[Illustration: Frontispiece] THE WRECK. _ILLUSTRATED. _ NEW YORK:DODD, MEAD, & CO. _PUBLISHERS. _ COPYRIGHT, BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY, 1880. THE WRECK. [Illustration: The swing] Ollie had been swinging for nearly an hour in the grove behind the oldfarm-house, when she heard her mother's voice calling, "Ollie, Ollie!where are you, child?" Ollie stopped swinging and listened. "That ismamma, " she said; "I must run quickly and see what she wants. " So, jumping down and leaving the swing to "die away" by itself, she skippedalong the path which led up to the back door. Her mother was standing onthe step, holding a basket in her hand. When she saw Ollie she said, "Ah, here you are; I have been looking for you all over the house. " "I have been swinging, and only just heard you calling, " answered Ollie. "Do you want me?" "Yes, " said Mrs. Rogers; "I want some more sugar. I thought we hadplenty, but these new cookies that Mrs. Coe told me about do take agreat deal more than my old ones. So, go as quickly as you can, mydear, for I am dreadfully bothered for the want of it. " [Illustration: Willie] "Yes, " said Ollie, taking the basket; "I will not be a minute. Couldn'tWillie go with me? See, he is looking through the window. I am sure alittle walk would do him good. " "No, not yet, " said Mrs. Rogers. "The doctor says he must not leave thehouse before next week. Now run along. " Ollie threw a kiss toward the window and started down the path. She wasjust going to open the gate when she heard a "rat-tat-tat" behind her. [Illustration: Ollie] "Willie wants something, I am sure, " she said, turning back again; "Iwonder what it is! He is pointing under that bush, but I do not seeanything. Ah, here you are, you rogue! it is you who are wanted;" andshe pulled out a great big black rabbit, Willie's especial pet. "It isjust as well that I have to go to the house again, for I forgot mysun-umbrella, and I am sure the day is very hot. " [Illustration: The pet rabbit] The sun-umbrella to which Ollie alluded was one of her birthdaypresents, and she was always glad when the sun was hot enough to make ituseful. The rabbit being laid in Willie's lap, Ollie started off oncemore, running as fast as she could to make up for lost time. In a fewminutes she reached the village. The sugar was soon bought and tuckedaway in the basket. Ollie ran along, and was just hesitating whether she should climb thefence and run through Squire Thompson's lot, or go around by the road, when she saw, just before her, Lucy Coit, walking along with herschool-books in her bag. "There is Lucy, " said Ollie; "I wonder what she is doing with her bagof books at this time of day. I will run up and ask her. " [Illustration: Lucy] Ollie soon overtook her schoolmate, and putting her arm around her waistthey walked on together. "I could not imagine what you were carrying your school-books for, " saidOllie. "You can't have been kept after school, for you always know yourlessons so well. " "No, " said Lucy, "I wasn't kept after, but I stayed myself. I couldn'tget a sum in fractions right, and Miss Palmer said if I would wait tillevery one had gone she would show me about it. Now I know it, and I amgoing down to the beach. Don't you want to go too?" "Oh, yes, " said Ollie; "but I must take this sugar to mamma first. Let's climb over these bars and cut across this field. It is a greatdeal shorter than by the road. " [Illustration: Geese] There were some geese in the field, which evidently did not like to havetheir privacy intruded upon, for they set up a terrible quacking as thechildren passed them. Ollie and Lucy, however, quacked back again, andthe geese soon left them and continued to nibble away at the grass. Ollie soon reached her home, and leaving her basket on the table she ranup-stairs to find her mother, for she wanted permission to go to thebeach. "Yes, " said Mrs. Rogers, "you may go; but it looks a little showery, andI don't want you to get wet. Watch the clouds, and if you see a stormcoming, hurry home, so as to get in before the rain. " Ollie promised to do as she was told and kissing her mother good-by sheran down-stairs. She found Lucy standing by the fence, looking overinto Mr. Beech's yard. Mr. Beech lived next to Ollie's papa, and he hadone little girl. Every one called her "Chubby, " because she was so plumpand round. [Illustration: Chubby] "Lucy, " called Ollie, "what are you doing?" "Come here a minute, " said Lucy. Ollie went to the fence, and there she saw Chubby holding a basket fullof delicious ripe strawberries. "Why, Chubby, " said Ollie, "what are yougoing to do with those lovely berries? How good they look, don't they, Lucy?" "Oh, " said Chubby, "I must be very careful, for they do roll about sothat I can