Page:The Wireless Operator with the U.S. Coast Guard.djvu/176

 always they were flung forward, tossed landward, driven farther toward the sandy beach and safety. The flaming fires before them heartened them, encouraged them. New strength came to them, and singly, in pairs, and even in little groups, they battled their way onward. The strong helped the weak, and one or two were seen dragging comrades who were wholly helpless. Out into the breakers rushed the waiting guards from the shore. Strong arms were thrown around weak and fainting forms, and limp bodies were carried bodily through the waves. Again and again the sturdy guardsmen from the shore rushed back into the waves and aided more men ashore, while others toiled to resuscitate the few who had all but succumbed.

Around the fires now pressed the rescued seamen, increasing in number as man after man gained the sands, until they formed a great ring about the flames. Their numbers brought joy to the watchers on the Iroquois. Now the rescued men were seen to be leaving the fire and trooping off into the darkness.

The commander was talking to the quartermaster, who had been kept at his post during all the struggle. “We must be a little farther along the coast than I thought,” said the captain. “They must be taking our men to a Coast Guard