing, I’ll undertake to do them over again.  And, for heaven’s sake, lock up the pillow cases.”

Seth protested, declaring that the dishes need not be rewashed that very minute, and that when he got a chance he would do them himself.  But the young man was firm, and, at last, the lightkeeper yielded.

“It’s real kind of you,” he declared, “and bein’ as I’ve consider’ble to do, I don’t know but I’ll let you.  Here’s a couple of dishcloths, and there’s the towels.  I’m goin’ out to see to the lights, and I’ll be back pretty soon and get supper.”

Later in the evening, after supper, the housework done, they sat again on the bench beside the door, each with a pipe, filled, this time, with genuine smoking tobacco.  Before and below them was the quiet sea, rolling lazily under the stars.  Overhead the big lanterns in the towers thrust their parallel lances of light afar into the darkness.  The only sounds were the low wash of the surf and the hum of the eager mosquitoes.  Brown was silent, alternately puffing at the pipe and slapping at the insects, which latter, apparently finding his skin easier to puncture than that of the tanned and leathery Atkins, were making the most of their opportunity.

Seth, whose curiosity had been checked but not smothered by his companion’s evident desire to say nothing concerning himself, was busy thinking of various guileful schemes with which to entrap the castaway into the disclosure of his identity.  Having prepared his bait, he proceeded to get over a line.

“Mr. Brown,” he said, “I ain’t mentioned it to you afore, ’count of your needin’ rest and grub and all after your fallin’ overboard last night.  But tomorrer you’ll be feelin’ fustrate again, and I cal’late you’ll be wantin’ to get word to your folks.  Now we can telephone to the Eastboro depot, where there’s a telegraph, and the depot master’ll send a dispatch to your people, lettin’ ’em know you’re all safe and sound.  If you’ll just give me the address and what you want to say, I’ll ’tend to it myself.  The depot master’s a good friend of mine, and he’ll risk sending the dispatch ‘collect’ if I tell him to.”

“Thank you,” replied Brown, shortly.

“Oh, don’t mention it.  Now who’ll I send it to?”