Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-11-28
THE KEEPER OF THE LIGHT
Bv VICTOR ROUSSEAU
1911 by Harper & Bros.)

do with such sharp ears?" he continued. humor
ousy. Now, my friend, | heard you misjudging
that fine man downstairs Perhaps if you heard his
story"
cannot reproduce his words, with their quaint
accentuation the stumbling dioms, and the strong
phrases struck from the mans enkndling anger and
sense Of stern Justice the in the dork room,
with the bc-buoy booming below and the figure OF
the graybcard only blur against the spears Of the
fire But it was substantially this:
Twenty years before new yacht lay in the little
bay Its owner was the son of rich man, :. mill
lionare in those days, before wealth had
heaped UP fortunes for its posscssors Tete des
Rockers was then substantially the now,
that the cottages did not extend SO far along
the bluff. and the salmon swarmed in June up the
Black River, where now the logs of the lumber
mill float in the dam. The yacht anchored off
the small pier; its owner spent each day ashore,
fishing Sometimes. when he was tired of the sport.
he passed his days the toop of the house of the
village postmstress, whose husband acted as his
guide
pictured the scene at evening: girls strolling arm
in along the pier, to the yacht once more
and exchange words with the sailors little group
testing with one who walked alone, then. seeing
young approach her, making off, calling back:
run, Lisette. Here comes Pierre If he should
catch you you cannot escape him.
Envious were the glances that some cast back at
him. for Pierre Desmoulins with his fine figure and
handsome face, could have won many girl in Tete
des Rochers in place of Lisette Trembay the daugh-
Of the postmistress, though he Of the
lifeboat crew and the death OF his father in the
OF the foreshadowed his
Pierre caught the girl by the and linked his
own through hers. Thus they passed onward toward
the pier. he chattering voubly at times and again
lot1 eH-
Indifference. Pierre's speech died away.
They stood at the piers end, side by side, their
longer linked. A tourist boat had
anchor and her passengers thronged the decks star
ing at the isher-girls plying their lonely lives.
How happy they are, those people," murmured
Lsete, obviously.
ooh, happy and not"
sponded Pierre, sagely. But they conceal their
rows-as do
w,'' said the girl. They gong-to Gaspe"
She said, with indrawn breath
Pierre turned and looked at her
"When married you will want to roam
lie replied, linking his arm through hers again.
But she detached herself and stood gazing hard
to sea, watching the gulls flight into the gray
shadows that crept the waves. The steamship
had cast off, and already beginning to recede
into the twilight. The opposite shore had vanished
in the night msts. and Of the depths the vessel
aght from stern to bow blazed like galaxy of
stars.
And he too would go thus. into that outer
world-the young yachtsman who had first taught
her that she was lonely
\ voice hailed her. pitched just as to reach her
cars She started and glanced toward the yacht.
Pierre talking to the harbor-master and did not
see. A man was reckoning to her from the bow
she knew him: Mark Frere. who ran cargoes of con-
traband from Bale du Loup opposite, of sim
lister reputation among the coast folks. She saw him
laugh, and his voice accentuated the horror of the
lonely shore The incoming tide. turning the brack
ish salt, began suddenly to lap the rocks and
send up little ripples Of spray. Next moment Pierre
came back; he had observed nothing.
"You sad, Lisettc," he said "But when we
married you will forget. Perhaps"
He could not continue. for the shadow that op-
pressed her seemed to fall upon him also; it was the
loneliness OF men who strive against the mighty
forces of the hills and the sea.
She watched him in terror. Always that mar
riage. Would he never talking of it? More
silent than before they retraced their steps toward
the cluster of log houses under the pne-topped
cliffs
Later that night. while Lsete hemmed her we'd
ding clothes in the kitchen, Pierre talked with her
mother, the old postmstress and the unheeded tel
egraph clicked out its messages from village to vii
age along the shore. The girl caught fragments OF
messages that came out of the void through miles
of emptiness. Suddenly HO no licked out 1t was
the call for Gaspe
Gaspe the ultimate port the gray shores of the
st. Lawrence, seemed the end of the world to her.
And the yacht going to Gaspe going soon, 60
ing soon. The telegraph sang the words to her:
soon soon soon,
The old woman, having heard Pierre's story, laid
her knitting aside and called
"Lisettc, come here" she cried.
The girl slowly in, her fingers picking at the
garment that she held.
pierre complains that you want to postpone the
wedding again" she grumblcd. why you
foolish child' If you don't take you will lose
him. lie is a to be trihed with. Has not
the cure talked with your"
She scoded her, while her father, the half-wttcd
man who guided the yachtsman, sroled in, chuck
ling and rubbing his hands.
"Jean," cried the mother. turning to him. here is