Mary Margaret began to feel uneasy . It was too cloudy to tell just when the sun had set , but she was sure it must be down , for it was quite dark in the house . She lighted a lamp , got the almanac , and hunted out the exact time of sunsetting . The sun had been down fifteen minutes ! And there was no light on the Big Dipper ! Mary Margaret felt alarmed and anxious . What was wrong at the Big Dipper ? Was Uncle George away ? Or had something happened to him ? Mary Margaret was sure he had never forgotten ! Fifteen minutes longer did Mary Margaret watch restlessly at the window . Then she concluded that something was desperately wrong somewhere . It was half an hour after sunset and the Big Dipper light , the most important one along the whole coast , was not lighted . What would she do ? What could she do ? The answer came swift and dear into Mary Margaret 's steady , sensible little mind . She must go to the Big Dipper and light the lamps ! But could she ? Difficulties came crowding thick and fast into her thoughts . It was going to snow ; the soft broad flakes were falling already .
Could she row the two miles to the Big Dipper XXXXX the darkness and the snow ?
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