Darry the Life Saver | Page 5

a face other than the familiar one he had grown to love.
One of the surfmen who had manned the lifeboat seemed to be
particularly interested in the rescued boy, for he came into the station
several times to ask how he was feeling, and if there was not something
more he wanted.
He was a tall, angular fellow, with a thin but engaging face, and Darry
had heard some of the others call him Abner Peake.

Somehow he found himself drawn toward this man from the start; and
it seemed as though in losing one good friend he had found another to
take the place of the kind captain.
Abner was a native of the shore, and spoke in the peculiar dialect of the
uneducated Southerner; but as a water-dog he knew no superior, and it
is this quality that Uncle Sam looks for when making up his crews to
man the life-saving stations that dot the whole coast from Maine to
Florida.
There was a twang about his voice that reminded Darry of a negro he
had once had for a shipmate on the brigantine; but at the same time his
tone was soft, and inspired confidence.
"Better hev a leetle more coffee, bub?" he said, coming upon Darry as
the latter turned away white-faced from the last body carried in by the
rough men.
"Perhaps it would do me good; I still feel mighty weak; but I'm glad to
be here instead of out there," replied Darry, pointing to where the
white-capped waves were rushing in long lines toward the beach.
"Course yuh be, bub. And we-uns air glad tuh get a chanct tuh pull yuh
outen the water. My old woman'd like tuh set eyes on yuh. Jest the age
our Joe would a-ben if he'd pulled through," and the rough surfman
swept his sleeve across his eyes as he spoke.
The secret of his interest in Darry was out; he had lost a boy of his own,
and his heart was very tender still, so that the sight of this poor
shipwrecked lad brought back his own sorrow keenly.
"You haven't seen anything of the captain, I suppose?" anxiously asked
Darry, wondering if it could possibly be that he had missed sight of his
friend at the time he was lying there unconscious.
Abner Peake shook his head in the negative.
He saw the boy was very eager to learn of the mariner's fate, and well

he knew that with each passing minute the chances of the other
surviving the pounding of the seas became less and less.
It was now not far from dawn.
The hurricane still blew with its old violence, and there was scant hope
of its passing for another twelve hours at least.
All that time those devoted men must be on the watch, ready to man
their surfboat again and take their lives in hand, should another vessel
strike the dangerous reefs that were marked upon the chart as the worst
within a hundred miles of Hatteras.
Sick at heart over the loss of his wise friend and benefactor, Darry
found the interior of the station almost unbearable just then.
He felt as though he must get outside where the elements rioted, and
watch the incoming waves for some sign of the captain.
But this new-found friend declared that it could do no good, since the
beach was already patrolled by those whose keen eyes would discover
the faintest trace of a brave swimmer trying to buffet the cruel waves;
he must remain under cover, so as to escape the possible evil results of
his late experience.
And so Darry had to once more lie down and let the other cover him
with a blanket, a pillow having been placed under his head.
He was utterly exhausted, and it had only been hope and excitement
that had buoyed him up until now.
As he lay there watching the various things that were being done for the
relief of the poor fellows snatched from a watery grave he found his
eyes growing heavy, and occasionally closing in spite of his efforts to
remain awake.
Once he sat up as some men came in bearing another sailor who, alas,
had apparently been dragged out of the sea too late to save the spark of

life; but, upon learning that it was not the one in whose fate he was so
keenly interested, Darry had fallen back again upon his hard pillow.
Soon after things faded from his sight, and he slept the sleep of
weariness, for every muscle in his body was as sore as though it had
been pounded with a club.
It was hours before he awoke.
At first he could not understand just where he was or how he came in
such