“As long as the old tub holds together and the masts stay upright, they’re safe,” muttered Anderson, watching the first passenger on this aerial railway.
“Do you think the waves will pound her to pieces?” asked Alec, who stood beside the keeper.
“Don’t know. Depends on how solid she’s built. By the slab-sided! I can make out her name now for the first time. Sun’s getting stronger. It’s the Mary Jane,—I know her cap’n. Look out there, Frank! He’s coming! Catch him—easy now—that’s the way!”
The sailor, brought up with a thud against the V-shaped support of the rope bridge, scrambled out of the buoy and slid down on the sand. Without stopping to gasp out his thanks, he helped the surfmen send the buoy swiftly back to the vessel, where another man climbed into it.
Forward, then, and back again they hauled the buoy, working like madmen to complete their work.
“She’ll bust to pieces in ten minutes, ’pon my word!” declared the fourth sailor to come ashore. “The sea’s running high, and the infernal old hulk’ll never weather the poundin’ she’s getting!”
“Make haste, then!” roared Anderson, and his crew redoubled their efforts.
Two more sailors swung to safety ashore. None too soon, for the sixth man had hardly been dragged to the beach when the schooner’s mast, unable to stand the buffeting of the waves any longer, snapped at the middle and toppled over into the sea, dragging with it a tangled mass of rigging. Two sailors were left on the deck of the Mary Jane.
But not for long. A mighty wave struck the vessel’s side. They were washed off the sloping deck, and soon were floundering in deep water, clinging to the broken mast that was being hauled toward shore. At last they gained the land, and their rescuers were overwhelmed with thanks.
Such breathless exclamations of gratitude, such handshakes and hearty greetings! The four boys stood aside, listening to the story of the shipwreck, listening in a daze of wonderment, in a silent thrill of pride because they had shared in this memorable morning’s work. Captain Anderson, even, was kind enough to praise them for their work; and, in turn, they thanked him for having allowed them to do whatever they could to assist the regular crew.