Chapter 3 Chapter Three The Three Lighthouse Keepers

Around the Strait of Magellan, the busiest period for sailing is from November to March. The sea here is always cruel and unforgiving.But during this period, although the turbulent waves rolled in from the two oceans could not be stopped or calmed down, the air was relatively calm, and those storms that disturbed even the far poles were only fleeting.The steamers and sailboats were willing to risk round Cape Horn during this fairer period. The comings and goings of ships passing through the Strait of Ramell or south of Staten Island could not break the long, white silence of the season.There were not many of these ships; since the passage of steamers and the improvement of nautical maps, the danger of passing through the Strait of Magellan has been greatly reduced; ships have chosen the short and convenient route of the Strait of Magellan. There are even fewer ships.

Even so, this solitude is a part of life at the lighthouse, and it is so low that those who are often tasked are immediately aware that most of them are old sailors or fishermen, not the kind who count the days and the hours, They all have a clever way of keeping themselves busy and having a good time.Also, their duties are not limited to tending the lamp between sunset and sunrise.Fasquez and his companions had other duties to do. They kept a close eye on the entrance to Elgo Bay, went up to Cape Sanjoen several times a week, and patrolled the coast as far as Cape Several. , but only three or four nautical miles at most.

They're going to keep writing things down in that lighthouse log.Take note of every little thing: what steamers and sailboats pass here; what nationality; if a cannon is fired, use the number to find out the name of the ship; how high the tide is; the direction and strength of the wind; the weather report; how long it has been raining; the storm How many times; the highest and lowest recorded by the barometer; the temperature and other natural phenomena.These are written down in preparation for drawing the weather chart of the sea in this area. Fasquez, like Philippe and Maurice, was also Argentinian. He was forty-seven years old as the warden of the lighthouse on Starden Island.He was a strong man, strong in body and amazing in stamina; he had seen many risks in his life, he acted decisively, he was full of energy, and any danger was common to him: in most sailors who have traveled most of the northern and southern hemispheres, this is taken for granted. , he was promoted to be the warden, not only because of his age, but also because of his excellent qualities, he was highly trusted by his superiors. Although he was only the first officer in the Republic Navy, he was respected by everyone when he left. Respect, therefore, when he asked for the post on Starn Island, the naval authorities did not hesitate to appoint him.

Philip and Maurice were also sailors, Philip was forty and Maurice was thirty-seven.Fasquez and the two families had known each other for a long time, so he recommended them to the government on their behalf.Philip, like Fasquez, is also a bachelor. Among the three, only Maurice is married, but has no children. His wife is currently working in a dormitory in Buenos Aires, and then After three months, he will be able to see his wife. At the end of the three months, Fasquez, Philip, and Maurice were to re-board the San Fe; the San Fe was to bring three more lighthousekeepers to Starn Island.Three months later, they will replace those three people.

Their second rotation will be in June, July and August—that is to say, it will be during the cold winter period, so although they did not suffer from bad weather when they stayed for the first time, etc. When they came back to the island they were to be prepared for a rather hard life, but that did not worry them.By then, Fasquez and his companions will be quite attuned to the climate; the cold, the storms, and all the hardships of the Antarctic winter, they will be able to withstand. Since December 10, work has been fully arranged, and the lamp is guarded every night by a watchman stationed in the lookout room.The other two are resting in the dormitory.During the day, they checked and cleaned all the parts, and replaced them with new wicks as needed, and arranged everything in order so that the lighthouse could emit its powerful light at sunset.

From time to time, due to the relationship between their duties, Fasquez and his companions always went up to the Elgow Bay to go to the sea, sometimes walking along the left and right banks, sometimes going out in their small boat; A decked motorboat, with foresail and jib, is usually moored in a safe creek; its only protection is the east wind, but here it is protected from it by a range of mountains. Among the three, as long as one of them went to the harbor or near the lighthouse to inspect, the other would always stay on the platform of the lighthouse and keep watch, because there might be a ship passing by Starn Island at this time, ready to fire a cannon to report the number.Therefore, one of the lighthouse keepers must be on duty at all times.From the platform one could only see the sea to the east and northeast; all other directions were obscured by mountains eight hundred yards away.

