Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-11-08

other ways. 1t frightened many faces
1t caused the drunkaris TO be securely
trussed like plucked fowls and dumped
along the walls OF the entrance pas
sage. and 1t gave Brand some degree
of hope that the rescue operations Of
the next day would be more success
full.
When the rain cleared off the moon
Glckcrcd in II cloudy sky. This was a
further omen of better fortune Per
haps the jingling rhyme Of Admiral
Ftzroy's barometer was about to be
Justified
Long foretold,
Tong last;
Short notice,
Soon past.
And the hurricane had given but
slight warning of its advent.
Il feel it in my bones that we shall
all be as frisky as lambs tomorrow"
said Pyne when he reioined Brand
after the scurry caused by the rain
had passed
1--WE must not be too sanguine
There is Il chance now. l won't deny
that, but the sea Is treacherous."
This reef licks creation. At Bar
Harhor, in Maine. where mighty big
sea can kick up in very few hours.
| have seen il go down again like
magic under change of wind"
THAT is quite reasonable. Any ordi.
nary commotion has room to spread It.
self in the tideway. Here the tide Is
broken up into ocean rivers, streams
with boundaries as definite as the
Thames. The main body sweeps up
into the bottle neck Of the channel.
Another tributary comes round tho
north Of the Sicily isles and runs into
the tidal stream again exactly ~ Thu.
point. The result often IS that, while
little pleasure boats can safely run
out into the bay from PenZance. there
is a race over the rock that would
break up a stranded battleship''
Say, do you like this kind Of llfe?'
Il have given my best years to It,"
Pyne was smoking a pipe. one which
Brand lent him. The tobacco was Il
capital substitute for food. especially
as he had established private under
standing with Elsie and Mamie that
they were TO waylny him when posi-
bic and nibblc a piece of biscuit he
carried In his pocket.
This Arrangement was to be kept
strict secret from all, especially from
Miss Constance and Miss Enid, while
:hc little ones themselves did not know
that the she dragons whom Pyne
feared so greatly gave them surrepti-
tous doses from the last tin Of con-
densed milk, retained for their exclu-
slve benefit
40 you mind my saying that you
arc q good BIT of an enigmaT' he haz-
ardcd between purs.
at may be so. but like the service"
".Tust so. was never so happy as
when took trip as fourth engineer
on a tramp in the gulf Of Floridn. But
that didn't signify being tied to a long
noscd oiler for the remainder of my
days"
Are YOU a marine engineer" in
| quircd Brand, with some show Of in
/ tercSt.
II hold a certificate just for fun. l
had n mechanical twist IA me and gave
1t play. But am an idlcr by profes-
sion
The lighthouse keeper laughed so
naturally that the younger man was
gratllicd Polite disbelief may be a
! compliment.
AN idlcr. eli? You do not strike me
as properly classed."
ITS the fact. nevertheless. My
grandfather was pleased TO invest Il
few dollars in real estate on the sheep
farm where Manhattan avenue now
stands. My uncle has half; my mother
had the other half"
Are both of your parents deadF
eyes; years ago; lost at sea, too. on
my fathers yacht"
what q terrible thing"
1T must have been something like
that. ! was only six years old at the
time. Ny uncle lost his wife and child,
too, when the Esmoralda went down.
1t nearly killed him. never thought
he would marry again, but | suppose
he's tired Of being alone"
probably. BY the way, now that
you mention it. Mrs. NanSttnrt wished
to see me yesterday. ! could not spare
a moment, so | sent her civil mes
sage. She told Constance that she
thought she knew me-"
Hardly likely" smiled Pync, IF
you have passed nearly the whole of
your life in lighthouses"
Il did not quite mean to convey that
impression. ] knew man of her late
husbands name, many years ago"
"She IL nice woman in some ways,
said Pyne re1ectively. Not quite my
sort, perhaps, but lady all the time
She is not an American. Came to the
States about 80, think, and lost hel
hubby on n ranch in California. Any
how, the old man Is dead stuck on her
and they ought to hit it Off we'll to
gether. The Nansittart you knew didn''
happen to marry relative of yours"
mo. He was mere acquaintance
"Odd thing" ruminated Pyne. 81
has just occurred to me that she re
sombles your daughter-your eldel
daughter-not so much IN face as II
style. Same sort of graceful figure
only trihe smaller"
"Such condolences often happen II
the human family. For instance, 20,
are not wholly unlike Enid"
"IIully gee" said Pyuc, I'm too run