two men; but one day this companion
slipped off the ladder up which he had to climb to light the lamps
in the great lantern, and broke his leg. At the same time he struck
his head and became insensible, and so the father of the little girl
was obliged to leave her and to fetch a doctor. He meant to come
back very soon, but the doctor was out, and in trying to find him he
was away for many hours, and by the time he could get down to his
boat a great storm had come on, and the waves were breaking over the
shore so that he could not put out to sea again.

Night was coming on, and the poor fellow paced the beach and
wondered what was to be done, for it would soon be time for the
lamps to be lighted, and there was nobody in the lighthouse but the
helpless man and his little girl. The sailors and fishermen all came
round, but it would have been a desperate venture to put out a boat
in such a storm, and with the great waves roaring and leaping on a
long sharp ridge of rocks quite close to where the lighthouse stood,
nobody could have expected to reach it alive.

At last, just as the night was coming on, the poor fellow prepared
to risk his life rather than leave the ships that might be far off
at sea without a guide or a warning; but six strong men dragged a
large boat down to the edge of the shore where the waves were
lowest, and agreed to share his danger. Their hands were on the boat
ready to push her in and then scramble to their places; an old
fisherman was in his seat ready to steer, when he suddenly gave a
shout and pointed towards the lighthouse.

There from the lantern high above the roaring waves shone the
brilliant beams of the lamps, and with a hearty cheer the brave
fellows drew the boat back, and shading their eyes with their hands
stared as though they had never seen the familiar light before.

All night long they watched, till at break of day the storm abated,
the sea grew still, and far far away they could see a great
three-masted ship rolling and tossing, with one of her sails blown
to rags, but still keeping off the shore. The pilot had seen the
lights, and so knowing how to steer had kept her away from the rocky
reefs where she might have been dashed to pieces.

It was not till the sun rose high and they were able to go out in
their boats that the men on shore could take the doctor to the
lighthouse, and then they found the little girl kneeling beside the
injured man and feeding him with some cold te