Benny found it necessary to shield his eyes, because of the pain caused by the icy particles, and could give little heed to his footsteps, but followed directly behind his companion. Sam, on the contrary, appeared to suffer no especial inconvenience; he kept constant watch over the sea, although at times it was necessary to cover his eyes, and breasted his way against the wind as if finding real pleasure in the struggle. “I’m sorry you came to-night, lad,” he said when they paused for an instant. “My idea was that this flurry would hold off till past midnight, or you wouldn’t have had a chance to show your nose outside the station.” “I’d been sorry if you hadn’t let me come, ’cause I’ll never make any fist at being a surfman by staying under cover all the time.” “It ain’t my plan to coddle you up, Benjamin; but at the same time there’s no good reason why you should get it quite so tough at the start. You won’t learn much----” Sam paused as, sheltering his eyes, he gazed steadily seaward, and Benny tried in vain to discover what had thus attracted his companion’s attention. During fully a minute the surfman stood immovable as a statue, regardless of the howling wind and stinging snow, and then muttered half to himself, as he drew from his pocket one of the Coston signals: “The work has begun sooner than I counted on.” “What do you mean?” Benny asked anxiously. “There’s a three-masted schooner less than a mile away, I should say, and doing her best to crawl off from the land.” Benny strained his eyes to pierce the fleecy cloud which enveloped him; but nothing save the swirling wreaths could be distinguished. “I can’t make out anything,” he exclaimed in a tone of regret. “And it ain’t to be wondered at, lad. Wait until you’ve been on patrol duty a dozen nights like this, and you’ll find it a different matter. I can see the schooner now an’ then, an’ allow she’s got a fore-staysail, reefed foresail, and spanker set; but don’t seem to be crawling off very fast. We’ll let her know that the crew at this station ain’t asleep.” While speaking he had inserted the signal in its wooden handle, and as he concluded, struck it sharply against a rock. There was a crackling and spitting of fire for an instant, after which the light burned out with apparently almost as much brilliancy as that displayed from the lighthouse a short distance away, and the glare literally blinded Benny. When it died away the night seemed yet darker than before, and the lad peered straight ahead in the direction pointed out by Sam until he fancied he saw a tiny flare appear and disappear at brief intervals. “They have seen us,” Sam said in a tone of satisfaction. “That wisp of flame was their answer, and I allow by its having been given so quickly that all hands understand they’d better have headed for deep water sooner. Word must be taken to the station, and I’m doubtful about leavin’ here. I wonder could you find your way back, Benny?”