Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-11-09

~ fastened it round his waist. The
rowers wore cork jackets, but he was
quite unprotected. Bareheaded, with
his we'll knit limbs shielded only by q
Jersey, loose fitting trousers and can.
vas shoes, he had declined to hamper
his freedom Of movement with the
cumbrous equipment SO essential for
any one who might be cast adrift in
that dreadful sea.
The girls, even In their dumb agony.
were duly conscious of a scurry Of
feet up and down the stairs What did
1t matter? They paid heed to naught
save the advancing boat, now deep In
the trough Of q wave, now perched
precariously on lofty crest. Whoever
the rOwers were, they trusted wholly
to the instructions given by the gallant
youth who peered SO boldly into the
and high tossed spray gave to the
lighthouse the semblancc Of alternately
lifting and lowering its huge frame
nmid the furious torrents that encir-
cled 1t. Nerves Of steel, strong hearts
and true, were needed by those who
would voluntarily enter that watery
Inferno.
Yet the men at the oars did not falter
hor turn their heads. They pulled
evenly and well, with the short, deep
sunken stroke Of the fisherman, and
Etanhope, now that they were almost
In tho vortex where thu waves lost
their regularity. produced paddle
wherewith to twist the boats head to
meet each turn and swirl.
Stealthily the powerful tugboat crept
In the wake of the smaller craft, until
1t became clear to the girls strained
vision that watchful helpers, dashed in
the vessels bows, were manipulating
another rope US drag, thus helping
the sailors efforts to prevent their frail
nrgOsy from being swamped by
breaking sea.
Then miracle did happen, miracle
Of science. When the boat was yet
200 yards away, Brand, looking out
from the gallery In stony despair, sud-
denly behaved as one possessed Of a
flend.
"Follow mew he roared. Come,
every man"
He rushed into the lantern. AS If he
wanted wings rather than limbs, he
swung himself by his hands to the
floor of the service room.
Colvapt1aI into oofix-g<u fbaco x,,I,o
were with him on the ledge raced after
him. They knew not what had hap
pened. Their leader had spoken and
they obeyed.
Down, down. they pelted, taking the
steep stairs with breakneck speed, un-
til they reached the oil room, with its
thousands Of gallons stored In great
tanks.
Big empty tins stood there, awaiting
the next visit of the tender, and Brand
wrenched the cover off the nearest cis-
tern. He scOOped up a tinful Of the
oil.
Bring all you can carry" he shout
ed. and was of again with an energy
that was wonderful in q man who had
endured the privations and hardships
Of so many hours.
They understood. Why had none of
them thought Of it earlier? In its cold
granite depths the lighthouse carried
that which had the power to subdue
the roaring fury Of the reef.
The first man to reach the gallery
after Brand was Pyne, who CHANGED
to be nearest to him when the hubbub
arose. He found the other man fling
Ing handfuls of the oil as far to wind
ward as the thick fluid would travel.
"Quickw gasped Brand. Don't pour
It out. 1t must be scattered"
So the COLA fell In little patches Of
smooth tranquility into the white void
beneath, and before Stanhope had
piloted his boat half the remaining dis
lance the wave currents surglng about
the rocks ceased to toss their yellow
name so high, and the high pitched
masses Of foam vanished completely.
The seamen stationed In the entrance
were astonished by the rapidly of the
change. In less than q minute they
found they were no longer blinded by
the spindrift cast by each upward rush
right into the interior Of the light
house. The two nearest to the door
looked out in wOnderment What devil
ment was the reef Matching now, that
its claws should relax their clutch on
the pillar and its icy spray be With
held?
Each wave, as it struck to westward
OF the column, divided itself into two
roaring streams which met exactly
where the iron rungs ran down the
wall. There was mighty clash Of the
opposing forces and further upward
rearing Of shattered torrents before
the reunited mass fell away to give
place to its successor.
Full twenty feet Of the granite layers
were thus submerged and exposed
whenever a big comber Travelled sheer
over the reef.
But these straightforward attacks
were spasmOdic. Often the eddies Gre
ated by the rocks came tumbling pell-
nell from the north. Sometimes they
would combine with the incoming tide,
and then the water seemed to cling
tenaciously to the side OF the light
house until It rose to q great height,