"One afternoon," said he, "there were a dozen or more boats outside, when a sudden squall came up that caused us to seek the harbor as fast as possible. Every one steered for home, and most of us reached the entrance of the port before the fury of the squall broke upon us. The rain was so thick that we could not see a quarter of a mile off; we could not tell whether any of the boats were capsized or not; and if it had not been that a great rock just by the entrance loomed up, and made a fine landmark, we could not have found our way inside. One after another the boats came in, with the exception of one that had ventured farther than the rest, and was a good distance off the coast when the squall came up.
"It was no use going to look for her that afternoon, as the squall continued till after dark, and raised quite a sea outside. There were only two persons on board the boat; they were a gentleman and his wife, who had come from the city to spend the summer, and had hired the boat for their own use and pleasure. The gentleman understood the management of his craft in fine weather, but nobody could say if he knew how to control it in a squall. So we passed the night very anxiously, and, as soon as the morning light permitted, several of us went out to search for the missing ones.
"Nothing could be seen. We sailed up and down along the coast, and out on the water for several miles, but all to no purpose. With heavy hearts we returned to port, and concluded that it was idle to hope that the missing persons whom we sought would ever be heard of again.
"In the afternoon I went with a young boatman in a skiff to try for fish a little way outside the rock that formed the headland I mentioned. While I was fishing, the boatman was looking around, and suddenly discovered a mass of something on the beach.
"'Perhaps it may be the wreck of the missing boat,' I remarked. 'Let us go and see.'
THE RESCUE.
"We started on the instant. As we approached the beach I could see something like a human form, and told the man to pull with all his might. He did so; and the instant the boat grounded on the sand, he sprung ashore and drew a flask from his pocket. In half a minute he was supporting the lifeless form of a woman, and holding the flask to her lips.
"We could hardly tell at first whether she was alive or not. In a little while the draught from the flask revived her, but it was some time before she was able to speak. We wrapped her in our spare clothing, and carried her to the boat; and then we rowed home as fast as we could, so as to call in the aid of the doctor.