T jMKf. M I, )M -.,. r.AW. f I. 6 St fi w 'V & I TUT "C PILLAR of LIGHT (CONTINUBD.) "Connie," she whispered when they wore safely out of hearing from the ervlce room, "I never saw a worse en se. Talk about the young men sud denly smitten you read of In novels" Her sister whirled round. "How can you be so silly?" she blazed forth. "Why did you libel Jack so readily?" tittered Enid. The other, utterly routed, went on In dignified silence. She did not speak again until they surveyed the store ap portioned for the coming feast. "Eighty-one!" she murmured. "What n monstrous deal of people for n half penny worth of bread!" "What Is the use of repining?" sang Enid, with a fortissimo accent on the jpciiultitiiHtu syllable. "Tor where there's a will there's n way. Tomorrow the sun will be shining, although it is cloudy today." Hut Constance was not to be drawn a .second time. Her clear brain was trou bled by a formless shadow. It ban ished from her mind all thought of a harmless flirtation with the good look ing youngster who had brought a blush of momentary embarrassment to her fair face. How dreadful it would bo to meet hunger with refusals! Perhaps thero were worse things in the world than the midnight ordeal of an angry sea. Inde,ed, when Pyne did Join them in Accord with his intention, he soon per elved the extent of the new danger. The stress of the night had only en hanced the need of an ample supply of food. Everybody, even the Inmates of the hospital, was outrageously hungry, And the common allotment was half a -cup of tea and half a ship's biscuit. For the midday meal there would be two ounces of meat or bacon, one pota to and another half biscuit with about a wlneglassful of wuter. For supper the allowance was half a cup of cocoa .and two ounces of bread, which must be baked during the day. Not quite starvation, this menu, but far from sat isfying to strong men and wornout women. The Falcon, knowing the uselessness of attempting to creep nearer to the Gulf Ilock,hud gone off with her budget to startle two continents. Stanhope's last message was one of assurance. Ho would do all that lay In mini's power. The lighthouse soon quieted down to a state of passive reaction. Pyne, refus ing to be served earlier, carried his -own and Hrand's scanty meal on a tray to the service room. The unwearied lighthouse keeper was on the balcony, answering a kindly sig nal from the Land's End, where tho coast guards were not yet In posses sion of the news from Penzance. lie placed the tray on tho writing desk and contemplated Its contents ruefully. "I guess that banquet won't spoil for keeping," he said to himself. "I'll just Jie round and look at it until the boss quits making speeches by the yard." A couple of minutes passed. Brand was hoisting the last line of Hags, when tho American heard faltering footsteps on the stairs. "Don't folluw so close, Mamie," said a child's voice. "My arm hurts Just 'miff for anything when I move." A , tousled head of golden hair emerged into the light. It was one of the two little girls, whom Pyne had not seen since they were swung aloft from tho sloping deck of the Chinook. Their astonishment was mutual. "Tho child, aged about eight, recognized In him a playmate of tho fine days on hoard ship. She turned, wlth-confldent cry "I told you so, Mamie. It was up. You Bald down. Here's the big glass house and Mr. Pyne." She quickened her speed, though her left arm was in a sling. Pyne,. dread ing lest she should fall, hastened to help her. "I's all right, Mr. Pyne," sho an nounced, with an air of great dignity. "I make one step at a time. Theu I ketch tho rail. See?" "You've got It down to a flue point, Elsie." ho said. "But what in tho world nro those women folk thinking of to let you and Mamie run loose About tho place?" Elsie did not answer until Mamie stood by her side. Judged by appear ances, Momlo was a year younger. Apart from the nasty bruise on Elslo's left arm and shoulder, tho children had escaped from tho horrors of the wreck almost unscathed In body and certainly untroubled In mind. "Mamie came to my room for break fast," explained Elsie at last. "Wo'so nwful hungry, an' when wo axed for 'nother blxlt Mrs. Taylor sho began to cry. An' when I said we'd go ail' And tuammii she crloO some mora." - - ... By ... Louis Tracy, Author of The Winga of the Morning" Copyright. 