!"

CHAPTER II

THE LIGHTS THAT NEVER SLEEP

It was a happy awakening in the life-saving station the next morning,
for both the rescued men were well on the road to recovery. Eric had
intended to be the first to tell Willett the entire story, but the
events of the night had been a heavy strain on him and he had slept
late. Indeed, he did not waken until the gang of boys came round for
their morning drill. Drill was scheduled at nine o'clock, but it was
seldom that there failed to be at least half a dozen urchins around the
station by eight, or even earlier.

"What's all this drill the kids are talking about?" Willett asked Eric,
as the boy came back from breakfast. "To hear the way they go on, you'd
think it was the only important thing that had been scheduled since the
world began!"

"That's the Commodore's doing," replied Eric, with a laugh. "He's got us
all going that way. You know Hailer is one of those chaps who believes
so much in what he's doing that everybody else has to believe in it,
too."

"But I thought Hailer was commodore in New York, not out here in
'Frisco."

"So he is," agreed the boy. "But a mere trifle like a few thousand miles
doesn't seem to weaken his influence much. Of course the biggest part of
his time is given to superintending the New York end, but the work's
spreading in every direction and all our reports go to headquarters.
After all, organization does make a heap of difference, don't you think?
How about it? Are you fit enough to come and see the youngsters at their
work?"

"I'm a bit wobbly," the rescued man answered. "I suppose I ought to
expect that. But I feel all right. I can get as far as that bench,
anyway, and I'd like to see the drill. You teach them all to swim?"

"We try to teach everybody we can get hold of," replied Eric. "Hailer
has an idea that every man, woman, and child in the United States ought
to be able to swim, even when asleep. I've heard him say that it was as
much a part of our job to prevent accidents as to do the best we can
after accidents have happened. I think he's about right. Everybody ought
to swim, just the same way as they know how to walk. Then we wouldn't
have to fetch out of the water a lot of people who are already
half-drowned."

"You do that in great shape, too," said Willett gratefully, "I can
testify to that! I was a goner last night, sure, if you fellows hadn't
been there. And the way you brought Jake around--I wouldn't have