Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1907-02-18

1t caused the drunkards to be securely
trussed like plucked fowls and dumped
along the walls of the entrance pas,
sage, and it 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
fiickered in a cloudy sky. This was
further omen of better fortune Per
hap5 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 bu.
slight warning of its advent
Il 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
Eve must not be too sanguine
There is a chance now. l won't deny
that, but the sea is treacherous'
This reef ticks creation. At Bar
Harbor, in Maine. where a mighty big
sen can kick up in a very few hours,
have seen it go down again like
| magic under change of wind"
THAT is quite reasonable Any ordi-
| nary c0mmoti0n 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 stranded battleship."
Say, do you like this kind Of life?"
Il have given my best years to it."
Pyne was smoking a 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 were TO waylay him when posi-
BILE and nibble piece of biscuit he
carried in his pocket.
This arrangement was to be kept a
strict secret from ALL 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 enigma? he haz-
arded between puffs.
cit may be so, but like the service
"Just so. I was never so happy as
when | took a trip as fourth engineer
on tramp in the gulf OF Florida. But
that didn't signify being tied to a long
nosed oiler for the remainder of my
days"
"Are you marine engineer? in.
quired Brand, with some show of in
terest
II hold certificate just for fun.
had mechanical twist in me and gave
it play But I am an idler by profes
sion.'
The lighthouse keeper laughed sc
naturally that the younger man was
gratifed. Polite disbelief may be 6
compliment.
can idler, Ell? You do not strike me
as properly classed."
cts the fact, nevertheless My
grandfather was pleased to invest {
few dollars in real estate on the sheer
farm where Manhattan avenue now
stands My uncle has half; my mother
had the other half
Are both of your parents dead?"
Eyes; years ago; lost at sea, too, OF
my fathers yacht"
what a terrible thing"'
cit must have been something like
that. l 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. l never though
he would marry again, but l suppose
he's tired of being alone"
Probably. By the way, now tina
you mention it, Mrs. VanSittart wished
to see me yesterday. l could not spare
a moment. SO l sent her a civil mes
sage. She told Constance that shs
thought she knew me-"
Hardly likely" smiled Pyne 81
you have passed nearly the whole O.
your life in lighthouses
II did not quite mean to convey tina
impression. | knew a man of her late
husbands name. many years ago.
''She is a nice woman in some ways,
said Pyne refectively. Not quite m!
sort, perhaps, but a lady all the time
She is not an American. Came to thu
States about go. think. and lost he
hubby on a ranch in California. Any
how, the old man is dead stuck on her
and they ought to hit it off well to
gether. The Vansittart you knew diGn'
happen to marry a relative of yours z"
NO He was a mere acquaintance"
"Odd thing" ruminated Pyne. Il
has just occurred to me that she re