The Red Cloud chief., 1906-10-12

The flour at least must have attracted
attention If anybody tried to eat it."
did you say all that to the pur-
ser?' he asked. suspendlng his labors
and looking at her steadily.
mo: he could not remember exactly
what proportion of the various articles
there ought to be left"
"Thcn take my advice, Miss Con-
stance, and keep on forgetting" he
said.
A quick flush came into her pale
cheeks.
you are not saying that without
good cause?" she murmured.
81 have the best of reasons. If the
least hint of such a thing goes round
among the men there will be ructions."
Constance went to the door and
closed 1t.
Enid" she said, 81 believe father
and Mr.. Pyne have got some dreadful
plan in their minds which they dare
not tell US about"
But the American was not to be cor
door again and went out, pausing on
Inc tnreSnOlu 10 say:
IL wouldn't venture to guess what
might be troubling Mr.. Brand, but you
can take it from me that what he says
goes. Talk about grasping a nettle
firmly! l believe your father would
grab a scorpion by the tail, If he felt
that way"
And with this cryptic utterance he
quilted them, intending to warn Brand
Mt the first opportunity that the time
was at hand when he must harden his
heart and take the decisive step of
cutting off communication between the
service room and the remainder of the
building.
This could be done easily. The
flanges Of the uppermost iron staircase
below. A few minutes labor would re-
move the screws. The steps could be
lifted bodily into the service and
there utilized to seal the well.
"What a bowling menagerie will
break loose here when they find out"
thought Pyne. Its n hard thing. to
say, but we ought to have the door
oINhs QuitC u stdNh VI oih VIII ecu
to be pitched outside"
A comforting reflection truly, yet his
face bore no token thereof as he join
ell the lighthouse keeper and several
Of the ChinoOk's officers and men on
the gallery.
The wind had shifted another couple
Of points to the north, and the sea,
0nart frnnp tho raaf xr,o r,,nninr In N
heavy unbroken swell. That was the
tantalizing part Of it. Any ordinary
ships boat, properly managed, could
live in perfect safety in the open.
But the iron toOthed reef, with its
tortuous channels and battling currents
changing with every stage Of the tide,
surrounded the pillar with an appar-
emily impossible barrier, while the
lighthouse itself offered as frowning a
front as any Of the black rocks which
reared their weed covered crests at
low water.
Signals were being exchanged be-
tween the gallery and the Trinity tend
er. Brand seemed to be very emphatic
In his to the communications
made to him by %Stanhope.
"No, no." he muttered aloud, while
the anxious man near him wondered
why he was so impatient.
ut is utterly impossible" he said
again. mo boat n do 1t. Some one
should stop him. 1t means certain loss
of life"
At last, becoming aware that his
nn,.No,;on an,,Jl MOI ,,,1o,t,l x-InA
was going on, he turned to them with
passionate explanation.
"That brave fellow Stanhope says
that, with two others at the oars, he
intends to row near enough to the rock
at half flood to endeavor to spring on
to the ladder. l cannot persuade him
that no man has eve yet succeeded In
such a mad project. Look below and
see how each wave climbs around
eighteen or twenty feet Of the base.
The thing is wildly impracticable. He
will be swept off and smashed to pieces
before our eyes even If the boat es-
capes."
'If the boat can come near enough
for that purpose, couldn't W. heave a
line aboard herr" asked one of the
ships officers.
"We can try. / shall signal them to
that effect. Anything Is better than to
sanction an attempt which Is foredoom-
ed to failure and must result In the
death Of the man who tries It,"
Thereupon more energetic flag wav-
ing took place. Finally Brand desisted
In sheer evaporation.
81 cannot convince him." he cried.
"He has made up his mind. May the
Lord preserve him from a peril which