Before the progression of the radio beacon, the light ships who would guard our many miles of coastline, were equipped with an underwater bell, which worked simultaneously with a foghorn during bad weather, to warn passing ships of the dangerous reefs, and serve as a navigational aid. When visibility was good, two oil beacons fore and aft, identified her position. It is aboard one of these early ships, that our story takes place - when a seaman's length of service depended not only on his efficiency, but his ability to survive the corrosive monotony of the long uninterrupted months of duty aboard a tiny steel island of a light ship.