and drew alongside of the bobbing skiff--took hold of
it, drew it to the side of her own boat, and, looking into the face of
the man in it, saw that he must be rowed to land as quickly as
possible if he were to be saved. She saved him. When he regained
consciousness he found himself propped up before the warm fire in the
lighthouse kitchen, with the most delicious feeling of languor
stealing through his whole frame, instead of the cruel numbness which
had been the last sensation before he became unconscious. And it added
materially to his enjoyment that a bright-eyed, dark-haired young
woman hovered around him, ministering to his wants in a delightful
way.

The young lighthouse-keeper's next rescue was of a soldier from the
Fort Adams garrison who, in trying to cross the harbor in a small
boat, was thrown into the bay by the force of the waves, and would
have been drowned, as he was not a good swimmer, had not Ida's keen
eyes seen him and she gone instantly to his rescue. He was a heavy
man, and Ida tried in vain to lift him into her boat, but was not
strong enough. What should she do? The great waves were lashing
against the boats in such a fury that what was done must be done
quickly. With ready wit she threw a rope around his body under the
arm-pits, and towed him to shore as hard and fast as she could, at the
same time watching closely that his head did not go under water. It
was a man-sized job, but Ida accomplished it, and, seeing his
exhaustion when she reached shore, she called two men, who aided in
resuscitating him.

"Who towed him in?" asked one of them, who was a stranger to Ida.

"I did," she replied.

"Ah, go on!" he said, incredulously. "A girl like you doing that! Tell
me something I can believe!"

Ida laughed and turned to the other man. "He will tell you what I have
done and what I can do, even if I am a girl!" she said; and the
seaman, just landed from a coastwise steamer, looked at her with
admiration tinged with awe. "She's the boss of these parts," said his
companion, "and the prettiest life-saver on the coast. Just try it
yourself and see!"

As the man did not seem to care about risking his life to have it
saved, even by Ida Lewis, he went his way, but whenever his steamer
touched at Newport after that he always paid his respects to the
"prettiest life-saver on the coast."

Twelve months went by, with ever-increasing fame for the girl keeper
of Lime Rock Light who had become one of the f