Mexico Missouri message., 1910-10-20


beacon. Morning and evening with
unvarying routine she had scanned the
horizon, this time with an excellent
glass that Langford had left her. Not
once had she sighted a ship. lie never
came; no one ever came. Hope grad
ually died away in her heart
One evening she climbed YEARLY to
the top OF the hill and listlessly swept
the horizon, the bare, vacant, un-
broken horizon, which she had sur
yeyed morning and evening all these
years. She expected nothing, but sud
denly there sprang into the object
glass of the telescope a dark blur
which she had never seen before. Her
hand trembled so that she almost
dropped the glass. She strove to pick
up that object again and could not do
it 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 it once more. II could be moth
ing but the smoke of ship!
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 she had brought the
world upon her with such terrible con-
sequences to her. Should she do 1t
again? What would happen If she did?
She laid the matches down and lifted
the glass once more. Yes, the ship
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 that bea-
con the ship would pass in the night
If she did light it, the darkness would
lend force and efficiency to it. No
ship would disregard such light In
such a quarter. Should she do it?
In one swift moment her resolution
was taken. She dropped the glass,
turned to the box of matches which
she had boarded for this very purpose,
knelt down, struck one of them,
watched the blue flame develop and
swell out in the still air, paused for a
moment hesitant, touched the light to
the inflammable mass of dead wood at
the base of the pile.
| AS the flames cracked up 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 net to
! do, she was eager for the success OF
her attempt.
And SO she waited wondering
through long hours while the flames
exhausted themselves and by and by
fell to heap of glowing ashes. Sud
denly there leaped out through the
darkness a distant twinkle of light. 1t
was too low for star. Feeling for
the telescope, she found it and with
difficulty focused 1t on the tiny spark.
1t was a red light, the light of ship!
The vessel had seen the signal. 1t 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-
vulsion Of feeling from hope to GER
tainty, from anxiety to assurance.
It was close at hand now She must
go 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
path 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 and
lay still.
When she came to her senses light
was shining in her eyes. Men stood
about her holding ships lanterns.
Some one bent over her as some one
had bent over Nher five years before
when she lay senseless on the sand.
A voice she knew called to her; arms
to whose touch she thrilled gathered
her up; she felt a heart beat against
her own. He had come back. He was
there.
Woman" said the man, II have
come back to YOU"
Man" returned the woman, oblivi-
GUS of those who stood around, hold
ing the lights, to whom she gave no
single thought-indeed they were
those who knew her Man" she
asked, true to her resolution, do you
love me as much as on that night?"
More, a thousand times!"
"And do you think me worthy"
do not ask! 1t is / who am un,