People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-10-27
CHAPTER |.

III pCdCc, dS IL IuculIdJl1B III silence on
its griefS. When gales swept over the
water from the southwest it rocked in
restless uncertain motions and mingled
= lismal voice with the roar of the
surf, the tolling of the fog-bell, and
the cries of the seabirds as it moaned
and mOaned in perpetual reiteratiOn
as If it had a tale to tell, but could
only mourn over it in ftful inarticulate
signs meaning much and saying little.
On calmet days and nights, when there
was only gentle swell moving in from
the Atlantic, it spoke slowly at inter-
walls, like aschild that sobs over some
II tie grief that is past, but not for
gotten.
To the fishermen it was common
pace affair. An iron buoy anchored
in mid-channel just at the entrance of
the little port,-at once guide and
warning. Within the buoy was curl
Ons arrangement of valves, air and
water-chambers, and pipes. On top
was steam whistle. When the buoy
swayed on the waves the water en-
closed in its hollow chambers flowed
to one side, and the valves opened to
admit air to fill the vacuum caused by
the moving water. When the wave
passed and the buoy keeled over in
the opposite direction the air-valve
closed, and the water within, rushing
back to its first position, forced out
the imprisoned air through the
whistle, and it spoke, in a harsh and
mournfui note. The sound began as
murmur, swelled out to a diseordant
forte, and then died away in despair
ing sigh. At the next roll of the huge
irou mass it moaned again in the same
manner. If it rolled one way the
right-hand valve opened and admitted
q supply of air; when it rolled the
other way the left-hand valve
opened; and thus it kept up its dismal
crying at every wave that swept be-
meath it. The note could be heard for
more than mile, and sailing-masters
bound into the little harbor listened
for it through the darkness, through
fog and storm, as guide to port and
home.
To the under side of the great iron
buoy was secured chain that extended
down through the green water to a
massive rock below, rock whereon
the hopes of lifetime were wrecked
and lost long years ago. On yachting
parties sailing out the port the moan
ing buoy had depressing effect. It's
unending moan seemed to be for the
young life whose fate was bound up
in some strange secret lost in the sea.
They listened to It's note, floating faint
and sad over the blue water, and won
dered if they would solve the riddle
OF that life, if ever knight would come
to redress a grieyous wrong.
1t is said che buoy knew all about
1t, and would tell everything If it
could speak. Being merely buoy, it
could only moan.
Two miles to the west by north stood
the harbOr light. 1t was a SHEET round
tower of brick and painted white. At
the top was the black lantern, its shin
ing windows declied in yellow curtains
by day and opening lurid eye on sea
and land by night. The lighthouse,
too, was said to be familiar with the
lost secret under the sea, and every
night appeared to look furtively all
around the horizon as if revolving
something in its mind and yet not dar-
ing to speak of it. 1t could only look
askance at the world and wait. There
was behind the lighthouse a small
white house with little garden, grass
plot and picket fence. Everything
was orderly, neat, and comfortable, as
befitted the residence of an official of
the United States government. There
was also besides the house wooden
structure, half treStle, half tower, in
which hung bell. Beneath the
wooden cage where hung the bell was
q long pendulum and chain and
heavy weight, these being parts of the
ciock-work whereby the bell was rung
when gray fogs crept up from the
misty Atlantic.
The lighthouse stood at the extreme
point of a miniature Cape Cod at the
southeast end of the island, and in the
bay formed by the eurving arm of the
cape was an anchoringground for the
hshing-boats and yachts that used it
for summer harbor. Along the shore
OF this bay were the few scattered
houses of the little village. On the
south side towards the sea stood the
big yellowish-green hotel and the fam
eooNhO SOStopNS VI IAC quests
who made the cape their summer
pieasure-ground
BY some oversight on the part of the
officers of the United States Coast
survey, the exact position, latitude and
longitude of the lighthouse and the
port were not put on any of the official
maps Neither were there any sailing
directions printed giving the right
course TO take to enter the port or find
the moaning buoy 1t is really not
important, because he who steers by
''the light that never was on sea or
land" can find any port where life and
love have found an anchorage.
The bouy was known to the fisher
men and visitors at Wilson'S ,Holl as
"the two-fathem buoy" 1t was
painted in alternate horizontal stripes