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THE
PILLAR of
LIGHT
By
Louis Tracy,
Author of
Win
of (he
Morning"
Copyright, 1004, by
Edward J. Clodc
nary commotion bus room to spread It
self In the tideway. Here the tide Is
broken tip Into ocenn rivers, strcums
with boundaries as definite as the
Tlmnies. The main body sweeps up
into the bottle nook of the channel.
Another tributary conies round the
north of the Scllly Isles and runs Into
the tidal stream again exactly at this
point. The result often Is that, while
little pleasure boats can safely ruu
out into the bay from Penzance, there
is a race over the rock that would
break up u stranded battleship."
"Say, do you like this kind of life?"
"I have given my best years to It."
Tyne was smoking a pipe, one which
"Brand lent blni. The tobacco was a
-capital substitute for food, especially
as he had established a private under
alandlng with Elsie and Minnie that
they were to waylay him when possi
ble and nibble a piece of biscuit he
carried In his pocket.
This arrangement was to bo kept a
strict secret from all, especially from
Miss Constance and Miss Enid, while
the little ones themselves did not know
that the she dragons whom Pyno
feared so greatly gave them surrepti
tious doses from the last tin of con
densed milk, retained for their exclu
sive beuellt.
The college bred youth had not enter
ed into any general conversation with
llrand before. He had the tact now to
conceal his astonishment at the manner
of his friend's speech.
"You lllng heredity to the winds,
then?" he asked.
Brand rose to his feet, as was bis
way when deeply moved.
"Thank God, yes!" he cried.
A faint hoot came to them through
the chortling of the wind.
"One of our visitors," shouted Brand,
"and here we are gossiping as though
snugly seated In armchairs at the fire
side." Ho hurried to the gallery, putting on
an oilskin coat.
"We must win through, and I guess
I'll play bull with my father-in-law,"
quoth Pyno to himself as ho followed.
This time It was the Falcon alone,
and she signaled with n lamp that It
was deemed best to defer active opera
tions until the following afternoon.
The tide at dawn would not suit.
She went off, and the two men re
turned to the grateful shelter of the
service room.
Brand forbade further talk. Tyne
must rest now and relieve him at 3
o'clock. The youngster needed no
feather bed; he was asleep In niiiiiz
I lngly quick time. There Is a supper
less hunger which keeps people awake
"Do vou mind mv savlmr that you
arc a good bit of an enigma?" he luiz-1 t night with a full larder in the house,
nrded between puffs.
"It may be so, but I like the service."
"Just so. I was never so happy as
when I took a trip as fourth engineer
on a tramp in the gulf of Florida. But
hat didn't signify being tied to a long
nosed oiler for tho remainder of my
lays."
"Are you a marine engineer?" In
quired Brand, with some show of In
terest "I hold a certjQcate Just for fun. I
liad a mechanical twist In me and gave
It play. But I am nn Idler by profes
sion." The lighthouse keeper laughed so
naturally that the younger man was
gratified. Polite disbelief may bo a
compliment.
"An idler, eh? You do not strike me
iis properly classed."
"It's the fact, nevertheless. My
grandfather was pleased to Invest a
lew dollars In real estate on the sheep
farm where Manhattan avenue now
stands. My uncle has half; my mother
liad the other half."
"Are both of your parents dead?"
"Yes; years ago; lost at sea, too, on
any father's yacht"
"What a terrible thing!"
"It must have been something like
1hat I was only six years old at tho
time. My uncle lost his wife and child,
Too, when the Esmeralda wont down.
3t nearly killed him. I never thought
lie would marry again, but I suppose
lie's tired of being alone."
"Probably. By tho way, now that
you mention It, Mrs. Vanslttart wished
io see mo yesterday. I could not spare
si moment, so I sent her a civil mes
sage. She told Constance that she
thought she know me."
"Ilardlv likely." smiled Pyne, "if
The crude article differs from the cul
tured one so greatly that the man who
hungers of necessity cannot sleep too
much.
