“She is lost!” cried Mrs. Merrill, wringing her hands in distress.
“Perhaps she has a pilot on board,” suggested Virgene.
“No! no! for the coasters shun this harbor, and only Captain Crane and one of his boys know the channel in.”
“Mark knows,” said old Peggy, in a very decided way.
“Yes, but he is not here—see! the lights advance steadily, and—Virgene, there is a pilot on board yonder craft, for she has rounded Whaleback Rock and passed between The Sentinels, and that was not chance, surely.”
“And the storm is upon her now,” cried Virgene, as the lurid glare upon the sea showed now the advance of the tempest directly down upon the ship.
“Yes, but Whaleback Rock and The Sentinels will break its force, while she has now gotten under the lee of Castle Rock, and heads into the harbor.”
As Mrs. Merrill spoke the storm was seen to catch the ship and hide the lights from view in an instant; but the rocky islands she had spoken of broke its force, and, though the cruiser was driven onward with a rush, she was held firmly on her course, and a few minutes after glided in under the lee of Beacon Cliff.
“She is safe!” cried Mrs. Merrill, as she saw the lights reappear in the harbor, and the three were almost blown by the wind to the mansion.
The storm howled savagely about the old mansion, but all was comfort within, and old Peggy set about getting supper, when all were startled by a loud knock.