assistant lightkeeper; but he oughtn't to be. I don't see how Mother
Purling can get along with him."

"She isn't afraid of him; is she?" queried Ruth.

"She isn't afraid of anything," said Heavy, quickly, from the rear
seat. "You wait till you see her."

The buckboard went heavily on toward the lighthouse; but the girls saw
that the man stood for a long time--as long as they were in sight, at
least--staring after them.

"What do you suppose he looked at Nita so hard for?" whispered Helen
in Ruth's ear. "I thought he was going to speak to her."

But Ruth had not noticed this, nor did the runaway girl seem to have
given the man any particular attention.

CHAPTER XIII

CRAB PROVES TO BE OF THE HARDSHELL VARIETY

They came to the lighthouse. There was only a tiny, whitewashed cottage
at the foot of the tall shaft. It seemed a long way to the brass-trimmed
and glistening lantern at the top. Ruth wondered how the gaunt old woman
who came to the door to welcome them could ever climb those many, many
stairs to the narrow gallery at the top of the shaft. She certainly could
not suffer as Aunt Alvirah did with _her_ back and bones.

Sokennet Light was just a steady, bright light, sending its gleam
far seaward. There was no mechanism for turning, such as marks the
revolving lights in so many lighthouses. The simplicity of everything
about Sokennet Light was what probably led the department officials to
allow Mother Purling to remain after her husband died in harness.

"Jack Crab has done his cleaning and gone about his business," said
Mother Purling, to the girls. "Ye may all climb up to the lantern if
ye wish; but touch nothing."

Beside the shaft of the light was a huge fog bell. That was rung by
clockwork. Mother Purling showed Ruth and her companions how it worked
before the girls started up the stairs. Mercy remained in the little
house with the good old woman, for she never could have hobbled up those
spiral stairs.

"It's too bad about that girl," said Nita, brusquely, to Ruth. "Has
she always been lame?"

Ruth warmed toward the runaway immediately when she found that Nita was
touched by Mercy Curtis' affliction. She told Nita how the lame girl
had once been much worse off than she was now, and all about her being
operated on by the great physician.

"She's so much better off now than she was!" cried Ruth. "And so much
happier!"

"But she's a great nuisance to have along," snapped Mary Cox,
imm