1004. by Edward J. Clode "Inn. TTe'w atvtui hungry," agreed Matr.le. "An', please, whore's n:sn ma?" Pyne needed no further explanation. The little ones had lost their mother. Her dlsllgurcd body, broken out of all recognition, was tossing about some where lu the undercurrents of the channel. None of tho women dared to tell the children the truth, and it was a heartrending task to deny them food. So they were permitted to leave their refuge, with the kindly belief that they would come to no harm and perchauco obtain a further supply from one of those Bweot faced girls who explained so gently thut the rations must run short for the common good. Pyne glanced up at tho lantern. Out side he could see Brand hauling down the signal. IIo sprang to the tray and secured his half biscuit and teacup. "Come along, Elsie," he said, crook ing his left arm for her. "Follow close, Mamie. Mind you don't fall." "Your inainma Is asleep," he assured them in a whisper on tho next landing. "She Just can't bo woke up for quite a long time." Then he navigated them to tho door of the second bedroom, where Mrs. Taylor was. IIo broke the hard biscuit In two pieces aud gave one to each child. "Hero, Mamie, yon carry tho cup and go shares lu the tea." "I don't like tea," protested Mamie. "If I can't have coffee I want some milk." "Well, now, you wait n little bit, and you'll be tickled to death to see what I'll bring you. But drink the tea. It's good and hot. Skip luslde, both of you." He held the door partly open, and they vanished. He heard Mrs. Taylor say: "Didn't I tell you those two little dears would do their own business best?" He regained the service room to find Brand steeping the remains of his bis cuit In an almost empty cup. The lighthouse keeper greeted his young friend with a smile. "I suppose that you, like the rest of us, never had such nn appetite lu all your days," he said. "Oil, I'm pretty well fixed," said Pyne, with a responsive grin. "Then you nro fortunate. There Is usually a wretched little fiend lurklug In a man's Inner consciousness which prompts him to desire the unattaina ble. Now, 1 am a poor eater, as a rule, yet this morning I feel I could tackle tho toughest steak ever cut off a su perannuated cow." "I don't deny," admitted Pyne, "that the Idea of a steak sounds good. That Is, you know," he went on languidly, "It might sort of appeal to me about 1 o'clock." "I should have thought you could do with one now, especially after the hard night we have gone through. Perhaps you are a believer In the French sys tem and prefer a light breakfast." Brand finished the last morsel of bis cuit and drank the cup dry. "It's a llrst rate proposition when you are accustomed to it," said Pyne. "But talking about eating Avhen there's little to eat is a poor business anyway. Don't you find that?" "I do Indeed." Brand rose and tapped the barome ter, adjusting the sliding scale to read the tenths. "Slightly better," he announced. "If only the wind would go down or even change to the norrard!" "What good would a chongo of wind do?" Inquired Pyne, greatly relieved hIm8e,f by tne c,mIQ of top,c "It would beat down the sea to some extent, and then they might bo able to drift a buoy, with a rope attached, close euough to tho rock at low tldo to enable us to reach It with a cast of a grappling iron." "Do you mean that wo could bo fer ried to tho steamer by that means?" "That is absolutely out of the ques tion until the weather moderates to a far greater extent than I daro hope at present. But, once wo had the line, we could rig up a running tackle and ob tain some stores." "Is it as bad as all that?" said the younger man after a pause. They looked at eacli other. The knowledge that all true men have of their kind leaped from oyo to eye. "Quito that bad," answered Brand. Pyne moistened his lips. He produc ed a caso containing two cigars. Ho hold It out. "Let us go shares In cousolatlon," ho said. Brand accepted the gift and affected n livelier mood. "By lucky chanco I hove an inuplo supyly of tobacco. It will bu SS S ft 4 H rj -Hi aq ' Encrlish neonle because their tastes 53 tea, but because they have learned the art of selecting and making. If Americans would select the right tea and then prepare it correctly, they would find, as has