Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-10-18

stance connected with the date, so he
consulted the lighthouse diary for that
year. All! Here was possible ex-
PLANTATION. The chief keeper, stran-
ger to him, was something Of meteor
ologist
He had written: at 4:15 y. m. the
barometer stood at 27.18 degrees and
the thermometer at 1880 degrees.
There was heavy sea and a No. gale
blowing from the s. S.-w. About 5
o'clock the wind increased to hurri-
cane and the sea became more violent
than I have seen it during Ave years
experience Of this station. Judging
solely by the clouds and the fight Of
birds, l should imagine that the cy-
| clonic center passed over the Scilly
isles and the Lands End"
Then next day:
"A steady northeast wind stllled the
sea most effectually. Within twenty
four hours Of the first signs of the hur-
ricane the channel was practicable for
small craft. A fisherman reports that
the coast is strewn with wreckage."
Brand unused over the entries for
awhile With his night glasses he
peered long into the teeth Of the grow
ing storm to see IL he could find the
double fash Of the ma gniflcent light on
the Bishop Rock, one Of the atlantic
breakwaters Of the Scilly isles. 1t was
| fully thirty-fve miles distant. but it
| flung its radiance over the waters from
height of 143 feet, and the Gulf Rock
lamp stood 1870 feet above high water
mark. A landsman would not have dis
| tinguished even the nearer revolutions
Of the st. Agnes light, especially in the
prevalent gloom, and wisps Of spndrft
were already striking the lantern and
! blurrlng the glass.
Nevertheless he caught the quick
flashes reflected from clouds low, but
unbroken. AS yet there was Il chance
OF the incoming tide bringing better
weather and he bent again over the
record Of the equinoctial gale in 1891.
Soon he abandoned this hope The
growing thunder Of the reef as the tide
advanced gave the first unmistaka BILE
warning of what was to come. AS a
mere matter of noise the reef roared
its loudest at half tide. He understood
Atlantic in an irregular track. How
soever the winds may rage the tides
remain steadfast, and the great waves
now rushing up from the west were
actually harbingers of the fierce blast
which had created them.
OF course the. threatened turmoil in
nowise disconnected him. 1t might he
that the rock would remain inaccessi-
BILE during many days. In that event
the girls would take the watch after
the lamp was extlnguished. and they
must learn to endure the monotony and
discomforts of existence in storm
bound lighthouse. They would be nerv-
Gus unquestionably - perhaps he had
forgotten how nervous-but Brand was
philosopher, and at present he was
most taken up with wonderment at the
curious blend Of circumstances which
resulted in their presence on the rock
that night
| Ha! A tremor shook the great pillar.
He heard without the frcnzied shrek
Z,
itself on the sleek and rounded wall.
Would the girls sleep through the next
few hours? Possibly, If awake, they
would attribute the vibration Of the
column to the wind. He trusted it
might be so. Shut in as they were,
they could not distinguish sounds. Ev-
erything to them would be n confused
hum, with an occasional shiver as the
granite braced its mighty heart to re-
sist the enemy.
But what new note was this in the
outer chaos; An ordinary gale shud-
lered AMI whistled and chanted its
way past the lantern in varying tones.
1t sang, 1t piped, it beloved, ii play
ed on giant reeds and crashed with
rymbals. Now-he looked at the clock,
after midnight-there was sustained
screech in the voice of the tempest
which he did pot remember having
teard before. At last the explanation
Lawned on him. The hurricane was
there, few feet away. shut Off from
lin by mere sheets Of glass. The
! lighthouse thrust its tall shaft into
this Inerciless tornado with grim stead
lastness, and around its smooth con-
tours poured volume of unearthly
melody which seemed to surge up from
the broad base and was flung Off into
The darkness by the outer sweep Of the
cOrnice.
The wind was travelling seventy,
eighty, mayhap hundred miles an
hour. Not during all his service nor
In earlier travels through distant lands
had he ever witnessed a storm of such
fury. He thought he heard something
crack overhead. He looked aloft, but
all seemed well. Not until next day
did he discover that the wind vane had
been carried away. Il wrought iron
shank nearly two inches thick having
snapped like q piece of worSted at the
place where the tempest had found n
fault.
He tried to look out into the heart
Of the gale. The air was full of fly
Ing foam, but the sea was beaten fiat.
If the growing monster beneath tried
to fling Il defiant crest at the tornado
the whole mass Of water, many tons in
weight, was instantly torn from the
surface and flung into nothingness.
Some OF these adventures, forced up
by the reef, hit the lighthouse with
greater force than many Il cannon ball
6rel in hattlaS which have made his