Above the roar of the storm a sound had come that could not be anything other than the boom of a gun.
There is nothing that startles more than this sound, heard upon the shore as the storm rages, for it invariably tells of peril hovering over some vessel that has been beaten from her track and is threatened with wreck, either upon the reefs or the treacherous sands.
Every man donned his oilskins, and as they had made all preparations there was little time wasted in doing this.
Paul rushed out with the rest, eager to be "in the swim," as he said.
The waves were running high and breaking upon the beach with a thunderous roar, while the wind added to the clamor; so that save for the absence of thunder and lightning the picture seemed to be a duplicate of that other so strongly impressed upon Darry's mind.
Down the beach they could catch glimpses of an illumination, and it seemed as though some of the coast patrol might be burning coster lights to signal the vessel on the reef.
Presently they would come back, when the lifeboat would be launched.
With material that was kept ready for just such an emergency a fire was immediately started.
Mr. Frazer was looking anxiously down the beach, and Darry heard him calling to Abner.
"I don't like the looks of things yonder. That fire is none of the work of our men. Jim Dilks and his wreckers must be over here looking for pickings. I pity any poor wretch who comes ashore and falls into their hands. That scoundrel wouldn't be above robbing a castaway, and even chocking out what little life remained in his body, if so be it looked like he might tell. Keep a lookout for the rascals, boys. And all give a hand here to get the boat out of the shed. We're going to have a hard night of it, I'm afraid."
The boat was soon rolled out and placed where it could be quickly launched at the word.
Mr. Frazer was not only the keeper of the station but the helmsman of the lifeboat, which latter was a most responsible position, since he must direct the movements of the men who pulled the oars, bring the boat under the vessel in peril, manage to rescue as many of those aboard as could be carried, and finally navigate the craft successfully to the shore.
Darry looked upon him as a wonderful man, a hero, indeed, whose equal he had never known.