Thus far the Inhabitants of the light
house had been given quite enough
nutriment to maintain life. There was
no reason why any, even the most deli
cate, should be In real danger during
the next forty-eight hours. But scien
tific reasoning and the animal instincts
of mankind clash at times; In that lay
the danger whose sullen shadow was
deepening the Hues in the corners of
Brand's eyes.
Every hour tho ofllcer on duty and
some men of the watch visited him to
report that nil was well below. Some
of tho less drunken mutineers were
pitifully sober now; the others were
maudlin. Beyond tho few words ex
changed on this and kindred topics be
was loft alone with his thoughts
throughout tho silent watch. Pyne
slept heavily. Glancing nt times at
the youngster's stalwart figure and
firm, handsome face, Brand found him
self reviewing the burled years. He
thought of tho days when he, too,
looked forth on the world with the
stem enthusiasm of triumphant youth.
Long forgotten ghosts were resur
rected, shattered Ideals built up nguln.
He wondered, If tho decades rolled
back, would ho decide u second time to
abandon the flue career which lay at
his feet and withdraw his grief and his
talents to the seclusion of lonely rocks
and silent headlands.
He had been happy, as men count
happiness, during the decades. No
cloud had arisen to mar the complete
content of his life. The blossoming of
tlits girls Into delightful womanhood was
an Increasing joy to him, and It was
vetv already steeped In unavoidable
notoriety, bringing In Its train certain
vague disabilities which ho had striven
to avoid for over twenty years.
And all this because one llerce gole
nit of the many he had endured
iprang Into being at n moment when
hta mates were Incapacitated and his
laughters happened to pay him a sur
prise visit.
"It Is an Insane freak of fortune," he
muttered, "so Incomprehensible, so ut
terly out of focus with common events,
that if I were a superstitious man I
should regard It as betokening the ap
proach of some great epoch In my life.
Surely, a merciful Providence would
not bring my girls here to subject them
to the lingering torture of hunger and
thirst. I must not think of it further.
That way lies madness."
There was nt least one other troubled
soul on the rock which divined some
sinister portent In the storm. Mrs.
Vanslttart. even at this moment, was
staring into tho black void with ques
tioning eyes.
He resolutely threw back his head as
if he would hurl Into the outer dark
ness the gibbering phantom which
whispered these words of foreboding.
Although the lamp needed no attention
Just then, he climbed to the trimming
itago merely to find relief in mechan
ical action. He carefully examined the
adjustment, and, to Judge how the
weather was shaping, went out Into the
gallery to look at the distant lights.
The three quick Hashes of the Seven
Stouts lightship were very clear. That
was u jjcod Blfc'.t. The wind came from
that quarter, and, blustering though It
was, driving gigantic waves before It
Into the loud embrace of the reef, It
maintained the good promise of the
last few hours.
Seeking the comparative shelter of
Iho east side, he gazed steadily at the
Liz'ird. Its two fixed electric beams,
nearly In lino with the Gulf Hock, were
dull and watery. A local squall of rain
was sweeping down from the land.
Changeable, threatening, unsettled
Hie meteorologist might apply any of
these terms to tho prevnlent condi
tions. Far out in the channel he saw the
twinkling masthead lights of several
steamers. Blow high or low, malls
must travel and vessels put to sen. On
such a night at other times he would
-e-enter the lighthouse with a cheery
sense of Its comfort and homelike as
pect. Now he dreaded the brilliant in
terior of the service room. Its garish
aspect ill accorded with the patient
misery, the useless replnings, the Ine
briate stupor which crouched beneath.
If he and those committed to his charge
were to bo saved eituer tno sea must
be stilled or another miracle of the
loaves and fishes enacted.
There, alone on the gallery, amid the
din of howling wind and ceaseless
plaint of the waves, he seemed to be
you have passed nearly the whole of passing strango that his little house-
-your life In lighthouses."
"I did not quite mean to convey that
Impression. I knew a man of her late
husband's name, many years ago."
"She Is a nlco woman In some ways,"
said Pyno reflectively. "Not quite my
sort, perhaps, but n lady all the time.
Sho Is not an American. Came to tho
States about '90, I think, and lost her
hubby on a ranch In California. Any
how, tho old man Is dead stuck on her,
and they ought to hit It off well to
gether. Th Vanslttart you knew didn't
happen to marry n rclutlvo of yours?"
