"My poor father!" said she, when she discovered her friend coming back without him. "Where is he, Noddy?"
"I couldn't do anything for him, Mollie," replied he.
"Is he lost?"
"He is gone, Mollie; and it was all over with him before I got there. Don't cry. He is out of trouble now."
"Poor father," sobbed she. "Couldn't you save him? Let me go and help you."
"No use, Mollie," added Noddy, as he climbed up the ladder, and looked out through the aperture at the hatch.
"Are you sure we can't do anything for him?" she asked, in trembling tones.
"Nothing, Mollie. He was dead when I opened the door of his room. I found him on the floor, and had to go down over my head to find him. He did not move or struggle, and I'm sure he is dead. I am sorry, but I can't help it."
"O, dear, dear!" groaned she, in her anguish.
She heeded not the cracking timbers and the roaring sea. Her heart was with the unfortunate man who lay cold and still beneath the invading waters. She was ready to go with him to the home in the silent land.