Evening star., 1912-03-03

Float-Sam an Jet-Sam,' Long
Johnson said grouchily, laying
down the law to his casual visitors on
the runway of the lifeboat house,
@there amt no use of you pirootin'
round Ships Bottom Life Saving Sta
ton any more, cause We amt goin' to
get a chance to be life savers The
business O. the beach is busted!'
The two boys in bathing suits looked
up startled. They wore bathing suits,
as they generally did, and as they
did other things, because they had
good reasons. They're handy, ashore
or rafloat- -pursuin' pirates redskins"
as Flotsam explained. Selves you
two lines O retreat Jetsam says,
cease O ole Pop Birdsall."
There you had them. Old Pop Bird
sail was village constable. Sons of life
savers they were, and both Sans
originally; so Ships Bottom christened
them Flotsam and .Jetsam for short
sink and swim driftwood, according
to Nature, and both thorn in the side
of the Barnegat crew.
Not that there was anything derelict
about Flotsam and Jetsam; they
weren't bad boys,-just plain boys of
Barnegat village, across the bay from
Ship Bottoms Life Station, with four
freckled arms and legs on each corner,
and hollow between, like cutie
fish: not the pair you'd think to play
a star part in the strangest, funniest
But wait bit! That particular day
they came over clamming after visiting
anapple orchard,-Flotsamha had a mans
peajacket loaded with them, and Jet
sam had on mans yellow sou'wester
which covered his head and shoulders
above the bathing suit, like a candle
sutherland to watch the Government
Inspector try out the new wireless
breeches buoy boat. 1t was the new
boat that started it all, the boat that
was to revolutionize the whole wreck
ing beach. And that S how Long John
son, who was alone in the station, with
the rest of his mates up in the Govern
ment wireless plant, came to spring the
Fate on those two poor kids.
"'Ca'se wy won't we be life savcrs?"
And, @Why amt we goin' to jine, Mr.. L
asked Jetsam, generally more polite. S,
man No. Z, was his father, who was d
Regina wreck. Flotsam was Captain Cas-
Big Jem Casco of Ships Bottom.
"'Cause you towheads better go h
telegraphying, like nice little wireless la
said. "Look yonder an tell me what
swung his arm off the bow of the life
where the new model life saving boat La
near the inlet, looking like a cross betwee
torpedo and big black cigar There W;
surfboat about her.
"What dye know about her? Come /
heroes thinks you're goin' to be surfn
shipwreck' mariners on a rockbound c
devilin folks and making life Il burden
ton. What's that porpoise with harpoo
Long Johnson said, meaning the little
up the aerial wires on the self propelling
Huh! She's that new patent Cover
lifeboat, Flotsam said. Gap and the re
the wireless tower to work her from tt
weather clears. Rev nue. Inspector goi1
whether she can run out to sea an back
"She's scientific mechanical device
O. ships an maritime seamen," Jetsam
from the prospectus. "She can carry a
gun won't shoot, n negoshate a surf VIII
can't. Automatic surfboat, she is. Don
aboard
TETSAM pulled up, looking scared. &C
> Flotsam. The boys were no fools. I
quick.
"Don't need no crew." Flotsam said,
For week they had watched the ex
the new crewless lifcboats, not dreaming
to them, when they were grown up big
the Life Saving Service, with their heroe
Jem Casco, Little Welsh, Long Johnson
wrecking beach who had faced the onsl;