"Good idea," murmured the man weakly. With one hand he grasped the loop which Nat let down to him. He evidently was used to cables, for he knew how to handle this one, and in a few seconds he had his head and arms through the loop. This supported him so that he was out of water up to his waist.
"I'll have you out in another minute," declared Nat as he scrambled up the rope hand over hand, until he was once more on the deck of the barge. Then he tried to pull the man up by hauling on the rope, but he found the task too great for his strength.
"I'll have to get help," he said.
"No, no! Don't leave me!" begged the man. "Just lower me another rope, and I can pull myself up."
Nat understood the plan. Quickly running to the other side of the barge, he found a long cable. This he fastened as he had done the first, and he let the length of it dangle between the two vessels so that the man could reach it.
"Pull now!" called the man.
Hauling on the rope about the stranger's shoulders, while the latter aided himself in the work of rescue by pulling on the second rope, the rescued one was soon on the deck of the barge beside Nat. He was so weak that he sank down in a heap as soon as he was over the rail.
"Are you hurt? Can I get you anything? Do you belong aboard this barge?" asked the boy.
"No – no, my lad," said the man slowly. "I'll be all right in a few minutes. I'm exhausted, that's all. My name is Weatherby – "
"What, John Weatherby, the pilot of the Jessie Drew?" asked Nat, who knew a number of pilots by their names.
"That's who I am, my lad. You may think it queer that a pilot should fall overboard, but I'll tell you how it happened. First, however, let me thank you with all my heart for what you did for me. But for you I would have been drowned."
"Oh, I guess not."
"Yes, I would. I couldn't have held on much longer, as I'm getting old and I'm not as strong as I was."
"Some one else would have come to your aid."
"I don't know about that. There is no one aboard either of the barges. I didn't know that, or I shouldn't have come here to-night. That vessel over there has gone out of commission, and there is no one aboard her. There's a watchman on the pier, but he didn't hear me calling for help. You saved my life, and I'll not forget it."
"I am glad I was able to," responded Nat.
"What is your name?" asked the pilot. He seemed to be feeling better.
"I'm Nat Morton."
"Nat Morton! I've heard of you. Why, you're the boy who got the rowboat out of the way of the vessel I was bringing in the other day, aren't you?"
"I guess I am."
"Well, I've wanted to meet you to thank you for that. Then, before I get a chance to do it, you do me another favor. I heard about you from a friend of mine – a pilot. He said you were always about the docks."
"Yes, I spend a good deal of my time here. I get occasional jobs, and I like the ships."
"So do I, my lad. The lakes are wonderful bodies of water."
"But hadn't you better go home?" suggested Nat. "You're wet, and, though it's a warm night, you may take cold. It's going to rain," he added, as a flash of lightning came.
"Yes, I will go home if you will help me."
"I will, gladly. Where do you live?"
"I board near here, as it's handy for my business. The Jessie Drew is to sail day after to-morrow. I came down here to-night to see a friend of mine, who is captain of one of these grain barges, the second one over there. I didn't know that he and his crew, as well as all those on this barge we're on, had gone ashore. I started to cross from one barge to the other, and I fell down between them. I called and called, but it seemed as if help would never come."
"I'm glad I happened to be passing," replied Nat. "Now, if you feel able, we'll go ashore."
"Yes, I'm all right now. I'll go to my boarding place and get some dry things. Do you work around here?"
"I help Mr. Miller – he's the man I live with – whenever I can. He's working to-night, helping unload a vessel that was delayed by the storm."
"Yes, it's blowing quite hard. I didn't notice it so much down between those barges, but now I feel quite chilly. So you work on the pier, eh?"
"Whenever I can get anything to do. But I'd like to get a job on a steamer."
"You would, eh? What kind?"
"Well, I'd like to be a pilot, but I suppose I'd have to work my way up. I'd be willing to start at almost anything, if I could get on a vessel."
"You would, eh?" said the pilot, and then he seemed to be busily thinking.
The two walked down the gangplank and off the pier, meeting no one, for the wind, and an occasional dash of rain, made it unpleasant to be out, and the watchman was probably snugly sitting in some sheltered place.
"This is my boarding place," said Mr. Weatherby at length, as they came to a small house on a street leading up from the lake front. "I can't properly thank you now, but – I wish you'd come and see me to-morrow, when you're not working," he added.
"I'll be glad to call and find out how you are."
"Oh, I'll be all right. Now, be sure to come, I – I may have some good news for you." And with that the old pilot went into the house, leaving a very much wondering youth on the sidewalk.
CHAPTER IV
GETTING A JOB
"Now, why in the world didn't he tell me what he wanted of me, instead of keeping me guessing?" thought Nat, as he made his way back to the dock where Mr. Miller was working. "I wonder what it can be? If he wanted to thank me he could just as well have done it now as to-morrow.
"Maybe he wants to give me a reward," the boy went on musingly. "I don't believe I'd take it. Accepting money for rescuing a boat is all well enough, but not for saving life. Besides, if I hadn't done it somebody else would. No; if he offers me money I don't believe I'll take it. Still, I do need some new clothes," and he glanced down at the rather ragged garments he was wearing.
"I've been waiting for you some time," Mr. Miller said when Nat got back. "I thought you said you wouldn't be gone long on that errand."
"Neither I was."
"What kept you, then?"
"Well, I had to rescue a man."
"Rescue a man? Are you joking?"
"Not a bit of it. I pulled Mr. Weatherby, the pilot, out from between two barges." And Nat proceeded to relate his adventure.
"Well, things are certainly coming your way," remarked Mr. Miller. "Maybe he'll give you a big reward."
"I'd rather he'd give me a good job," returned Nat. "Maybe he could get me a place on some boat. That's what I'd like. I could earn good money then."
"I wouldn't like to see you go away from us, Nat. My wife and I have become quite attached to you."
"I would not like to go, Mr. Miller, for I have been very happy in your home. So I'm not going to think about it."
"Still, I would like to see you prosper in this world," went on the man who had befriended Nat. "If you have a chance to get a place on a boat, take it. You may be able to come and see us once in a while, between trips."
"I will always consider my home at your house."
"I hope you will, Nat."
"Still, nothing may happen," went on the boy. "Did you get the ship all unloaded?"
"Yes, the holds are emptied, and I have a job to-morrow helping load her. I guess you could get something to do if you came down."
"Then I shall."
"But I thought you were going to call on Mr. Weatherby?"
"I