Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-09-07

like you."
| one hungry meal for eighty-one people
| gave twenty-seven hungry meals for
three He ought to have taken more
but he set his teeth and refused the
ungrateful task.
/ 1t is Ofttimes easy for a man to de-
eide upon q set course, but hard to fol-
| low it.
ga week. he murmured. Perhaps
ten days! That is all. Pray heaven
may not go mad before they diev
Pyne, watching the light, knew that
Brand had succeeded. The Falcon
went. Gradually the watch dispersed.
"Where is the hoardY' asked Pyne,
making believe that they were playing
some comedy.
Hidden in the kitchen lockers. I
| could obtain only distilled water. You
must persuade the girls in the morning
that something went wrong with the
apparatus"
AS opportunity offered Brand trans
| ferred the tins to the lockers Of the
service room. Pyne, who missed moth
ing, shook his head when it became
| evident that the last consignment was
safely stored away.
! Not much there,'' he commented.
81 will take no morev' was the fierce
cry.
"You ought to-"
81 refuse, tell you! Don't torture
me further"
ANY chance Of a row in the morn
hn r.
mount guard when the storeroom is
opened"
II acted my role well. I built up the
vacancies with empty tins"
'My sakes," cried Pyne pityingly.
''you deserve to win through
st think my heart will break" NUT.
tered Brand. But look! The lamp! It
needs adjusting" ..
Indeed, a fresh gale seemed to be
springing up. The wind vane having
gone, the index was useless. 1t was
lantern that Brand knew Of q change
taking place. The wind was backing
round toward the north.
The barometer fell slightly. 1t por-
tended either more wind and dry
weather or less wind, accompanied by
rain. Who could tell what would hap
pen? Fair or foul, hurricane or calm.
oil things seemed to be the ungovern-
able laundering of blind chance.
When the rock was left in peace aft
er the fall of the tide Pyne promised
to keep the light in order if Brand
would endeavor to sleep until day
h~a l. oI 70 a
would assuredly break down under the
strain if the tension were too long
maintained, and a time was coming
when he would need all his strength,
mental and physical.
Here have I been snoozing in odd
corners ever since came aboard"
urged the American, "and have moth
ing to do but starve quietly. It's ri
diculous. My funeral is dated; yours
isn't. You can't be on deck all the
time, you know. Now, just curl up
and count sheep jumping over a wall,
or any old game of the sort, until your
eyes close of their own Accord
Brand yielded. He lay on the hard
boards, with a chair cushion for pill
low. All the rugs rescued by Con-
stance were now needed IN the noSp1-
tai. In less than a minute he was
sound asleep.
THAT was a close CALL" mused Pyne.
I'm another hour he would have crack
ed up. He's wonder anyhow
The lighthouse keeper slept until long
after daybreak. Pyne refused to al
low any one to disturb him.
Soon after o'clock the watch re-
ported that two vessels were approach
ing from the bay. One was the Fal-
con. and the sailors soon made out that
the other was the Trinity tender from
Plymouth.
When they were both nearing the
buoy Brand was aroused.
1t was evident that Tie brief rest had
cleared his brain and restored his self
confidence. Instantly he took up the
thread of events, and his first words
showed how pleased he was that some
one of authority in the lighthouse serv-
Ice should be In active communication
with him.
..Tssprah his glasses he distiaEotlhsa