hardly carry them. You may each have one, but I cannot sparemore, because they are for my tea-party. " So Chubby passed the basket very carefully to the children, while eachone helped herself, and then she started to walk carefully over thegrass toward a seat under a big tree. "And what is your party?" asked Lucy. "It must be a very nice one, Ithink, if you have such things as those to eat. " "Oh, there it is, " said Chubby; and looking in the direction of herfinger the children saw a table covered with a white cloth, and a prettyblue tea-set upon it. [Illustration: The tea-party] They had evidently been very hungry when they began the feast, for not acrumb remained upon one of the plates, and three little girls weresitting there, waiting patiently for a fresh supply of good things. Ollie and Lucy watched Chubby till she set her plate of berries safelyupon the table, and then, turning around, they remembered that theyhad only a short time to stay at the beach, and that consequently theyhad better not lose any more time in loitering by the way. It was only a quarter of a mile from Ollie's house to the water, and itdid not take long to get over the ground which lay between. Ollie wasnever tired of the ocean, and it was a rare thing for her to let a daypass without spending some time on the shore. Some one was there before them, and at first the children could notimagine whom it could be; but as they drew nearer they saw that it wasMiss Palmer, their teacher. She had thrown off her hat, and was readingso earnestly that she neither saw nor heard the children till they wereclose upon her. Miss Palmer was very much beloved by all of her scholars, and theythought nothing a greater treat than to sit by her side and listen whileshe told them stories or talked to them. So when our two little friendssaw who it was, they ran and sat down, one on each side of her. [Illustration: Mrs. Palmer] Miss Palmer looked up, and upon seeing who it was that had interruptedher she closed her book, and said she was just wishing she had some oneto talk to. "Do you notice how still it is?" she said, "and how close and hot theair is? I fear we are going to have a terrible storm. We must watch theclouds, and run a race with them. If we get home first, all will bewell, but if the clouds do, alas for our clothes!" Just as she spoke they heard a low muttering of thunder, and thensuddenly a blast of cold wind rushed by them. The big black cloudsrolled rapidly up, and in a moment the whole scene before them waschanged. The ocean began to have a lowering, angry look, and a schoonerwhich had been lying lazily in the water gave a bound forward like alive creature, and sped on its way. Miss Palmer sprang to her feet, saying, "Now, children, the time for the race has come. The rain isdetermined to get there first, but so are we; see who will win therace. " [Illustration: Schooner] So all three started on at a quick pace. One big drop fell on Lucy'shand, and they hurried on. The race was barely theirs, for just as theystepped in at the door a blinding flash of lightning came, and a crashof thunder almost at the same instant, which made them glad enough thatthey were safely housed. Although the thunder and lightning ceased after a while, and even therain poured itself out, the wind continued to blow furiously. Lucywaited till she dared wait no longer, and then said that she must gohome, for she knew her mother was already anxious about her. "Oh, you can't go, Lucy, " said Ollie; "see how that great tree bends;why, you couldn't keep on your feet for one minute. " Just then they looked out of the window and saw Ollie's father ridingby. He had just stopped to speak to some one, and Ollie, losing no time, opened the window and called to him. [Illustration: Ollie's father] "Papa, papa, " she called, "do you think it is safe for Lucy to try to gohome?" The wind was making such a terrible noise that Ollie's voice could notbe heard. Mr. Rogers dismounted and came to the window. He did not think it at allsafe for Lucy to go home in such a gale, and promised instead to goto Mr. Coit's house and beg permission for Lucy to stay all night withOllie. Of course both of the children were overjoyed with this arrangement, andbegun at once to amuse themselves. Ollie's papa soon came back, bringingwith him a bag for Lucy, which contained everything that she couldpossibly want during the night. The wind, instead of abating, increased in fury. It roared and screamedabout the house like an angry wild beast. It caught up the clothes whichold Milly had spread upon the grass to bleach, and whirled them roundand round in circles over the house, and carried them off no one knewwhere. It seized the old bucket which hung in the well, and swung itback and forth with such force that