, 1888-09-09
THE PILOTS STORY.

lie - IL otblN ADAh Az W NAN AAANALaAl
pilot of one of the grand steamers that
ply the River st. Lawrence, and are
known to tourists from Montreal and
Quebec to R.,-aG:sAi
So You wouId like to know why | scare
at that headland? You notice that cape?
Yes. Corlett's cape, we call it, and n bad
place it used to be. You notice the light.
house that stands there? Yes. Well. |
lived by that headland long before the
lighthouse was built, q matter of nearly
fifty years ago. | hate that same Cor
let's cape, though l never heard tell Of
more than one wreck. 1t happened after
the lighthouse was built, but the lights
were put out, and put out on purpose,
too. It's well nigh forty years since. but
l remember it as If it were but yesterday.
There was then n little bit of a settle
ment down near the mouth of the creek,
which you may lave noticed empties into
the river just above the cape. There
wern't many people lived there, and the
biggest and most important man in the
place was Charlie Corlett. lie was a
North of England man, I've heard tell,
and anyhow he owned every acre of land
and every stick of timber for miles
around. Besides, at that time, Corletts
was the only grist and lumber mill within
Il hundred miles in any direction Then
he owned a fast little schooner-about
the only one that traded TO the settle
ment, making trips up and Town the
river, between Quebec and the provinces.
Although Corlett was a rich man for those
days, he was fond of sailing and had a
notion to run the schooner himself.
Charlie Corlett would nave passed for a
handsome man anywhere, and he was, by
long odds, the finest built man in the set
Element. But Charlie had a terrible tenn
per. He was so used to having his own
way that when anything or anybody
thwarted him he was n regular devil in
his fierce, unreasonable anger.
When the lighthouse was built a young
Frenchman from Three Rivers was put in
charge as keeper. He was a fine young
fellow, and if he was not SO handsome nor
so rich as Charlie Corlett he was liked a
good deal better by the boys.
Corlett was some ten or twelve years
older Than young Hector Baptiste, but, as
luck would have 1t, they both fell in love
with the same woman. Indeed, that was
hardly to be wondered at, seeing that
Lizzie Lenox was the only pretty, mar
riageable white woman in the settlement.
Both men loved the girl well and sincerely
and both made her an honorable offer of
marriage. OF course Lizzie couldn't
marry both of them, and strange as
everybody thought 1t, she chose Hector,
The captain, as we all called Corlett, was
IuTlOuS Will rage anu nc uTleu III every
way he could think of to induce the girl
to change her mind. He argued with her
in vain, and then threatened to use his
influence with the government to have
Hector turned out of the lighthouse.
Then he brought costly presents from
Quebec and st. Johns, which Lizzie re-
fused to accept. The simple fact was
that Lizzie never liked the captain, and
the more he tried to win her love, the
closer she stuck to Baptiste.
kwas at that time sailing with Capt.
Corlett and knew him pretty well. One
day he came down to the settlement, after
a three weeks trip to Halifax, and found
that Hector Baptiste and Lizzie Lenox
were married. Although the captain
didn't say very much, l could tell that he
took it badly to heart, and l saw a look in
his eyes that 1 didn't fancy very well.
Two days later, towards evening, we
slipped out of the creek, bound for Mon.
treal. We hadn't got more than a mile
past the point when the captain ordered
the mate to down sails and lay to. He
said he had forgotten something and told
me to get out the yawl and run him
ashore. When we were in the boat he
says to me: Pierre" he says, II saved
your life once. didn't II"
Yes, cap" says land he did; he
jumped overheard for me when l fell from
aloft two years before.
well. says he, lone good turn de-
serves another, doesn't it2 Now you just
keep to yourself whatever you may hap
pen TO see tonight. I'm goin' up to tho
lighthouse to settle an old score"
For Gods sake, cap" says I. don't
do anything you'll be sorry for"
That's all right" he says; you
French puppy a piece of mind, and per,
hans n lickinp. that's all"
And | think he meant no more than
what no said. so l made no answer. |
was only a lad, and an Indian at that-he
was a white man and my captain. Be
sides, as he had reminded me, | owed him
my life.
1t was about 8 o'clock of a September
evening. could see the lantern lights
being lit in the lighthouse, and knew that
Hector was there and probably alone-for
although there was a small cottage at
tached to the lighthouse, 1t was never
used as a dwelling. Corlett jumped ashore
and bad me wait for him. In the still.
ness | could near words that were said
Corlett spoke first;
You French sneak, I want a bit of
reckoning with your
Those are hard names, captain" said
Baptiste, ''and / don't like theml'
ooh, you don't, ehH Well, you shouldn't
deserve them then. 1 don't like having q
crawling Frenchman coming up here and
stealing away the woman / had intended
to marry. That's what you didl'
Capt. Coriett, you lie"
For calling me a liar, take thatl And
for playing dirt on me take that-and
that!'
In n moment there was a scuffle up in
that little room under the lantern-and
the next thing l heard was a splash in
the water.
thought it time to interfere, but as |
ran the boat aground Corlett jumped in
and showed off. AS l opened my lips to
speak, he shouted in a terribly excited
manner:
Don't you ask any questions, and don't
you say a word on ship board, or III shoot
you without warningl'