Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-08-07
DucKeu snoesy
aArdO

DucKreu snoesE
aAnd say boo to naughty little girls
shouted Brand. BE off, both of you.
Keep a lookout for the next ten min
utes. If you see any signals from the
mainland or catch sight of the Lance
lot cali ne
They climbed to the trimming stage
of the lantern, which was level with
the external gallery. Ooedient to in
structions, they searched the Lands
End and the wide reach OF Mounts
bay beyond earn Gu. Save scudding
sail or two beating il from the Lizard
and couple Of big steamers hurrying
from the eaSt-One Il transatlantic
transport liner from London-there
was nothing visible. In the far dis
tance the sea looked smooth enough,
though they needed no explanation of
the reality when they saw the irregular
white patches glistening against the
hull of a PenZance fishing smack.
"Oh, Connie, the reefn' said Enid
suddenly in low voice.
They glanced at the turbid retreat
of the tide over the submerged rocks.
The sea was heavier, the noise louder,
now that they listened to it, than when
they arrived in the Daisy, little more
than an hour earlier. Some giant force
seemed to be wrestling there, raging
against it's bonds, striving feverishly
to tear rend, utterly destroy its invisi
BILE fettess. Sometimes, after an un-
usually impetuous surge, dark shape,
trailing witch tresses Of weed, showed
for an instant in the pit of the cal
dron. Then a mad whirl Of water
would pounce on it with a fearsome
spring and the fang of rock would be
smothered ten feet deep.
For some reason they did not talk.
They were fascinated by the power,
the grandeur, the untamed energy Of
the spectacle. The voice of the reef
held them spellbound. They listened
mutely.
Beneath Brand wrote with scholarly
ease:
Therefore I decided that it would
best serve the interests of the board
| if I sent Bates and Jackson to Pen
zance in the boat in which my daugh-
| ter''-he paused an instant and added
an "s'' to the ord-"fortunately hap
pened to visit me. AS would be alone
on the rock. and the two girls might be
helpful until the relief came, retained
them.'
He glanced at the weather glass in
front of him and made a note:
Barometer falling. Temperature
higher" ...... ....,..,
In another book he entered the exact
records. A column headed .'Wind di-
rection and force" caused him to look
up at the wind vane. He whistled
softly. t.-
as. w." he wrote, and after a Sec
ond's thought inserted the figure 6.
| The sailors scale, ye landsman, differs
from yours. What you term gale at
sea he joyfully halls as fresh breeze.
| No. is point above this limit, when
a well conditioned clipper ship can car
~ single reefs and topgallant sails in
chase full and by. No. 12 is a9hur-
ricane. "Bare poles," says the scale.
| Slowly mounting the iron ladder, he
| stood beside the silent watchers. The
bay was nearly deserted. No sturdy
tugboat was pouring smoke from her
funnel and staggering toward the rock.
Northwest and west the darkness was
| spreading and lowering.
| He did not trouble to examine the
| reef. It's signs and tokens We're too
| familiar to him. It's definite below OF
nuttered threat was part of the pre-
| vailing influence of the hour or day.
He had heard it's voice too often to find
an omen in it now.
| "This time I must congra tulate both
of you," he said quietly.
"On what?' they cried in Unison,
shrill with unacknowledged excitement.
Ladies' seldom if ever pass a night
on rock lighthouse. You will have
that rare privilege"
Enid clapped her hands.
81 am delighted" she exclaimed.
'N-ill there be a storm, father?" ask
| ed Constance.
| 81 think So At any rate, only
miracle will enable the tug to reach us
before tomorrow, and miracles are not
frequent occurrences at sea-
| = know of oilc," was T-..::>::5 CO..
ment, with great seriousness for her.
He read her thought.
| Il was younger then,' he smiled.
"Now I am fifty, and the world has
aged"
| CHAPTER V.
i@0HEY descended into the service