The Yazoo sentinel. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1878-1916, 1891-08-27

49, weaver, 80 now IN the teeth Ol
THIS nfrce gao 10 handled the oars with
q sure sturdy gNO and the boat respo0-
aea % every piessve Of her wrist. The
nsherncn stood tog1ner abashed as thcs
saw the brave glrlNuove further aud
further ont through Ne roaring storm
and drift They felt aAamed N thorn.
selves for their coNardice Nr ref,isine IN
90 In the boat with this Sanny ion
hearted girl; but they shnddefsd AZ they
saw the great white topped bilAws raj.
ling toward the little boat aud Nyery
minute threatening to swamp it.
Asfo Gypsy she had no fear, th0uA
the foam swept over her boat Ia con
slant stream, aud was half full OF water
Any faltcring Of her nerves would now
be fatal, and she kept constantly watch
ing the seas, which every minute were
growing more furious. and swinging her
skiff around to meet them head-to. The
sun had set, and in the gloom which be-
gan to gather over the noisy water she
could see the rock aud the lighthouse
not far away looming darkly through
the spray. Two or three more shipments
OF water over the low quarter and then
the girl was in the shelter Of the rock.
| Springing lightly from the bow aud
carrying the painter with her she nup
to the windlass and drew her boat high
out Of the water and secured it as FIRMLY
as she could The sea had already com
menced 70 boom against the rock, and
at each shock columns Of spray were
flung up ito half the height Of the tower
1 on the windward side. The evening
was made so dark by the storm that
Gypsy knew the light should be lighted
at once; moreover, she could Just see
about half mile to windward ship
whose course lay along by the island.
She tripped lightly up the tower, the
wind shrieking by the building. and in
few moments the ruddy light CLEANED
out upon the sea. Then as the darkness
deepened, the ship, showing her lights,
passed safely by the ledge under close
reefed sails and Gypsy felt herself all
alone in the midst Of this wilderness OF
raging sea. When the great iron weight
was wound up and the lantern panes
wiped, she set the fans of the balance
wheel to regulate the revolution Of the |
flashes and went down to the basement |
of the tower. There she laid upon the
table some cold lake fowl bread and
butter, and then brewed herself q cup
of fragrant coffee.
Before supper was ended she knew the
maddened waters had burst over the rock
and were striking the tower, for she
could feel it culver. She sat there for
nearly two hours reading book. but the
fury Of the gale increased constantly and
the tower shook so violently under the
pounding Of the laundering sea that she
grew alarmed, and closing her book
took her brass lamp and went up to the
lantern to look out to sea- She stood
upon the trimming path or grated iron
footway that ran around inside the Lam
tern. The piercing light shining upon
the sea revealed such d state OF tumult
that her heart almost stopped beating.
The waves rolled and foamed and smoked,
one after another, moving in ranks
toward the little rock like some terrible
army AS each one struck it flung up
Its long arms Of cold, white spray, 81 II
grabbing al the tower, then It recoiIcd
backward, like runner who retreats
before making spring. and reared up
again, each tins going higher and draw
ing nearer To the top ~ ths 4tssass gksytss'll
after hour she sat there, spell-bOund
with terror, and tho raving ocean seemed
to rise higher and to draw !
nearer to her Birds, driven from their ;
nook by the gale, rose upon the murky
tempest, flying headlong toward the ,
light. striking the lantern [
with sharp blows and falling backward
or dead. Other birds few more 4
cautiously toward the lantern and came /
peering through the pane with wild,
affrighted eyes, gently auttering their
wings.
she had not now the courage to 60
down to the basement, but remained |
there on the trimming path actually fas-
cinated by the rampant sea. Higher and !
higher rose the waves till now they /
began to surge against the waist Of the
tower, and hogsheads Of water were flung
d sainst the lantern. Under some OF the I
onsets the building quivered from top /
TO bottom, and sometimes fairly reeled. !
The maclnery Of steel and brass clat {
tired under heavy shock and under
the smaller ones rang like a number Of '
little bells. She stood there with her {
face as white as one of the foamy waves,
her hands against the heavy steel bars. /
looking seaward, and not moving except
when she turned to trim alamp or empty S
the burnt oil from trimming save-all. a
She remained IN the lantern till probably Fl
an hour before dawn; then the gale b
sweIIed into greater fury, and the storm c
went bowling and believing past, as If v
IL. 600 condensed spirits had burst loose =
and went floating by on the hurricane. Il
The swelIs grew longer ald seemed to a
roll from the very bottom, and they ran l.
nimbIv and noiselessIy " the rock, up G
the tower, and flung tier cold, white o
arms with a swishy yet tlunderous sound "
around tlg lantern, almost n
throwing the heavy nlchinery from its o
place al every sally. Then as she still o.
gazed 10 windward9ut into the gray 4
drift she uttered feat cry, "Oh, God, ii
deliver me. for 50 saw mighty wave "
towering nearly ttce as high as any Of Il
the rest. rolling oaming and storming al
at its crest. mo9g toward the rock. As OF
Il drew nearer fgrew larger and larger, ii
and when It ID reached within twenty a
feet of the liz thouse it seemed as If the b.
whole lake I'D gathered itself up for al
one onslau1 upon the rock. She had b
- l;ttlo4me to wait for the awful n,