Darry the Life Saver | Page 2

was a waif, having been abandoned some years before by an old
man with whom he seemed to have been traveling, he offered to
befriend him, and give him a chance to see something of the world as
cabin boy on the good old brigantine, Falcon.
This offer the little chap had eagerly accepted, for he believed he must

be of American birth, and somehow longed to set foot on that land far
across the sea.
Some years had passed.
Darry knew no other home save the friendly cabin of the brigantine,
and since he had no knowledge as to what his name might be, by
degrees he came to assume that of his benefactor.
During these years the boy had seen much of the world, and learned
many things under the guidance of the warm-hearted captain.
Of course he spent many bitter hours in vain regrets over the fact that
there was so little chance of his ever learning his identity--only a
slender link seemed to connect him with that mysterious past that was
hidden from his sight; and this was a curious little scar upon his right
arm just below the elbow.
It looked like a crescent moon, and had been there ever since he could
remember.
This fact caused Darry to believe it might be the result of some accident
that must have occurred while he was yet a baby.
If such were the case then some people, somewhere, would be apt to
recognize this peculiar mark if they ever saw it again.
Captain Harley had always encouraged him in the belief that some
happy day he would surely know the truth.
Just now, however, it really looked as though Darry need no longer
allow himself to feel any anxiety on that score.
The ocean depths would offer just as easy a resting place to a nameless
waif as to a crowned monarch.
When the great waves broke over the drifting vessel the rush of water
must have swept him away, only that he had been wise enough to lash
himself to the stump of the mizzen-mast.

During a little lull in the tempest someone joined him, also using the
whipping rope-ends to secure his hold.
Darry saw by the aid of the darting lightning that it was his good friend,
the captain; and with his thoughts still taken up with the peril of his
situation he repeated the question that only the mocking winds had
heard before:
"Will we ever weather this storm, captain?"
"I fear not, my lad," replied the master of the ship, sadly, "the poor old
hulk is now only a plaything for the elements. It looks as though the
Falcon had reached the end of her voyaging at last. Twenty years have
I commanded her. I have a feeling that if so be she goes down I will not
survive her."
The roar of the gale was such that it became necessary to shout at times,
in order to make one's self heard above the elements.
"Are we near the coast?" asked the boy, anxiously; for he knew that
such a thing must double their danger.
"I am afraid it is only too true, though the storm has been so prolonged
that I have long ago lost my reckoning," replied the mariner.
"But you told me these coasts are patrolled by brave life savers, who
always stand ready to risk everything in case a vessel is driven on the
reefs?" continued the boy, trying to see a gleam of hope through the
gloom.
"That is true, but alas! I am afraid even the bravest of men would find
themselves helpless in such a terrific blow as this."
"But, captain, surely you have not given up all hope?" anxiously
demanded Darry, trying to face the terrible prospect with a brave heart.
"I never do that, lad. But one of us may not live to reach the shore; and
since it is so, I wanted to have a few last words with you, and then I

must return to my duty, which is to try and steer this drifting hulk until
the end comes."
He reached out his hand.
The boy eagerly clutched it, and there, as the lightning flashed, he
looked into the kind face of his benefactor.
Something seemed to tell him that it was the last time he would ever
feel the pressure of that friendly hand, and this thought alarmed him as
the storm had thus far been unable to do.
"Listen, and take heed, my lad," said the skipper, earnestly, "it may be
that Providence will shield you through this time of trouble, and that
you shall reach the shore in safety after all. Should ill befall me I want
you to write my old mother up in York State--you know where