Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-10-11

There was an ominous drop In tn,
temperature too. The rain he antici
pated might turn to snow, and snow II
own brother to fog at sea, though bOti
are generally absent from the Cornisl
llttoral In winter.
Ben" cried Enid, breaking off {
vivid IL merciless description Of a new
disciple who had Joined the artist,
coterie at Newlyn, what are you look
ing atT
He scratched his head and gazed
fxedly at the white battalions sweep
irg in aeral conquest over the land.
she do look like snaw," he admitted
"well, what does that matterw
without waiting for orders Con.
stance had eascd the helm trine The
Daisy was now fairly headed for the
rock. With this breeze she would be
there in less than an hour.
ut be a bit risky" grumbled Ben.
1--WE will be alongside the Lighthouse
before there can be any serious down
fall" said practical Constance. "Sure
ly we can make the land again no mat
ter how thick the weather may be-"
Ben allowed himself to be persus ded
In after life he would never admit
that they were free agents at that
moment
at had to be- he would say. 81,
wur in me mind to argy wi she, but !
Just couldn't An how often do us zee
shaw in Carnival? Not once in a blue
moon" And who would dispute him
No west country man, certainly.
At distance OF i've miles one small
fishing craft is as like another as two
lllputians to the eye of CULVER. In
word, 1t needs acquaintance and
nearness to distinguish them.
AS it happened, stephen Brand die
happen to note the Daisy and The
course she was shaping. But. during
the short interval when his telescope
might have revealed to him the iden
tity of her occupants. he was suddenly
called by telephone from the oil room
to the kitchen. When next he ran alof
in Il wild hurry to signal for assistance
he found, to his despair. that thu
Lands End was already blotted out il
swirling snowstorm. and the grea
plain of blue sea had shrunk to a lead
en- patch whose visible limits made thu
reef look large by comparison.
With the mechanical precision Of
habit lie set the big bell in motion. IT.
heavy boom came titfuly through thu
pelting snowflakes to the ears Of til,
two girls and old Ben. The latter, mas
ter Of the situation now, announced hi'
/ intention to bout ship and make fol
Mounts bay.
ZEE doan' ketch me tryin' to sal
close to Gulf Rock when zee cant zee {
boats length ahead" he said emphatic
ally. Il be sorry, ladies both. but 'et
knaw how the tide runs over the reef
an ties easy TO drive to the wrong sid,
OF the light. Wc'm try again tomor
row. Ony the flowers II Spite. All the
rest
Crash. A loud explosion burst forth
from the dense heights of the storm
The Daisy, sturdy as she was, seemed
to SILVER The very air trembled will
the din. Pollard had his hand on thu
sail to swing it to starboard when Con
stance put the tiller over to bring thu
boats head up against the wind. Fo
an instant he hesitated. Even he, vers
ed in the ways Of the sea was startled
Both girls positively jumped, the sud
den bang Of the rocket vas SO unex
pected
"Mr. Brand must ha' iced u.s." pro
nounced Ben. "That's warnin' to W,
to 50 back"
The words had scarce left his lip,
when another report smote the grea
silence, otherwise unbroken save b,
/ the quiet plash of the sea against tn,
bows and the faint reverberations o
the distant bell.
THAT IL too urgent to be intended
for u.s." said Constance I'VE wer,
just halfway when the snow com
menced."
II did not notice any vessel near thu
rock" cried Enid TREMENDOUSLY. "DiC
you, Benz"
Pollard's slow utterance was 10
quick enough. Before he could an
swer third rocket Numbered its over
powering summons.
That Is the help wanted signal,
cried Constance. Ben there is n,
question now of going back. We mus
keep our present course for twent!
minutes at least and then take to til,
oars. The bell will guide u.s."
ooh VOC pa, oCrood L'n;d
thing has gone wrong on the rock itself
! am quite sure there was no ship nea
enough to be in trouble already"
'By gum, we'm zee what's the mat
ter" growled Ben. Steady it is. Mis-
Brand. Eff we'm in trouble Id as sool
ha' you two gels aboard as any tw,
men in Penzance,"
At another time the compliment
would have earned him torrent o
sarcasm. Now it passed unheeded
The situation was bewildering, alarm
Ing. There We're three keepers in tn,
lighthouse. The signal foreboded i'll
ness, sudden and serious Illness. VIII,
could it be?
In such a crisis charity begins a
home. Constance, with set face ant
shining eyes, Enid, flushed and on tn
verge Of tears, feared lest their owl
beloved one should be the sufferer.
To each Of them Stephen Brand wa
equally kind and devoted father. IL
never allowed Enid to feel that sh
was dependent on his bounty. Onl.
the other day, when she limited at tn
ADOPTION of an art career as n future