no one dared go near enough tofasten it. At eight o'clock the children went to bed, and in spite of the wind theywere soon sleeping soundly. All was still within the house, and bothLucy and Ollie were too much used to storms on the sea-shore to bedisturbed by them. Suddenly, however, Lucy started from her bed. What was that sound?surely it was the slamming of the front door. While she was listeningshe saw something which made her heart beat fast. It was a rocket whichshot by her window. Another and another followed. Lucy sprang out of bedand began to dress. There was hardly a child in Spehunket who did notknow the terrible meaning of the rocket soaring into the air in thedead of night. [Illustration: Lucy wakes up Ollie] Lucy hastily slipped on her clothes, and then, going back to the bed, she took Ollie's hand and called softly, "Ollie, Ollie! wake up. There is a wreck, and I think some of the peoplehave gone down to the beach. Don't you want to go too?" Ollie started up, looking frightened at being so suddenly roused. "Whatis it? what is it?" she asked excitedly. "What is the matter?" "There is a wreck, Ollie, " said Lucy, "and the men at the life-savingstation are hard at work. Oh, Ollie! just think of the poor thingsclinging to the ship, and expecting every moment to go down! I must godown there and see if I can't do something to help. " By this time Ollie was wide awake, and as interested as Lucy. It did nottake her long to dress, and in a few minutes they went softlydown-stairs. Mrs. Rogers' bed-room door was open, and upon looking inthe children saw that Ollie's papa and mamma had gone to the beach. Asthere was no one of whom they could ask permission, each little girlwrapped herself warmly in a woollen shawl, and drawing the bolt of thekitchen door they stepped out into the night. It was two o'clock, and during the six hours which had passed since theywent to bed the wind had abated in force somewhat. The sky was full ofblack, angry-looking clouds, but the moon was struggling to makeherself seen. On the whole, it was not a dark night, and the childrenfound no difficulty whatever in seeing the well-worn path which ledthrough their field to the beach. If they had been doubtful of the waythey would have been guided by the bonfires, and by an occasional rocketwhich shot up into the air; but as it was they knew the road well, andexcepting when the moon was hidden for a moment behind a cloud, all wasbright around them. They soon reached the beach, and were there just in time to see the menfrom the station bring down the life-boat. It was a hard pull throughthe sand, but the feat was soon accomplished, and the boat was left nearthe water's edge, to be ready in case the line from the mortar shouldfail to reach the wreck. [Illustration: The Life-boat] The mortar was standing there, and the men were preparing to send outthe line which was to bring succor to the terrified passengers on thewreck. At the word of command the string was pulled--"_Bang_, " and offwent the line, curving through the air. Every one watched in breathlessanxiety to see if it would reach the ship. Yes, on it went, and thendropped down upon the deck. A shout of joy rose up from the crowd upon the beach, and it must havebeen answered by those on the wreck, but every sound was lost in theroaring of the wind and of the angry waves. In an instant a strongerline was attached, and to that, after being drawn on board and securelyfastened to the mast, a little car was attached and was quickly drawn onboard. Into this car one human being could get at a time, and could bedrawn over the breakers safely to the shore. The work of the night now began in earnest. Back and forth went the car. Sometimes it brought back a little child, sometimes a papa or mamma, andat last the sailors one by one, and then, last of all, the faithfulcaptain, who would not leave his ship until he had seen all hispassengers and crew safely on the land. When they began working the car Lucy and Ollie stood by looking on, andlonging to help those brave men. But they were only little girls, andwhat could they do? "Ollie, " said Lucy, "I have an idea. Do you see that bonfire? It isnearly out. If you will gather some sticks and build it up again, I willrun back to your house, and get some coffee and a kettle. I think a cupof coffee would refresh these men wonderfully. " "Oh, yes, Lucy, " said Ollie, "run--run quickly. Tell Milly to help you. I saw Sambo here a moment ago--oh, here he is. Sambo, Sambo, go back tothe house with Miss Lucy and help her bring some things which shewants. " Lucy and Sambo were off in a hurry, and as soon as they were gone Olliegathered all the drift-wood she could find, and proceeded immediately tobrighten up the fire, which had nearly died away. She