The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1906-11-23

he cleared the spar deck.
Look out for the llne," they heard
him shout. The wind brought his voice
gulsh no syllable Of Brands answering
hail:
"Shall / make fastT'
"Can't hear word" he cried. "If
you can hear me hold hand up"
Brand obeyed.
Catch the line" he went on. "It Is
attached to a block with running
tackle. Haul in and make fast"
''The megaphonew shouted Brand to
Constance She darted away to bring
1t, and when the adventurer cllnging
to the foremost had thrown coil sue
cessfully, Brand took the instrument
"Why don't you come this way? The
others will follow" he beloved
There are women and children
down below. They must be saved first.
and they cannot climb the mast" was
the reply.
"All right, but send up a couple of
sailors We are short handed here"
"Right-o," sang out the other cheer
lily, though he wondered why three men
should anticipate difficulty.
Down he went. Without waiting,
Brand and the girls hauled Justify at
the rope. 1t was no child's play to
hoist a heavy pulley and several hun
dred feet of stout cordage. More than
once they feared the first thin rope
would break, but it was good hemp,
ard soon the block was hooked to the
strong iron stanchions of the railing
To make assurance doubly sure, Brand
told Enid TO take several turns Of the \
spare cord around the hook and the
adjacent rails.
Meanwhile, Constance and he saw
that the rope was moving through the
pulley without their assistance. Then
through the whirling scud beneath they
made out an ascending figure clinging
to it. Soon he was close to the gallery.
Catching him by arms and collar they
lifted him into safety. He was one Of
the Junior officers, and Constance,
though she hardly expected it, expert
enced a momentary feeling of disap-
pointment that the first man to escape
was not the handsome youth to whose
cool daring some at least of the ships
company would owe their lives.
The newcomer was typical Briton.
Thanks" he said "Close shave
Have you a light? We must signal
after each arrival"
Enid brought the small lantern, and
the stranger waved it twice. The rope
Travelled back through the pulley, and
this time 1t carried a sailor man, who
said not one word, but stopped to tie
his boot lace
"How many are left?" inquired
Brand Of the officer.
about eighty, all told, including
some twenty women and children"
"All wet to the skim"
"Yes; some Of them unconscious, per-
haps dead"
"Can you hold out?"
"Yes. A nip Of brandy
81 will send some. We must leave
you now. These with me are my
daughters"
At last the crust of insular self pos
session was broken. The man looked
from one to the other Of the seeming
lighthouse keepers.
swell, I'm he blurted out in his
surprise "That American youngster
wondered what the trouble was"
A shapeless bundle hove in sight. 1t
contained two little girls tied inside a
tarpaulin and dashed to the rope. This
evidently was the plan for dealing with
the helpless ones.
Brand instantly divided his forces.
Enid he dispatched to make hot cocoa
in the quickest and most lavish man.
ner possible. Constance was to give
each new arrival small quantity of 4
stimulant (the lighthouse possessed
dozen bottles Of brandy and whisky
and act as escort. The women and
children were to be allotted the two
bedrooms. Any bad cases of injury or
complete exhaustion could be disposed
of in the visiting officers room, while |
all the men fit to take care of them
selves were to be distributed between
the entrance, the coal room, the work
shop and the stairways. The kitchen,
storeroom and service room were to |
be kept clear, and the storeroom doos
locked. Eighty! Brand was already do |
ing problems In simple arithmetic
A similar problem, with a different
point to be determined, was occupying
the active mind of the american
youngster" who had solved the knot |
test proposition put forward during
that eventful night.
He watched the forwarding Of the |
shrieking, shuddering or inanimate wo
men. He timed the operation by his |
watch, as the reflected light from the |
lamp was quite sufficient for the pur. |
pose.
Then he approached the captain.
''Say, skipper" he cried, "how long |
do you give the remains Of her to hold |
out?"
at is not high water yet" was the |
answer. Perhaps half an hour. Forty |
minutes at the utmost"
"Then you'll have to boost this thing |
along good deal faster" said the |
cheerful one. They're going up now |
at the rate Of one every two minutes
That's thirty in half an hour. Fifty OF
us will travel heap quicker at the END |
of that time If your calculation holds |
good"