I thought I 'd go crazy lying here picturing to myself a vessel out on the reefs . '' That night was a very long and anxious one . The storm grew rapidly worse , and snow and wind howled around the lighthouse . Uncle George soon grew feverish and delirious , and Mary Margaret , between her anxiety for him and her dismal thoughts of poor Nellie tied in her chair over at the Little Dipper , and the dark possibility of her mother and Uncle Martin being out in the storm , felt almost distracted . But the morning came at last , as mornings blessedly will , be the nights never so long and anxious , and it dawned fine and clear over a white world . Mary Margaret ran to the shore and gazed eagerly across at the Little Dipper . No smoke was visible from Uncle Martin 's house ! She could not leave Uncle George , who was raving wildly , and yet it was necessary to obtain assistance somehow . Suddenly she remembered the distress signal . She must hoist it . How fortunate that Uncle George had once shown her how ! Ten minutes later there was a commotion over at Harbour Head where the signal was promptly observed , and very soon -- although it seemed long enough to Mary Margaret -- a boat came sailing over to the Big Dipper . When the men landed they were met by a very white-faced little girl who gasped out a rather disjointed story of a light that had n't been lighted and an uncle with a broken leg and a sister tied in her chair , and would they please see to Uncle George at once , for she must go straight over to the other Dipper ? One of the men rowed her over , but before they were halfway there another boat went sailing across the harbour , and Mary Margaret saw a woman and two men land from it and hurry up to the house . That is Mother and Uncle Martin , but who can the other man be ? wondered Mary Margaret . When she reached the cottage her mother and Uncle Martin were reading her note , and Nellie , just untied from the chair where she had been found fast asleep , was in the arms of a great , big , brown , bewhiskered man . Mary Margaret just gave one look at the man . Then she flew across the room with a cry of delight . `` Father ! ''
For ten minutes not one intelligible word was said , what XXXXX laughing and crying and kissing .
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