The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-18


 The horse responded to an encouraging appeal as though it fully understood, and Marsland doggedly resumed his battle with the storm. The road slanted away slightly from the cliff when horse and rider had covered another 100 yards, and wound through long cutting on the hill which af- forded some protection from the gale, en- abling them to make quicker progress. But still Marsland could not see yard in front of him. Even if his eyes had become accus- toned to the darkness, the heavy rain beating horizontally on his face, would have prevented him seeing anything.
 He had matches in his pocket, but it was useless to attempt to strike them in such a wind, and he reproached himself for hav- ing come away without his electric torch. Slowly and cautiously he made his way down the road feeling his footsteps as he went, the tired horse following obediently. The cutting seemed long one, but at length sudden blast of wind roaring in from the sea told him that he had emerged into the open again. He counted off an- other hundred paces, then paused anxiousiy.
 "The house ought to be somewhere on the left down there,' he muttered staring blindly into the dark.
 He wondered in an irritated fashon why there were no lights showing from the farmhouse, which he felt must be very close to where Ie stood But he recolle:ted that farmers kept early hours, and he realized that the occupants of the house might well be excused for going to bed on such night even earlier than usual.
 As though in answer to an unspoken wish, flash of lightning played over the sky It was faint and fitful, but it was sufficient to reveal the farm standing a lit- tie way ahead about 100 yards back from the road. He saw clearly the hedge which divided it's meadows from the road, and noted that a gate leading into a wagon drive on the side of the meadow nearest him had been flung open by the force of the gale, and was swinging loosely on it's hinges.
 They'll thank me for closing that gate if they've got any stock in the meadows" said Marsland
 The swinging white gate was faintly visible in the darkness when Marsland came close to it, and he turned into the open drive. He noticed as he walked along that the gale was not so severely felt inside as out on the road, and he came % the conclu- sion that the farm was in more sheltered part of the downs--was probably shielded from the wind by the hill through which the cutting ran.
 He reflected that it was good idea to build in sheltered spot when farming on low downs facing the English Channel He IL T l. Al the wind behind him and the rain on his back instead of beating on his face. For one thing, he found he was able to make some use of his eyes in spite of the darkness, and soon he dscerned the house looming bleakly ahead of him, with the barn along side.
 As Marsand passed the barn, his horse surprised him by whinnyng sharply and plucking the loose bridle from his arm. He felt for his match box and hastily struck a match. The wind extinguished it.. but not before it's brief splutter of light showed him the horse disappearing through an open doorway.
 He followed it and stuck another match. It flared up steadily under cover, and he saw that he was in smal storehouse at tached to the barn. Gardening tools were neatly piled in one corner, and in another were stack of potatoes and some bags of grain. His horse was plucking ravenously at one of the bags. By the light of an other match Marsland espied an old lantern hanging on nail above the tools. He took it from the nail, and found that it con- tained short end of candle-a sight which