The Mena weekly star., 1910-09-22


 glass that Langford had left her Not once had she sighted a ship. He never came; no one ever came. Hope grad. ually died away in her heart.
 One evening she climbed wearily to the top of the hill and listlessly swepi the horizon, the bare, vacant. nm. broken horizon, which she had sur veyed morning and evening all thesq years. She expected nothing. but sud denly there sprang into the object glass of the telescope a dark blu, whirh she had never seen before. He, hand trembled so that she almost dropped the glass. She strove to nick up that object again and could not dc 1t in her nervous agitation. Finally she lay down upon the hill and rested her arms upon little rise of ground. and thus steadying the glass, managed to find 1t once more. It could be noth. ing but the smoke of a ship!
 The sky was without a cloud; she could not be deceived. It was miles away, of course, yet If the ship was visible to her, the land would be more visible on account of it's bulk compara, lively to those aboard of her. Yet the ship, If 1t were bound on some tradina voyage, would probably pass by What should she do? She had sv oru that she would stay on that island live and die there, unless he came to fetch her, but the longing to see him to hear about him, to know what had become of him, had grown so great that her resolution was trembling in the balance, and in the smoke of that passing ship 1t vanished into thin air She had means of striking a light which Langford had left her, which methodically and mechanically she al. ways brought with her when she climbed up the crest of the hill to seek for a sail. She lifted the matches and approached the beacon. She remem. bered how once before she had lighted that beacon; she remembered how he had pleaded with her not to do so how in doing it sine had brought the world upon her with such terrible con. sequences to her. Should she do if again? What would happen if she did She laid the matches down and lifted the glass once more. Yes, the shin was still there. She was so far away indeed that the short time which had elapsed would have made no change in her apparent position.
 She looked back to the westward The sun was setting There would be no twilight. Darkness would come swiftly. If she did not light Chat bea- con the ship would pass in the night. If she did light 1t. the darkness would lend force and efficiency to 1t No ship would disregard such a light in such a quarter. Should she do 1t? Tn one swift moment her resolution was taken. She dropped the glass, turned to the box of matches which she had hoarded for this very purpose, knelt down, struck one of them, watched the blue flame develop and swell out In the still afr. paused for 6 moment hesitant, touched the light to the inflammable mass of dead wood at the base of the pile. Tn one instant the flames were roaring amid the larger timbers as they had roared on that morning nearly two years ago. For one instant she would have torn down the pyre and scattered the flame, but 1t was not within her pow CT. Nothing could stop that raging blaze now.
 As the flames crackled ur through the wood, roaring and catching, the sun sank and the darkness fell. Her last act ere the curtain of night shut her in had been to fix her glass upon | the faint blur of smoke. Now she could see nothing. It was a moonless night. but bright with stars. She moved away from the fire and sat down as she had sat before. sheltered by the peak, to watch the sea. Now that she had done what she had sworn not to | do, she was eager for the success oi her attempt Indeed. she thought that If yon ship did not see that fire and | did not come to the island and take her of. this time she would really die; she could not stand another disap | pointment.
 And so she waited wondering | through long hours while the names i exhausted themselves and by and py fell to heap of glowing ashes. Sud | denly there leaped out through the | darkness a distant twinkle of light. it was too low for star. Feeling Tor the telescope, she found 1t and with difficulty focused 1t on the tiny spark It was a rcd light. the light of ship' | The vessel had seen the signal. It was | nearer, much nearer now. She knew about how far such a light could be
 seen. The ship was coming toward her. She almost tainted from the re
 yulsion of feeling from hope to cer'
 tainty, from anxiety to assurance
 It was close at hand now. She must 20 down to the beach to meet 1t. She
 rose to her feet and started down the hill. She went slowly, cautiously at
 first but finally she broke into a
 reckless run. She strayed from the
 cath in her excitement. her foot caught
 In a projecting root. A sharp. excru'
 ciating pain shot through her. some
 thing seemed to break in her ankle.
 She pitched forward on her face ana l tov atitl