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not one living man had yet come to shore. Ephraim had gone down to the very outmost ledge where he was in danger of being washed off by every sea, and had again and again thrown out his ropes to some one struggling with the waves; but the pitiless sea had thrown them back again out of reach, or striking against the rocks, they had been killed by the blow. The last man to leave the wreck was now struggling with the waves, and strange to say, he held a bundle clasped tightly in his arms. What could be so precious that he would remember it in an hour like this? As the sun rose cold and cheerless over the waters, there seemed a moment's lull in the storm; the tide was turning perhaps, and the waves were a trifle less angry. At any rate the brave swimmer fared better than his comrades. With skilful eye he chose the best landing place, and made for a little cove into which the current was strongly setting. Ephraim and Susan hastened to throw out ropes and planks to him. He seized the rope, but instead of clinging to it himself, he tied

it around the burden which he carried. As he let go the rope a wild surging wave swept him out. In vain did he strive against it, in vain did Ephraim fling himself into the sea and try to reach him. Stunned by the shock of the waves, he had only strength left to seize the rope which Susan and his boy drew in shore. He lay exhausted on the rock, while the brave sailor was swept away and they saw him no more. Ephraim watched his wife and boy as they drew in the precious bundle; and as they unbound the rope and opened it, to their utter amazement they saw the face of a little child. With a cry of joy and terror Susan clasped it to her breast. "Was it, could it be alive?" She listened eagerly for the beating of the heart, and believed she could feel a throb under her

trembling hand. She hastened home, and used every means her simple skill could devise to bring it to life. At length after a long hour of anxious care the little blue eyes opened, and a baby voice cried" mamma." Poor Susan burst into tears and sank on the floor, almost

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as helpless as the little But only for a moment.

being before her.

All her mother heart

was aroused; she warmed and fed and tended the little stranger, till it fell sweetly asleep on her loving bosom.

Then she thought of her good Ephraim. She made up a bed for the baby in her clothes basket, put it in a warm corner, and went out again to see what he was doing. It was time. He was almost exhausted with the labors of the night, and with the bitter pain of seeing so many fellow beings lost without the power to save them. He needed his wife's helping hand to lead him up the icy hill to their dwelling. But when he saw the bright ruddy stove with the boiling pot of coffee on it, and beside it the little bed with its tiny sleeper, and felt that one precious soul was saved out of the wreck, the brave man turned to his wife and said, "It has not been all in vain." The thought revived him, and Susan's gentle care restored his strength and calmness.

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The little baby was sadly exhausted and

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