“I’d like to have a peek inside of the lamp too,” said Ray. “Let’s ask Captain Eli if he won’t tell us something about the lighthouse service too.”
“Good idea,” said Jack as they entered the cottage.
The boys were not long in bringing up the subject of conversation, for almost as soon as the four of them were seated about the table once more Jack turned to the light keeper and spoke.
“Captain,” said he, “Ray and I are mighty interested in the lighthouse service and we’d like to know a lot about it. Also we’d like to know something about the way the lighthouses are lighted too.”
“Well, as fer t’ way lights is lit I can take you up in the tower later and ye can have a look at my light and I calc’ late I kin tell ye all ab’ut haow ’tis run. But that hain’t ha’af what’s t’ be told about lights. Mr. Warner here knows more about lights than I do an’ like es not he kin reel off them there jawbrakers like ‘equiangular prisms,’ ‘dioptics,’ ‘hyperradients,’ an’ what-not ’thout even stoppin’ t’ think on ’em. As fer me I cain’t never master ’em an’ ’tain’t no use o’ my tryin’. Time an’ agin I’ve clawed through big books on lights an’ such like, but I allus finished ’m ignoranter than when I begun ’un.”
“Pshaw,” said Jack, “we don’t want any of those big words either. What we want is plain English about how lights are regulated.”
“Wall,” said Captain Eli, “I calc’late Mr. Warner could give ye that a big sight better’n I could too, but es fer t’ service; wall, I’ll have a little t’ say on that if ye want t’ hear it.”
“Go ahead, Captain; we’re all ears,” said Mr. Warner. “I’d like to get a good straight-from-the-shoulder opinion from one on the inside.”
“Good,” said the keeper as he began to pour another cup of tea for himself.
“T’ begin with, I kin say that the Lighthouse Service is the finest an’ best regolated department of the United States Government from my p’int o’ view. An’ it has the finest lot of healthy, big-minded, faithful men in it that kin be scraped t’gether on t’ face o’ this earth. I guess it is because these men are in it that the service has been kept as sweet an’ clean as ’tis. You hain’t never heard o’ no political scandals or what-not in this here department, have ye? No, siree, an’ they hain’t agoin’ t’ be none, not while fellers like they got in it stick.