"Yes," said the mate, looking through his field-glass. "He is going to stow everything into that basket that he can. I am afraid he will get it too full."
"Ready!" shouted the captain.
"Steady!" cried the mate. "If we spill that load we lose the best man that ever trod the deck of a vessel!"
Again the light-keeper's monotonous chant, "There she comes! there she comes!" commenced, and slowly and steadily the basket advanced.
Suddenly, when it was about two-thirds of the distance over, the rope ceased to move, and the basket hung motionless over the rough sea.
"What's the matter?" shouted the light-keeper, looking at the mate.
"The cable must have caught on the rigging, with no one there to keep it clear. We thought we guarded against that," said the mate.
"Oh, father can't get ashore!" cried the child, pale with terror.
Joe tried to comfort him, assuring him that they would find some way to save him.
Another pull, long and strong, but the rope did not yield.