"No. ne was a mere acquaintance."
"Odd thing," ruminated Pyno. "It
lias Just occurred to mo that she re
sembles your daughter your elder
daughter not so much In face as In
style. Same sort of graceful figure,
only a trlflo smaller."
"Such coincidences often happen In
tho human family. For instance, you
aro not wholly unlike Enid."
"Hully gee," said Tyne, "I'm too run
down to stand flattery!"
"Likeness Is often a matter of envi
ronment. Characteristics, mannerisms,
tho subtlo distinctions .of class and so
cial rank, soak In through tho skin
quite as sensibly as they aro conferred
by heredity. Take tho plowman's son
and roar him iu a royal palace, turn
the infant prlnco Into a peasant, and
who shall say when they reach mnn's
estato, 'This Is tho true king.' You will
remember it was said of the Emperor
Augustus, Urbem laterltlam iuvenlt,
marmorcam rellqult ('ne found tho
city brick; ho loft It marble'). Tho same
iioblo result may be obtained in every
Stealthy child properly educated."
hold should bo plunged Into a whirl
pool of events In tho very hour when
their domesticity seemed to be most
nssured. Tho changeful moods of the
elements found no counterpart In his
nature. He, knowing the sea, did not
expect It to remain llxed in one nspect.
Whether in calm or storm, tho con
trary would surely happen ere many
days had passed. But life was u dif
ferent thing. How came It that at tho
very close of so many years of asso
ciation with tho ficklo ocean she should
play such n trick on him and his
daughters, Infold them with perils,
snatch them from the quiet pleasures
of the life they had planned for tho fu
ture and thrust upon them, even if
they escaped with their lives, a pub
licity which he, at any rate, abhorred
and oven dreaded?
Ho harbored no delusions on this
point. Ho knew that tho drama of the
Gulf Rock was now filling the columns
of newspapers all over the world. Ho
and his beloved girls would bo written
about, discussed, described In fulsome
Innguoge, pictured by black and white
artists and eulogized by wldouwako
editors eager to make much of a topic
dear to tho public mind.
On tho rock they were undoubtedly
In grave danger. Death confronted
them dentil at once extraordinary and
ghastly. No tyrant of tho middle agei,
with all his paraphernalia for wring
ing truth or lies out of cringing
wretches, had devised such a fate as
threatened "" the Inconstant se.i should
choose to render the reef altort Mer
unapproachable for many days. Yet If
help came he an ' U1030 dear U I n
w
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She w(ia criiliig 8oftlu.
apart, cut off from the sufferings with
in. He lifted his eyes to the somber
arch of the heavens. Men said the ago
of miracles had passed. Pray God it
might not be so!
When Brand went out tho sudden
rush of cold nlr through the little door
leading to the balcony aroused Pyne.
That young gentleman was rudely
awakened from n seriously vivid
dream. Ho fancied thnt Constance and
ho were clinging to tho tnll of nn enor
mous kite, which had been made to
hover over the rock by a green Imp
seatcdJn an absurdly small boat.
They were solemnly advised by other
gnomes, Imps with spnrkllng, toadllko
eyes, to Intrust themselves to this pre
carious means of escnpe, but the In
stant they dropped off the ledge of tho
gallery their weight caused tho kite
to swoop downward. The resultant
plungo Into the ocean and Constance's
farewell shriek were nothing more ter
rifying than tho chill blast and whistle
of the air current admitted by Brand,
but Pyno did not want to go to sleep
again, ne did not like emerald lined
spirits which arranged such unpleasant
escapades.
Ho straightened his stiff limbs and
snt up.
no was nbout to feel In a pocket for
his pipe he experienced tho worst
pnngs of hunger after waking In such
fashion when lie saw a woman's head
and shoulders emerging out of tho
stnlrwny.
At first h" 1'" ""'it It n-fiq Constance,
and he wondemrwhy she had mu filed
her face In tho deep collar of a cloak,
but the visitor paused Irresolutely when
her waist was on a level with the floor.
She uttered a little gasp of surprise.
"You, Charlie?" she cried. "I thought
you slept In the kitchen?"