worked steadilyand quietly, and by the time she had a bright blaze Lucy reappeared witha big package of coffee, a pot, and a pail of water. They filled the potand put it over the fire and waited for it to boil. It seemed a longtime before the steam began to rise, but gradually it became more andmore dense, until at last the cover of the pot began to dance up anddown, and the delightful bubbling sound greeted their ears which toldthat the water was boiling. The coffee was already in the coffee-pot, and in a short time thegrateful fragrance rose upon the air. "Oh, oh, " said Ollie, "we have neither milk nor sugar!" "I never thought of that, " said Lucy, in a disappointed tone, "but Iknow they must have some at the lifesaving-station. " "I knows where they keeps it, miss, for I used to be on the crew once, "said Sambo; "I'll be back in a jiffy with it. " So off went Sambo. The sugar was found, but alas, there was no milk. "Never mind, " said Ollie; "they must take it as it is. It will do themjust as much good. " [Illustration: Man in the surf] Now all this time the brave men of the life-saving station had been hardat work, drawing the car back and forth, and they had just brought inthe captain, who, as I said, stood faithfully by his ship until all onboard had been rescued, when some one shouted, "A man--a man in the surf!" They rushed into the water and lookedanxiously before them. Yes, there he was, clinging to a piece of thebroken mast. His strength was almost gone, and just as a big wave wasabout to break over him two strong pairs of hands seized and dragged himalmost exhausted to the shore. "Would you like some hot coffee? Would you like some hot coffee?" "What's that I hear about hot coffee?" said one and another joyfully. "Hot coffee! why, who has been good enough to think of that?" "A cup of coffee would be a good thing, " said Joe Brown; "for the factis, I for one am just about beat out. " Lucy and Ollie were quite delighted at the success of their undertaking, and for the next half hour were busy enough in pouring and passing thecoffee. Not only were the men of the station thankful for a good drink, but so were the poor tired and frightened passengers; and the childrenhad all they could do to fill up the cups fast enough. They received a great many thanks and a great many praises for theirthoughtfulness, and when they were through the captain of the wreckedsteamer proposed three cheers for the kind little girls who had done somuch to refresh them. The cheers were hearty enough, and the children were quite embarrassedto have the attention of so many people called to them. They felt quiterepaid for all their trouble when they saw how refreshed every onelooked after taking a cup of their good hot coffee. After a while the crowd began to move on toward the station. The crewrolled up their ropes and proceeded to drag up the boat, which they hadnot needed after all. All were happy and thankful that no lives had been lost, but the poorpassengers were rather melancholy at the thought of probably losing alltheir luggage. Every one was wet through, and it was necessary that theyshould get on dry clothes as soon as possible. All the houses in the village were opened to the sufferers, and soonevery one was made comfortable. Clothing of all sorts was lent them, forthe morrow, but in the mean time they were glad to go to bed and get agood rest and sleep. Ollie and Lucy went back to bed too, but no sleep came to them. Theytalked until they saw the morning dawn, and soon after sunrise they roseand dressed for breakfast. After breakfast they went down on the beach again to look at the wreck, and they spent a great deal of time there watching it. A great manyefforts were made to save her, but all in vain. One day, when the windwas unusually high, a great wave struck her side, a crash was heard, and down she went, out of sight forever, beneath the waves. "Now, " said Lucy, "I suppose I must go home. Mamma will be impatient tosee me and to know that I am all right after the storm. " "And you want to see her too, I have no doubt, " said Ollie. "Yes, indeed I do, but I should like to come back again. It is such funto have a girl of my own age to talk to; but mamma has to be very busythis week, and I must get back and help her. " So Lucy walked toward the house. She wanted to get her bag, and to saygood-by to Ollie's mamma. The two children were talking so busily as they went along that theydid not notice a horse and wagon standing at the gate of Mr. Rogers'shouse, until they were close upon it. "Why, Ollie!" exclaimed Lucy; "there is our horse; papa must have comefor me. I wonder if we have kept him waiting!" The children hurried in, and were soon in the sitting-room, where, totheir surprise, they found Mr. And Mrs. Coit, talking