Part 12 (2/2)

The berth was like a parcel-rack in a railway car The people of the coast were signing a long petition to have the er, lish was nearing Martin's Point on the _Ethie's_ last voyage, a high sea was running, and she sprang a leak The water rushed into the fireroolish went below and made an appeal to ”his boys” not to desert their fires and not to fail hiet round the Point we can beach her,” he said The stokers , and the wind blowing half a gale, the vessel struck, several hundred yards fro furiously over the deck, would have swept the ninety-two persons aboard into the sea

They tried to fire a line ashore to the willing crowd that stood at the edge of the breakers

But the line fell short, across an ugly reef of jagged rocks half-way to the land

Then volunteers were asked to swim ashore with the rope But none of the sailors kne to swi sailors, especially in those bitter northern waters So that plan was surrendered

A boat was launched Before it had fairly hit the treainst the _Ethie's_ side

The company on shi+pboard seemed at the end of their resources But the people ashore had not been idle

There was a fisher whom he had not taken the trouble to na broken to the sled, and in the meantime it was kicked and stoned and starved--not by the owner, but by strangers afraid of it, as is the general lot of dogs in this part of the world, after they have done their best byhappened to be down at the shore, forlornly searching for sculpins and caplin There was still open water between the shore and the shi+p Reuben Decker pointed to the rocks across which the rope had fallen At his word of co jumped into the sea, swam to the rocks, and seized the rope in his mouth Then, with the cries fro in his ears, he turned and began to sith it to the shore It was not a heavy line It was meant to be used to haul a thicker rope But it et, of course, and partly frozen, and the h a sea wherewaist and shoulder deep in the waves, anxious to launch a boat as soon as the heavy sould let the and clapped their hands and yelled to him to come on

”Look at un!”

”Swi!”

[Illustration: LET'S GO!]

”Man dear! My, my, my! Ain't dat wunnerful, now!”

”Dat 'aff, b'y! Help un in!”

”We'll have 'm all sove, soon's us lays han's on dat rope Lord bless dat dog!”

At one moment his little brown head would rise on the crest of a streaked, yeasty wave, the rope still in the white teeth--and then as the wave curled and broke he would be plunged to the bottoht of hiain?

”Yes--dere he be! My, my,the beat o' un! By the livin' Jarge, he's got more sense 'n any o' us humans! I tell ye, thet's a ospel miracle!”

So the co But many were too surprised and thrilled to speak--and if they cried out it hen they all cheered h the surf by as er hands on hi-end of the rope as if it were a stick, thrown into the water in sport, for him to retrieve

Now that co to do was to haul a heavier rope to the beach On this a breeches-buoy was rigged without delay In that breeches-buoy the ninety-tere hauled ashore One of the, ”pleasantly sleeping and unaware” The last to leave was the captain

The sea haone froine how Reuben Decker's cottage door was kept a-swing till it was nearly torn froes, by friends who dropped in to pat him on the back, and look with curiosity at the aninored or despised And Reuben did not tire of telling the it was He could safely say there was no better on the coast Perhaps in the world

The ru's brave deed traveled ”over the hills and far away,” to Curling, where lives from hand to mouth a little paper called _The Western Star_ It has a circulation of 675 in fair weather and 600 when it storms The editor is a man named Barrett, who is a correspondent of the associated Press He put a brief dispatch on the wire for all A a silver collar, alo three ti had no naraved on the collar

The day of the presentation was a general holiday All the way from St John's, people came to see ”Hero” rewarded Father Brennan lory, and Reuben Decker and his dog, dragged blinking into the liratitude The cheer that was raised when the silver clasp of the nificent collar clicked round ”Hero's” throat drowned out the loud music of the ocean

Now ”Hero,” freed forever froe to the sled, may lie by the fire in his , as he dreareat adventure