The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1906-10-26

tolled Its warning through the fog.
The monotonous ticking of the clock
work attachment that governed 1t, the
sharp and livelier click Of the occult
ing hoods machinery, were the only
sounds which alternated with its deep
boom. The tremendous clang sent
thrill through the giant column itself
and pealed away into the murky void
with tremolo Of profound diminu-
lions.
Overhead the magnificent lantern, its
eight ringed circle of flame burning a,
full pressure, iliumined the drifting
vapor with an intensity that seemed ia
be born of the sturdy granite pillar OF
which 1t was the fitting diadem. Hard
and strong externally as the everlast-
Ing rock on which 1t stood, replete
within with FURNISHED steel and polish
ed brass, great cylinders and powerful
pumps, the lighthouse thrust its glow
Ing torch beyond the reach of the most
daring wave. Cold, dour, defiant it
looked. Yet it's superhuman eye
sought to pierce the very heart Of the
fog, and the furnace white glare, con-
centrated ten thousand fold by the en-
clrcling hive Of the dioptric lens, flung
far into the gloom a silvefy cloak of
moonlike majesty.
At last an irresistible ally sprang to
the assistance of the unconquerable
light About the close of the middle
watch a gentle breeze from the Allan
tic followed the tide and swept the
shivering wrath landward to the north
east, while the first beams of a June
sun completed the destruction of the
routed specter.
So once more, as on the dawn Of the
third day, the waters under the heaven
were gathered into one place and the
dry land appeared, and, behold, it was
good.
On the horizon the turquoise rim of
the sea lay with the sheen of folded
silk against the softer canopy Of the
sky. Toward the west q group of is
lands, to which drifting banks Of mist
chung in melting despair, were etched
in shadows of dreamy purple. Over
the nearer sea floor the quickly dying
vapor spread haZy pail of opal tints.
Across the face of the waters glisten-
ing bands of emerald green and serene
blue quivered in fairy lights. The
rays Of the sun threw broad
cast a goldeS mirage and gilded all
things with the dumb gladness of an
English summers day.
A man, pacing the narrow gallery be-
meath the lantern. halted for a mo-
ment to food his soul afresh with a
beauty made enhancing by the knowl-
edge that few brief minutes would
resolve it into matuter and more ia
miliar charms.
He was engaged, it is true, in the
unromantic action of filling his pipe,
a simple thing, beloved alike of poets
and navvies, yet his eyes drank In the
mute glory of the scene, and, captive
to the spell of the hour, he murmured
aloud:
FLOATING on waves of music and of light,
Behold the chariot of the fairy queen!
Celestial coursers paw the unyielding air;
Their filmy pennons at her word they furl
And stop obedient to the reins of light"
The small door beneath the glass
fame was open. The worker within,
busily cleaning an eight inch burner,
ceased for an instant and popped his
head out.
did you hail meT' he inquired.
The matter of fact words awoke the
dreamer. He turned with a pleasant
smile.
hn Tim Il did hon
body, but it was Aurora, Spirit of the
Dawn, not hard bitten sailorman
like YOU"
"Oh, that's all right, cap'n! l thought
/ heard you singin' out for light"
The other man bent his head to shield
a match from a puff of wind, thus con-
cealing from his companion the CLEAN
Of amusement in his eyes. His mate
shifted the fragrant odor of the tobacco
longingly, but the Elder Brethren Of
the Trinity maintain strict discipline,
and he vanished to his task without
a thought of broken rules.
He left a piece of good advice be-
hind him.
IF 1 was you, cap'n," he said, I'D
TURN III. Jones is leelln Al tnlS lioIh
in. He comes on at 8. You ought to
be dead beat after your double spell
of the last two days. I'll keep break
fast back until three bells (9:3O a. mo-,
an there's fresh eggs an haddick."
"Just a couple of whiffs, Jim. Then
I'll go below"
Both men wore the uniform Of assist
ant keepers, yet it needed not their
manner Of speech to reveal that one
was gentleman born and bred and
the other bluff, good natured, horny
handed A. b., to whom new laid eggs
and recently cured fish appealed far
more poteptly than Shelley and sum
mer dawn ct sea.
re who had involuntarily quoted
"Queen Nab" turned his gaze scaward
again. Each moment the scene was be-
coming more brilliant, yet nearer to
earth. The faroff islands sent splashes
of gray, brown and green through the
purple. The rose flush on the horizon
was assuming yellower tinge, and the
blue Of sky and water was deepening
Twenty miles away TO the southwest
the smoke of steamer heralded the /