inst the wind. The crowd went crazy. Mere
acquaintances hugged each other and danced around and around through
the heavy sands. Several women had hysterics. The riverman next to Mr.
Duncan opened his mouth and swore so picturesquely that, as he afterward
told his chum, "I must've been plumb inspired for the occasion." Yet it
never entered Mr. Duncan's ministerial head to reprove the blasphemy.
Orde jumped down from his half-buried log and clapped his hat on his
head. Newmark did not alter his attitude nor his expression.

The SPRITE was safe. For the few moments before she glided the length of
the long pier to stiller water this fact sufficed.

"I wonder if she got the line aboard," speculated the tug-boat captain
at last.

The crowd surged over to the piers again. Below them rose and fell the
SPRITE. All the fancy scroll-work of her upper works, the cornice of her
deck house, the light rigging of her cabin had disappeared, leaving raw
and splintered wood to mark their attachments. The tall smokestack
was bent awry, but its supports had held, which was fortunate since
otherwise the fires would have been drowned out. At the moment, Captain
Marsh was bending over examining a bad break in the overhang--the only
material damage the tug had sustained.

At sight of him the crowd set up a yell. He paid no attention. One of
the life-saving men tossed a mooring line ashore. It was seized by a
dozen men. Then for the first time somebody noticed that although the
tug had come to a standstill, her screw was still turning slowly over
and over, holding her against the erratic strong jerking of a slender
rope that ran through her stern chocks and into the water.

"He got it aboard!" yelled the man, pointing.

Another cheer broke out. The life-saving crew leaped to the deck.
They were immediately followed by a crowd of enthusiasts eager to
congratulate and question. But Captain Marsh would have none of them.

"Get off my tug!" he shouted. "Do you want to swamp her? What do you
suppose we put that line aboard for? Fun? Get busy and use it! Rescue
that crew now!"

Abashed, the enthusiasts scrambled back. The life-saving crew took
charge. It was necessary to pass the line around the end of the pier
and back to the beach. This was a dangerous job, and one requiring
considerable power and ingenuity, for the strain on the line imposed
by the waters was terrific; and the breaking seas rendered work on the
piers extremely hazardous. H