In the first few days after the letter ship departed, nothing happened.The weather was always fine, the temperature was rather high, sometimes reaching ten degrees Celsius above zero on the thermometer.Between sunrise and sunset there is generally a light wind blowing out to sea; and the vast plains of Tierra del Fuego blew. When the weather is warmer, the grass will germinate.The grass near the yard looked like a light green carpet, and it seemed happy to lie under the young leaves in the grove of Antarctic stick trees.The river leveled up.Near the roots, the moss reappeared and covered the sides of the rocks.In short, this is what is called summer in this part of the country, and it is still several weeks away at the apex of the South American continent.

One day it was getting late, but it was not time to light the lights. Fasquez, Philip and Maurice sat together on the platform surrounded by the searchlights, talking. Fasquez packed his pipe carefully--his manner the other two had learned--and said: "How is this new life, lads? Are you used to it?" "Of course, Fasquez," Philippe answered, "we haven't had time to get bored or bored yet." "Indeed," continued Maurice, "the three months will pass much sooner than we expected." "Yes, brother, three months slip by like a third-class galleon full of topsails, mastsails, and sidesails."

"As for ships," said Philip, "I haven't seen a single ship today, not even the horizon." "The boat will come, Philippe, it will come," Fasquez answered him, holding his hand in front of his eyes as if through a telescope. "What's the point of building this beautiful lighthouse on Staten Island, and shining its light ten miles away, if there's no boat to soak up the lights?" "And," Maurice pointed out, "our lighthouse is still new." "You are right, my brother," replied Fasquez, "the captains have not had time to know that there is a light in this area. When they know, they will not hesitate to approach this coast. Cross the channel from here , much easier to navigate. But just knowing there's a lighthouse isn't all that matters; you've got to know if it stays on all the time, from sundown to dawn."

"It won't be widely known until the San Fe is back in Buenos Aires," Philippe said. "Indeed, my brother," agreed Fasquez, "as soon as Captain Lafaya's report is printed, the authorities will spread the news to the whole navigation community as soon as possible. But at present, most navigators You must have known all these things." "The San Fey only set off five days ago," continued Maurice, "and it's going to..." "I think it will take another week at most," Fasquito interjected, "the weather is good, there is no storm at sea, and the wind is favorable. The letter ship has full sails day and night, and with engines, it will take nine miles in an hour." A nautical mile or ten nautical miles."