their English Cousins, that tea is by far the most delicious and healthful beveraee known. Defiance Tea possesses every good tea quality. When prepared according to directions found on each package, you obtain not only the most delightful flavor and fragrance, but the most health-giving, nerve-soothing, brain-resting tea you ever drank a beverage that you can drink with real benefit and pleasure three times a day all your life. Try it. Get a half-pound package at your grocer's and learn how to get FREE, a Beautiful Breakfast Set with DEFIANCE TEA and COFFEE LETTS-SPENCER GROCER COMPANY, ST. JOSEPH, MO. MANCE men' quioiT he said. "By trie way" and he lifted a quick glance at Pyiic "do you kuow anything about chemis try ?" "Well er I went through a course at Yale." "Can colza oil be converted Into a food?" "It contains certain fats," admitted Pyne, taking dubious stock of tho ques tion. "But the process of conversion, the chemical reaction, that is tho difficulty. "Bisulphide of carbon is a solvent, and the fatty acids of most vegetable "Come along, Elsie." oils can be Isolated by treatment with steam superheated to about 000 de grees F." Brand threw out his hands with a little gesture of helplessness. Just then Constance appeared. "Dad," sho cried, "did not Mr. Pyne tell you of my threat?" "No, dear one. I am not living in terror of you, to my knowledge." "You must please go to sleep, both of you, at least until 10 or 11 o'clock. Mr. Emmett is sending a man to keep watch hero. lie will not disturb you. IIo Is bringing some rugs and pillows, which you can arrange on the Uoor. 1 have collected them for your special benefit." "At this hour? Impossible, Connie." "But It Is not Impossible, and this Is the best hour available. You know qulto well that tho Falcon will return at high water, and you must rest, jrou know." Sho bustled about with tho busy air of a housewife who understood the whole art of looking after her family. But something puzzled her. "Mr. Pyne," sho Inquired, "whero is your cup?" "I er took it down," ho explained. For somo reason Constance felt in Btantly that sho had turned tho tables on him since tholr last encounter. Sho did not know why. Ho looked con fused for one filing; ho was not so glib In speech for another. "Down where?" she demanded, "Not to tho kitchen. I have been there slnco you brought up your breakfast and dad's on the same tray." "I breakfasted alone," remarked 5 fl' ' 'iwSiL. EnglishPeopIe Drink Six rcs Times moreTeathan Americans use six nounds of tea to American's differ from ours: not because they Brand calmly. ""Mr. "Pyiib had feasted earlier." "But he had not," persisted Con stance. "I wanted him to" She stopped. This Impudent Amer ican had actually dared to wink at her, a confidential, appealing wink which Bald plainly, "Please don't trouble about me." "You gave your tea and biscuit to somebody," she cried suddenly. "Now, who was It? Confess1!" "Well," he said weakly, "I did not feel er particularly hungry, so when I met those two little girls fooling around for nn extra supply I er thought nobody would mind if er" "Father," said Constance, "ho haH not had a mouthful!" "Then take him downstairs and give him one. You must have found my conversation Interesting, Mr. Pyne, while I was eating, but before you go let mo ndd a word In season. Stand or fall, each must abide by the common rule." Pyne, with the guilty feeling of a de tected villain, explained to Constanco how tho cup might bo rescue)!. "I shall keep a close eye on you hi future," she announced as they wont below. "Do," he said. "That Is all I ask for." "I am a very strict person," sho went on. "Dad always encouraged us In tho sailor's Idea of Implicit obedience." "Kick me. It will make mo fool good," ho answered. Entering tho second bedroom, whero Elsie nnd Mamie were seated content edly on the floor, she stooped and kiss ed them. And not a word did she say to Enid as to the reason why Mr. Pyno should be served with a second break fast. She knew that any parade of his unselfishness would hurt him, nnd he, on his part, gave her unspoken thanks for her thought. Conversation without words is nn nrt understood only by master minds nnd lovers, so these two were either excep tionally clever persons or developing traits of n more common genus, per Imps both. CHAPTER