Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-09-05

y
close to hers as he cried:
Its raining. No more canvas whis-
Ky. Get hustle on with every empty
vessel"
He need not have been in such a
whirl however.
When the shower came it did not
last very long, and there were many
difficulties in the way of garnerlng the
thrice blessed water. In the first place.
the lighthouse was expressly designed
to shoot Off all such external supplies;
in the second. the total quantity OBJ
tanned did not amount to more than
haf gallon.
| But 1t did -. ,.e,u of good in
other ways. 1t lr.:,!.ga!:cd many faces,
1t caused the Grua.k;,r,.; to be securely
trusscd like plucl;c.l 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
flickered in q cloudy sky. This was a
further omen of better fortune. Per-
haps the jingling rhyme of Admiral
| FitZroy's barometer was about to be
justified:
| Long foretold,
| Long last;
Short notice,
Soon past.
And the hurricane had given but
slight warning of its advent
II feel it in my bones that we shall
all be as frisky as lambs tomorrow
said Pyne when he rejoined Brand
after the scurry caused by the rain
had passed
I've must not be too sanguine.
There is chance now. won't deny
that, but the sea is reacherous."
"This reef licks creation. At Bar
1arbor, in Maine, where mighty big
sea can kick up in very few hours,
have seen it go down again like
magic under n 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 the
north of the Sicily isles and runs into
the tidal stream again exactly at this
point. The result often is that, while
little pleasure boats can safely run
out into the bay from Penzance, there
is race over the rock that would
break up a stranded battleship."
Say, do you like this kind of life?"
II have given my best years to it."
pyne was smoking pipe, one which
Brand lent him. The tobacco was a
capital substitute for food, especially
as he had established private under
standing With Elsie and Mamie that
they We're TO way!ay him when posi-
bic and nibble a piece Of biscuit he
carried in his pocket
This arrangement was to be kept a
strict secret from ell. especially from
Miss Constance and Miss Enid, while
the little ones themselves did not know
that the she dragons whom Pyne
feared so greatly gave them surrepti-
tious doses from the last tin of con-
densed milk. retained for their exclu-
sive benefit
do you mind my saying that you
are a good bit OF an cnigma?" he haz
ardcd between puffs.
/ ut may be SO, but like the SERVICE"
lust so. was never so happy as
when took n trip as fourth engineer
on a tramp in the gulf of Florida. But
that didn't signify being tied to long
noscd oilcr for the remainder of my
days.
Are you marine engineerT i'll
CURED Brand. with some show of in
terest.
Il hold certificate just for fun.
had mechanical twist in me and gave
1t play. But am in idler by profess
| sion'
The lighthouse keeper laughed SO
naturally that the younger man was
gratiGed Polite disbelief may be a
compliment.
IAN idler. ch? You do not strike me
rs properly classed.''
ITS the fact, nevertheless. My
grandfather was pleased to invest a
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 deadY
Eyes; years ago; lost at sea, too, on
my fathers yacht"
What terrible thing!"
| rn,lct l,ovn lanp corpofh;p,r lil,n
that. ] was only six years old at the
time. My uncle lost his wife and child
too, when the Esmeralda 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 1t, Mrs. Sansittart wished
to see me yesterday. could not spare
Il moment, so ! sent her civil mes
sage. She told Constance that she
Thought she knew NO."
Hardly likely" smiled Pyne, 'lf
you have passed nearly the whole of
your life III lighthouses"
II did not quite mean to convey that
Impression. l knew Il man of her late
husbands name. many years ago"
"She is nice woman In some ways"
said Pyne reflectively. mot quite my
sort, perhaps, but Il lady all the time.
She is not an American. Came to the
States about 90, think, and lost her
hubby on ranch In California. Any
how, the old man Is dead stuck on her,
and they ought to hit 1t off well to-
Scthcr. The Nanslttart you knew didn't
happen to marry n relative of yours?"
"No. He was l4rre acquaintance"
odd thing" ruminatcl Pyne. 1T
has just occurred to me that she re-
semblcs your daughtcr--your elder
dnughter-not SO much in face as fl
style Same sort Of graceful figure.
only n trinp smaller"
Such condolences often happen In
the human family. For instance, you
are not wholly unlike Enid"
"Hully gee" said pyne. I'm too run
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