"By this time," said Philip, "it must have passed the Strait of Magellan, and rounded the Cape Virgin, which cuts off the distance by fifteen miles." "Of course, boy," said Fasquez, "he's driving along the Patagonian coast at this moment, and he'll overtake any horse in the Patagonian racetrack." It's no wonder that these kind-hearted people still can't forget the San Fei.It was like a piece of land from their homeland, which had just left them to return to their homeland.Their minds will follow it to the end of the journey. "Did you enjoy your fishing today?" Fasquez asked Philip next. "It's all right, Fasquez. I caught dozens of fish, and I caught a three-pound soft-shelled turtle crawling among rocks." "That's nice," cried Fasquez, "you don't have to worry about catching all the fish in the bay. As the saying goes, the more you catch, the more you'll get, so we can save a little from our stockpile." Canned meat and bacon. As for the vegetables . . . " "I went up to the beech forest," said Maurice, "and dug up some roots, and let me cook you a good dish. I saw the chef on the letter and newspaper cook like this, and he was quite an expert. " "Excellent," said Fasquez. "One must never eat too much of canned food. It's never as good as the freshly slaughtered, freshly caught, or newly picked." "Well," said Philip, "it would be nice if we could get some deer in the interior of the island, like a couple of camels." "I would be glad to have a camel's leg or loin," replied Fasquez. "There is nothing better to eat than a good piece of venison! So if there is any game that comes up, we must try to get it. But remember, boy, don't leave the yard too far to chase the wild game, big or small. It's important to obey the order, don't leave the lighthouse, only look inside Elgo Bay and Cape Sanjoen and Cape Diago You can only go out when there is something at sea." "But," said Maurice, "what if a handsome camel came within shooting range?" Maurice was a favorite hunter. "I don't have anything to say at the distance of the shooting, or at the distance of two or three times," Fasquito replied, "but you know that the deer are wild by nature and will never get close to us. That is to say, in that area It would be a marvel if we could see a pair of antlers on a stone in the beech forest or near the yard." It was true, too, that not a single beast had been seen near Elgow Bay since the building began.The captain of the San Fe was also a keen hunter, and tried to shoot a camel several times.He had gone five or six miles inland, and returned empty-handed.In fact, the island is not without big animals, but even if they appear, they are too far away to be shot with a gun.Perhaps the captain would have better luck if he could climb those mountains and cross Port Bale, if he reached the other side of Starn Island.However, in the western part of the island, there are so many mountains that the trek is very difficult, so the captain and any of the crew of the San Fe have never made a survey near Cape San Basuloma. On the night of December 16, while Maurice was on duty in the watch-room from six o'clock to ten o'clock, a light appeared in the sea to the east, some five or six nautical miles away.It was evidently the light of a ship, the first light seen in the sea off the island since the lighthouse was completed. The other two companions were not asleep yet, and Maurice thought they must be happy too, so he went to call them. Fasquez and Philip immediately followed him, and the three of them stood motionless at the east window, looking through binoculars. "It's a white lamp," Fasquez said. "So instead of a status light, the status light should be a green light or a red light," Philippe said. Status lights are usually on port and starboard. "Also," said Fasquez, "the white light again, and the foremast shrouds again, mean that the steamer is approaching the island." It was indeed a steamboat bound for Cape Sanchouan.The question asked by the three lighthousemen themselves was: Is the ship intending to enter the Ramell Strait, or is it going south? So the three watched it go, seeing it draw nearer; after half an hour they had figured out its course. The ship was heading boldly toward the Strait of La Mer, and the lighthouse was to her left, on a south-southwest bearing.One could see the red light of the ship as it sailed through the gorge into the port of Cape Excalibur; and soon disappeared into the darkness. "It's the first ship to go past the Lighthouse at Sky's Edge!" cried Philip. "Not the last one," Fasquez assured him. Next morning Philip saw a galleon appear on the horizon.The weather was fine, and a slight southeasterly wind swept away the morning fog, so that ships at least ten nautical miles away could be seen. Philip called Fasquez and Maurice, and the three walked up to the platform of the lighthouse together.The ship just pointed out was just visible from above the distant peaks on the shore, on the right side of the Bay of Elgau, between Cape Ego and Cape Several. The ship was galloping with the wind, with full sails, always at a speed of twelve or thirteen knots.The wind was just a tailwind from the port side.But as it was coming in a straight line towards Staten Island, it was too early to say whether it would pass north or south of the island. Sailors are always fond of talking about such matters, so Fasquez, Philippe, and Maurice also argued