very busily. "Oh, mamma!" said Lucy, running forward to get a good-morning kiss, "have you come for me? It was too bad to keep you waiting; I will beready in one minute. " "I have not come to take you away, " said Mrs. Coit, "but to beg Mrs. Rogers to keep you a little longer. " "Ah, Miss Lucy, " said Ollie, laughing, "you see they have found it sopleasant to be without you that they are going to give you to us. " Lucy looked from one to another in surprise. "What do you mean, mamma?"she asked; "am I to stay here? what for? how long?" "I will tell you, " said her mother. "Just after Mr. Rogers left ourhouse with your bag, last night, your father brought a letter from thepost-office from your Aunt Mary. She is going to move out West, andwants us to go on and make her a visit before she leaves. We are goingto take Willie, for I think a change of air would do him good, after hisillness; but your aunt's house is so small, I do not think it is bestfor you to go. As Mrs. Rogers has consented to keep you, I think you hadbetter stay here. " "Oh, good, good, good!" exclaimed Ollie, clapping her hands and jumpingaround the room for joy. "Now you will have to stay, and be my sisterfor a good long week. " Lucy hardly knew whether to be glad or sorry. She was delighted to staywith her friend, but the thought of being so long away from her mammamade her feel almost homesick. "I will write you a letter every day, " said Mrs. Coit, seeing the cloudon her little girl's face. But the cloud only stayed a minute. "After all, " she thought, "mammawill only be gone for a week, and I would much rather be here withOllie than at Aunt Mary's, where there is no one of my own age; and aletter every day! oh, that will be _too_ delightful!" "Well, I must go, " said Mrs. Coit. "Thank you very much, Mrs. Rogers, for taking Lucy; I hope she will be a good child, and not give you anytrouble. Good-by. " "Martha will send over your trunk this afternoon, " she continued toLucy. "It is all packed, and William Henry Johnson said he'd bring itover on his way to the mill this evening. Good-by, my dear, " and Lucywas seized, hugged, and kissed, and almost before she knew what it wasall about her mother had gone, and she was left alone, watching thewagon as it rolled slowly down the road. She was roused by hearing Ollie's voice close behind her. "Oh, Lucy, let's go up-stairs, and get the room ready for you. I mustmove the things in my closet, and make enough bare nails for yourdresses. " So the two girls went up-stairs together, and the afternoon was passedin preparations for the coming week. The next morning Lucy and Ollie went to school as usual, only instead ofhaving a long solitary walk, they each had the other's company, whichthey found very pleasant. The girls at school were quite astonished tohear that they were spending the week together. As they were walking back from school, they saw on the beach the signalwhich was always used to show that there were fish in sight. "Oh, let us hurry through our dinner, " said Ollie, "and go down to thebeach. I love to see them draw in their big nets full of fish. It issuch fun. " Mrs. Rogers was astonished to see two wild children rush into the house, all out of breath, exclaiming, "Isn't dinner ready? We are in such a hurry to get down to the beach. " "Yes, dinner is ready, " said Mrs. Rogers; "you can sit down as soon asyou like. " As soon as they had eaten as much as they wanted, and had been excused, they rushed to the beach. The men were just preparing to launch the bigboat through the surf. When the children came in sight, the captain ofthe crew saw them and said, "Hold up a minute; here are our little friends; they always enjoy adance on the waves; let's wait, and take them in. " So they beckoned to the children, and in a few minutes they were seatedin the boat. The word of command was given, and off they went--now up onthe top of the wave, now down, down, down. They had an unusually good haul of fish, which the men insisted was allowing to the presence of the two little girls. They stayed on the beachor in the boat all the afternoon, and finally went home to supper sohungry that Mrs. Rogers laughingly declared that she could not possiblycook enough in one day to satisfy them. Mrs. Coit kept her promise and wrote to Lucy every day, and between herletters and her good times with Ollie, the days passed so quickly thatLucy was surprised to find at last that the hour for her departure hadarrived. "How little we thought that day when I walked home with you that I wasto be here a week!" "I wish we were going to have it all over again, " said Ollie. "So do I, " said Lucy. THE END. Transcriber's Note The following typos have been corrected. Page Typo Correction13 shorer shorter46 joyfully joyfully.