Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1904-01-25

soil. planted deep in burrows. unclean.
Standing with bent shoulders, the shift
ing clouds for background, be formed a
fit accompaniment to the wind and the
fog and the fog horns
Il know every lighthouse asserted
he. from Maine TO Texas. For four
teen years it was my business 10 sup
ply the lamps on the coast with OIL
lived all that time aboard ships. stop
ping off at lighthouse after lighthouse
leaving oil-rehned oil made specially
for them-lcoking after them. seeing
that they were kept bright enough to
be seen by straining eyes from long
ways off,
About the birds?" / queried. The
old man was apt to go off at tangents
He needed reminding.
Everywhere you find them" said
he. .'beating out their lives against the
lamps, the same as wrecked ones beat
out their lives against the rocks down
yonderv
why? - questioned.
Il don't know unless it is because
they think they can get in to the heat
and the light out Of the cold ana the
wind and the rain. | think that's It.
They are different birds in different
places Far down south they are queer
eolored birds. bright as parrots; along
the coast mostly sea gulls and here on
the sound smaller birds, but big enough
to break the glass, so strong and big
sometimes that wires are put around
tie lamps to protect them. Why. some
mornings Naomi and I"-Naomi was
his wlfe-"find them thick on the
dead. some dying"
81 life like ours is full of awful
things" he began, with apparent irrel-
evance-"of wrecks and broken bones
and dead bodies. For instance, one
moonlight night last winter stood out
on these rocks above the sea wall and
saw way out at sea 2 white arm way
ing. reckoning to me to come. | ran
down to the beach, got out my boat
and rowed to it. the arm al the time
waving and reckoning. | rowed closer
until at last | come to it,
'Well?" as he paused.
'.The man had been dead for days"
he finished TT was the flashing of the
waves that moved the arm up and
down SOS to make it seem like it beck
oned to me to come
l shuddered. broad daylight as it was.
staring out at the death dealing sea
and listening to the wall of the fog
horns
The lighthouse keeper leaned more
heavily on the handle of his lawn now
er. According to all my preconceived
ideas of men of his calling he should
have been tall. lean, slightly cadaver-
Gus. large eyed and picturesque. per-
petually polishing away at his lamp or
gazing out at sea through the medium
of marine glasses in search of wrecks.
On the contrary, he was short. thick
ard stubby as the grass he moved.
Eis yellow teeth were snaggled. His
eyes were small. narrow and keen, and
poosry was absent from his makeup.
likewise picturesqueness
''Do you remember he asked. 1.-The
burning of the Nutmeg State?"
no" said l. "a whole state. was
it?''
"Of course not A ship It was all
of fifteen years ago when it happened
A terrible thing it was. A big. fine
boat burned to the waters edge in
sight of land and more lives lost than
you'd want to count. Well. Sea Gull
was on the boat she and her mother.
The next morning, coming out here to
the sea wall, l found them on the
beach. They had drifted there. she
and her mother. her mother dead and
Sea Gull clasped in her arms. uncon-
scious. We brought her back to life.
chr hat In
to this
do you know her real name?" |
asked
mo. we never knew. She was too
young to tell it, and there was no name
on her clothes. We called her some
times Betty. sometimes our Sea Gull"
The girl at the stile had put her hand
above her eyes. looking down the road
toward the way of the wood. The oval
of her cheek was olive. She might have