Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-10-11

lighthouse saw Ben relieve the steers
man and tenderly arrange the cushions
behind his back. Then Brand closed
the iron doors, and the three were left
in dim obscurity.
They climbed nearly hundred feet
of stairways and emerged on to the
cornice balcony after Brand had stop
ped the clockwork which controlled the
hammer of the bell.
What a difference up here. The sea,
widened ilnmeasurably, had changed
its color. Now it was sulen blue
gray. The land was nearer and high
or. The Daisy had shrunk to splash
of dull brown on the tremendous ocean
prairie. How fierce and keen the wind!
How disconsolate the murmur of the
reef
Brand, adjusting his binoculars, scru-
tinized the boat.
"All right aboard" he said. II think
we have adopted the wiser course.
They will reach Penzance by half
past g."
! His next glance was toward the
Lands End signal station. A line Of
flags futtsred out to the right of the
staff.
Signal noted and forwarded" be
read aloud. THAT is all right, but tho
wind has changed"
Enid popped inside the lantern for
shelter 1t was bitterly cold.
| Better follow her example, Connie"
said Brand TO his daughter II will
draw the curtains. We can see just
as we'll and be comfortable"
| Indeed, the protection of the stout
! plate glass, 90 thick and tough that
/ sea ~" ) on a stormy night dashed
themselves to painless death against It,
was very welcome. Moreover, though
neither OF the girls would admit It,
| there was sense Of security here
which was strangely absent when they
looked into the abyss beneath the stone
gallery. Constance, balancing tele-
scope. and Enid, peering through the
fleldglasses, followed the progress Of
the Daisy in silence, but Brands eyes
wandered uneasily from the barometer,
which had fallen rapidly during the
past hour, to the cyclonic min. bus
spreading its dark mass beyond tho
! Seven Stones lightship. The sun had
vanished seemingly for the day, and
the indicator attached to the base of
the wind vane overhead pointed now
souwcst by west. II would not re-
quire much further variation TO bring
about a strong blow from the true
southwest. quarter responsible for
most Of the fierce gales that sweep the
English channel.
Nevertheless this quick darling about
Of the tickle breeze did not usually he
token lasting bad weather. At the
worst the girls might be compelled to
pass the night on the rock. He knew
that the tug with the two relief men
would make n valiant effort to reach
the lighthouse at the earliest possible
moment When the men joined him
the girls could embark AS IL was the
/ affair was spiced with adventure
Were 1t not for the m!shap to the as
sistant keepers the young people would
have enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
| The new ART OF tho wind. too. would
send the Daisy speedily back to port
This in itself justified the course he
had taken. On the whole a doubtful
situation was greatly relieved. His
/ face frightened. With grave humor
not altogether artificial he cried:
Now. Constance, did not take You
aboard as a visitor. Between us wa
ought to muster good appetite. Come
with me to the storeroom. | will get
you anything you want and leave you
in charge of the kitchen"
And poor me" cbimed In Enid
ooh, you, miss, are appointed upper
housemaid, and, mind you. no follow
ers"
Mercy! l nearly lost my situation
before | got It,"
How
1--WE met Jack Stanhope and asked
him to come with US
You asked him. you mean" said
Constance.
And you met him, l meant" said
Enid.
Il don't care pin how you treated
Stanhope so long as you didn't bring
him. said Brand, though indeed, he
would have been useful as It turned
out"
When lunch was ready they summon
ed him by the electric bells he had put
up throughout the building. 1t gave
them great JOY to discover in the living
room a code OF signals which covered
a variety of messages. They rang him
downstairs by the correct call for
"Meal served"
II was hasty repast, as Brand could
not remain long away from the glass
covered observatory, but they all en-.
joyed it immensely. He left them, as
he said ito gobbls up the remains"
but soon he shouted down the stairs
to tell them that the Daisy had round
ed earn du. He could not tell them,
not knowing 1t, that at that precise mo-
ment old Ben Pollard was frant.cally
signaling to Lieutenant Stanhope to
change the course Of the small steam
yacht he had Communicated as soon
as the murmur ran through the town
that the Gulf Rock was flying the "help
wanted" signal.
The officials did not know that Brand
was compelled by the snowstorm to
use rockets. All the information they
possessed was the message from
Lands End and its time OF dispatch.
Jack Stanhope's easy going face he
nVsaA f,,A l..