XI. mUE tribulations which clustered in beelike swarm in and around the Gulf Bock lighthouse dur ing those weary hours were many and various. Damp clothing, In sufficiency of food, interior tempera tures ranging from the chill draft of tho entrance passage and stnlrways to the partial suffocation of rooms with windows closed owing to tho Incursions of the rising tide this unplenslng ng gregato of physical misery was serious ly augmented by nn over Increasing list of sick people, an almost total abseuco of any medical comforts and a grow ing knowledge, on the part of those not too despondent to think, that their ulti mate relief might be deferred for days rather than hours. No mete man can understand, and a woman of ordinary experience can hut dimly Imagine, the difficulty and ardu ousness of the task undertaken by Constance aud Enid. To cook and supply food for eighty ono persons with utensils Intended for the use of three, to give each separato Individual an utterly Inadequate por tion, so skillfully distributed tlm-t none should have cause to grumble at his or her neighbor's better fortuue hero Iul si one. Not can get better i?-j -..-'l-i niiiiiriiifiiiiTJi mmm v w W gK$$ tfrf 'CHOP wero culinary problems at once com plex and exhaustive. By adopting fantastic dovlces, bring ing Into service empty Jam pots aud sardine tins, they found It was possible to feed twenty ut a time. This meant tho preparation of four distinct meals, each requiring nn hour's work. Long before tho last batch, which included themselves, was lamenting the absurd discrepancy between appetite and nu-' tldoto lu the shape of anything to eat, the first was ravenous again. The women complained the lenst. In tho occupants of tho two bedrooms tho girls encountered a passive fortitude which was admirable. It was an ex traordinary scene which met their eyes when they entered either of thesu stuffy apartments. Many of the res cued ladies had not given a thought to t changing the dcmltoilct of evening wear on ,bonrd ship for more service able clothing when the hurricane over took the vessel. They nil, It is true, possessed clonks or wraps of some sort, but theso garments were still sodden with salt water and therefore unwear nble, even if the oppressive warmth in each room rendered such a thing pos sible. Their elegant costumes of mus lin, cotton, silk or satin wero utterly ruined. Lucky wero the few whoso blouses or bodices had not been rent into tatters. Some of the worst sufferers in tills respect wero now tho best provided. Blankets and sheets had been ruthless ly torn up and roughly stitched into nrticies of clothing. Mrs. Vnnslttirt, for Instance, who llrst suggested tills via media, wore an exquisite Paris gown and a loose dressing Jacket ar rangement of yellow blanket, the com ponent parts of which slip persuaded two other women to sew 'together on the model provided by her own elegant figure. A few quick wltted ones who fol lowed her example exhausted the avail able stock, and pillowcases and ruga would havo undergone motnmorphosls In tho snme way had not Constance come to tho rescue by Impounding them, declaring that tlioy must bo re served for the uso of thoso sufferers who needed warmth and rest. Tho men passed their time in smok ing, singing, yarning and speculating on tho chanco of tho weather clearing. Ultimately, when tho banging of tho waves again made tho column feci un safe, a small section began to plan petty attempts to pilfer the provisions. It is the queer mixture of philosopher aud beast in the avcrago human being thnt makes 'It possible for tho sanio man lu one mood to risk his life qulto voluntarily to save' others and in an other to organlzo selfish theft. After an ingenious seaman hnd been detected In an attempt to pick tho storeroom lock, and when a tray of cold ham was deliberately upset whlio a football scrimmage took place for tho pieces, Mr. Eiuinott stopped theso ebullitions by arming tho watch with assorted weapons from tho workshop and issuing stern orders as to their uso in caso of need. Hero again tho warring elements which form tho human clay wero ad mirably displayed. On duty, under tho bonds of discipline, the coarse grained foremast, hand who had gobbJeduj a L sfSO , IUjJWM KM .-KTJA Km (Coutlnuod on page 0.) I V :. ' '" tj ( f R i . ft H A