The ancient Whist rolled down, down, down, and jumped up, up, up; but mostly she went down, and while she was down the swooping seas piled over her.  However, all right so far; an hour now since she had left the breakwater, and there she was still afloat.  No telling always about those wheezy little wrecks of tugs.  Baldwin looked out and back toward her stern, almost with pride.  Going since the Civil War, she’d been, and still afloat.  Must have been some little original virtues in her planks that pleased old Neptune, and so he passed her up.  Maybe she’d never been caught in the open seas on a night like this; well, maybe not, but you betcher she wasn’t afraid of it.

Straight out from the breakwater Baldwin kept her going.  Slow, heavy, pounding work; and now two hours gone, and no light-ship yet.  He swung her about, a ticklish feat, and paralleled the beach to the north, and just off the beach, after an hour of northing, he spied the distress signals—­two, three, yes, and four big torches.

The countless white-plumed riders were charging by, but straight for the drifting lights, straight down the line of roaring troopers, Baldwin paraded his little Whist; and when he was near enough, “We’ll heave you a line!” he hailed.  “And in God’s name get it, for there mayn’t be a chance for a second one afore the breakers ’ll get you.”

He placed his mouth to the engine-room tube “Ho-o, Buddie.  On deck with your line now.”

“All right, Baldy.”  Harty turned to his working mate.  “So long Pete, see you later.”

“So long, son, and have a care on that open deck.”

Harty climbed the iron ladder to the deck, shouldered his way through the wind-pressed door and onto the deck, and started aft.

It was cold.  Under his thin suit of dungaree Harty was rolling in sweat.  The winter wind whipped him like a cat-o’-nine-tails.  He crept aft, coiled his heaving line and waited in the stern for the word.  She was jumping so that to hold his feet on her open, icy deck aft, he was compelled to hook one hand to the towing bitts.

“Only time for one try, so don’t let nothing go wrong.  An’ watch out for any of those big fellows comin’ aboard, Bud,” came Baldwin’s last warning.

V

On Light-ship 67, drifting broad onto the breakers, all hands were perched high in her rigging, safe above any stray seas; all but Nelson and Bowen, who were hanging on to her weather rail forward.

Bowen was the first to realize what the figure on the after end of the tug meant to them.  “Heave for here!” he shouted, and Nelson, also awake to the situation, held up one of the torches for a mark.

Nearer and nearer butted the tug.  “Stand by!” they heard the call from the forward end of her.  Looking up, they could see the shadow against the pilot-house light.  “By!” came the echo, and the man astern stepped on to her open quarter and balanced himself to heave.