Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-06-13


sought and found peace here in the
gaunt pillar on lonely rock
Strange how differently men are con-
st1tuted And women! Bah! A hard
look came into his eyes. His mouth set
in stern contempt. For little while
his face bore steely expression which
would have amazed the man within the
lantern, now singing Justify as he
worked.
But, as the harp Of David caused the
evil spirit to depart from Saul, so did
the music of the morning chase away
the lurking devil of memory which
sprang upon the lighthouse keeper with
the sight of the vessel.
He smiled again, trifle bitterly per-
haps. Behind him the singer roared
genially:
"Soon we'll be in London Town,
Sing. my lads. yeo ho-o!
And see the king in his golden crown,
Sing, my lads, yeo ho!"
The man on the platform seemed to
be aroused from painful reverie by
the Jingle SO curiously apropos to his
thoughts. He tapped his pipe on the
iron railing and was about to enter the
lantern-and so to the region of sleep
beneath-when suddenly his glance.
trained to an acuteness not dreamed Of
by folk ashore, rested on some object
seemingly distant mile or less and
drifting slowly nearer with the tide.
At this hour n two knot current
swept to the east around and over the
treacherous reef whose sunken fangs
were marked by the lighthouse. In
calm weather, such as prevailed just
then, it was difficult enough to effect u
landing at the base Of the rock, but
this same smiling water race became
an awful. raging, tearing fury when
the waves were dashed into q storm.
He pocketed his pipe and stood with
hands clinched on the rail, gazing in.
tently at white painted ships life
boat, with broken mast and sail
trailing over the stern. Its color, with
/, the sun shining on it, no less than the
| vaporous eddies fading down to the
surface OF the sea, had prevented him
| from seeing 1t earlier. Perhaps he
| would not have noticed it at all were
it not for the flashing wings of several
sea birds which accompanied the craft
| in aerial escort.
Even yet landsman would have
stared insolently in that direction and
declared that there was naught else
| in sight save the steamer, whose tai
masts and two black tunnels We're now
distinctly visible, but the lighthouse
keeper knew he was not mistaken
Here was boat adrift, forlorn, de
serted. Its contour told him that Il
was no local craft straying adven
turously from island or mainland. Its
unexpected presence, waited thus
strangely from ocean wilds, the broker
spar and tumbleu canvas, betokeneG
an accident, perchance q tragedy.
"Jimw he cried.
| His mate, engaged in shrouding the
cleaning lenses from the SUMS rays
came at the call. He was lame, thu
result of wound received in tn,
Egyptian campaign; nevertheless, b.
was quick on his feet.
what do you make of that?"
The sailor required no more than ,
| gesture. He shaded his eyes with hi
right hand, mere shipboard trick o
concentrating vision and brain, 70
the rising sun was almost behind him.
| "Ship's boat" he answered laconical
ly. Collision, expect. There's BIZ
no blow to speak of for days. Blu
they're gone. Knocked overheard whe
she was took aback by squall. U1
less them BIRDS
He spoke in species Of verbal shor
hand, but his meaning was clea
finished. The craft was under no col
troll. She would drift steadily into IL
bay until the tide turned, wander
an aimless circle for half an hol
thereafter, and then. when the ebb r
stored direction and force to the Gu
rent, voyage forth again to the fable
realm of Lyonnesse.
For little while they stood togeth'
In silence. Jim suddenly quilted h
companion and came back with glas
He poised 1t with the precision of
Bisley marksman and began to spea
again jerkily:
"Stove in forrard, above the wat,
line. Wouldn't live two minutes in
sea. Somethin' lynn In the bow
, Can't make 1t out. And there's
couple Of cormorants perched on IL
gunwule. But she'll pass within q
yards on her present course, an IL
tide'll hold long enough for that"
The other man locked around. Fro
that elevated perch. 100 feet aboN
: high water mark, lie could survey
vast area of sea. Excepting the a
, preaching steampr-which would fl
past mile away to the southland
few distant brown specks which b
tokened shoal of PenZance fishiI
smacks making the best of the til
eastwnrd-there was not sail
sight
II think we should try to get no
of her." lie said.
Jim kept his eye glued to the tel
, scope.
) "Tain't worth it, cap'n. The So
, wage II only be pound or two, N
but what an eXtry suvrln comes
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