on this point.In the end Maurice was proved right, and he insisted that the sailboat was not sailing towards the mouth of the gorge. When the boat was within a mile and a half of the shore, she turned and headed, in order to gain some extra space in the headwind, to round Cape Several. It was a big three-masted ship, eighteen hundred tons at least, one of those clipper ships made in America, and it was really fast. "If this ship isn't built in a New England shipyard," cried Fasquez, "throw my telescope!" "Do you think it will count to us?" Maurice asked. "It's just as it should be," answered the lighthouse keeper. Sure enough, just as the clipper was rounding Cape Several, the number was called.A string of flags was hoisted on the mast, and these signals were immediately checked out by Fasquez from the book of signals in the lookout room. It is the Montanque, sailing from Boston Harbor, New England, United States of America. In return the three lighthouse men hoisted the Argentine flag on the mast of the lightning rod.They could not rest until the ship's mast disappeared behind the peak of Webster Point on the south side of the island. "Now," said Fasquez, "good luck to the Montanque, and may the gods protect her from bad weather as she rounds Cape Horn!" For the next few days the sea was almost desolate.Only a sailboat or two was glimpsed on the eastern horizon.None of the ships passing ten nautical miles away from Staten Island were obviously not from South America.According to Fasquez, they are probably all whaling ships passing by here to go fishing in the Antarctic sea. They saw several dolphins, which came from high latitudes.These dolphins are quite far from Cape Several and are swimming towards the Pacific Ocean. Apart from making some meteorological observations, there was nothing to tell until December 20th.At this time, the weather has changed, and the wind direction has changed from northwest to southwest.On several occasions it rained quite heavily, sometimes with hail, which shows that there is quite a lot of electrical charge in the atmosphere. On the morning of the 21st, Philip was walking up and down the slope with a pipe in his mouth when he caught a glimpse of some animal beyond the beech forest. He watched it attentively for a few minutes, then went into the sitting room to fetch the binoculars. Looking through the glass, Philip immediately recognized a camel, and it was very handsome.He thought he could try his hand at it. As soon as Fasquez and Maurice were greeted by him, they all rushed out of the house and went to the flat slope with him. All three agreed that a hunt must be made.As long as this Luo deer can be captured, everyone can have a lot of fresh meat to eat. They are tired of the usual meals, so it would be nice to have a change of taste. As it was agreed, Maurice left the yard with his pistol, and managed to sneak behind the camel--the deer stood still--and drove it towards the bay, where Philip waited on it. "Anyway, be extremely careful, brother," Fasquez warned them, "these animals have very sensitive ears and noses. As soon as the deer smells a man or sees Maurice, it will slip away so fast that it will be too late to shoot. .In that case, it will slip away, because you can't run too far. Understand?" "Yes," replied Maurice. Fasquez and Philip stood guard on the flat slope. From the binoculars, they saw that the deer was still standing where it was originally found, not moving at all. Both of them paid attention to Maurice's actions. Maurice was walking towards the woods.He wanted to use the woods to hide his body, so that the deer could creep up to the rock without disturbing it, rush out from behind the deer, and drive it towards the mouth of the bay. His companion watched him go up to the woods and disappear among the bushes. About half an hour passed, and the Luolu still did not move a single step. At this time, Maurice should have come close enough to shoot. Fasquez and Philippe therefore waited for the sound of the gunshot and saw the deer fall down, badly or slightly wounded, or else fly away. But the gun was not fired, and what surprised Fasquez and Philip the most was that instead of running away, the llama lay down on the rock, with its legs hanging limply, and its body collapsed into a heap, as if it had exhausted all its strength. It's like it's all over. Maurice had crept behind the rock by this time; and at about the same moment they saw Maurice rushing out to the deer; the deer remained motionless, but he stooped to look at it, felt it with his hand, then straightened up suddenly. body. Maurice then turned and made an obvious gesture towards the yard, which clearly meant to tell the two companions to hurry over. "Things are a little strange," said Fasquez. "Come, Philip." The two climbed down the flat slope and ran towards the beech forest. They were there in less than ten minutes. "How about Luolu?" Fasquez asked. "Here," said Maurice, pointing to the deer at his feet. "Dead?" asked Philip. "Yes, dead," replied Maurice. "Too old, isn't it?" Fasquez said. "No, he died from an injury." "Injured? Already injured?" "Yes! He was shot in the side." "Bullet!" Fasquez continued.Things couldn't be more clear.Luo Lu was hit by a bullet first, and then he was injured and fell down here. "Are there hunters on the island?" Fasquez whispered.As he spoke, he looked around with anxious eyes.