"No, Mrs. Vanslttart," he said. "I nm
assistant keeper, and I nm here most
nil the time with Mr. Brand. But whnt
In tho nnnio of goodness"
"I was restless," explained the lady
hurriedly. "If I had remained another
minute among thoso women I should
have screamed aloud. How peaceful
you nro here! Where Is Mr. Brand?"
"Guess he's gone outside to squint nt
the weather. But come right In. I can
offer you a chnlr. Mr. Brand wants to
see you, and this Is 11 (pilot tlmo for a
chat."
"How docs ho know me? What did
ho say?"
Mrs. Vanslttart pressed her left hand
to her breast. With the other she kept
the high collar over her mouth nnd
cheeks. Pyne could only see her eyes,
nnd the alarmed light that leaped Into
them Increased his astonishment nt her
unexpected presence.
"It seems to me," he answered, "that
If you Just walk up four more steps
and sit down you can ask him all those
things yourself."
"Were you speaking of mo to him?"
"I did happen to mention you."
"And he said he knew me?"
"No, ma'am. He said nothing of the
sort. But, for mercy's sake, what mys
tery Is there about It?"
"Mystery! None whatever. I was
mistaken. I have never met him. I
came now to explain that to him.
Oh"-
She dived suddenly as the gallery
door opened. Brand caught a fleeting
glimpse of her vanishing form.
"Who was that?" he asked.
Pyno had found his pipe and was fill
ing it with tobi'.c'o.
"Mrs. Vanslttaa," he answered.
"Paying her long deferred visit, I
suppose. She chose a curious hour."
"So 1 thought. But she Just popped
her head In to tell you that she dldu't
know you at all."
Brand smiled.
"Poor lady!" he said. "She, like tho
rest of us, Is perturbed ami uneasy. I
Imagine she Is of a somewhat hyster
ical temperament."
"That's so," agreed Pyne.
There were puzzling discrepancies In
Mrs. Vanslttart's explanation of her
untimely appearance. Evidently she
did not expect to meet him there. She
thought she would find the lighthouse
keeper alone. The ready deduction
presented Itself that when she did en
counter Brand she did not wish any
third person to be present at the Inter
view. That Constance's father had no cause
to look at matters in the same light he
was quite certain. Anyhow, it was
not his affair, and he declined to trou
ble his head about Mrs. Vanslttart's
vagaries.
So the young philosopher lit his pipe
nnd delivered n dictum on the sex.
"Some women," ho snld, "nro made
up of contradictions. She is one. I
have known her for some time, and I
thought nothing could fenze her. But
there must be a sort of society crust
over her emotions, nnd tho wreck
broke it. Now, for my part, I like a
woman with a clear soul, one in whose
eyes you can catch the glint of tho
Inner crystal."
"They are rare," said Brand.
"I suppose so. Indeed, it used to bo
a mere ideal of mine, built up from
books. But they exist, nnd they nro
worth looking for."
J to be continued.
1 i WrM Tti &
VhJtMiw jm aT J rf
The Cause of Many
Sudden Deaths.
There Is n disease prevailing in this
country most dangerous bccniiBc bo deccp
ZZjIII IL KLXVV tvc. Many sudden
VA rs inifcAa dentils are cnusctl
1 by it heart dis
ease, pneumonia,
heart failure or
apoplexy are often
the result of kid
ney disease. If
kidney trouble is
the kidney-poison
cd blood will at
tack the vital organs, causing catarrh of
the bladder, or the kidneys themselves
break down and waste nway cell by cell.
Bladder troubles almost always result
from n derangement of the kidneys and
a cure is obtained quickest by a proper
treatment of the kidneys. If you arc feel
ing badly you can make 110 mistake by
taking Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root, the
great kidney, liver and bladder remedy.
It corrects inability to hold urine and
scalding pain in passing it, and over
comes that unpleasant necessity of being
compelled to go often through the day,
and to get up many times during the
night. The mild and the extraordinary
effect of Swamp-Root is soon realized.
It stands the highest for its wonderful
cures of the most distressing cases.
Swnmp-Uoot is pleasant to take nnd is
sold by all druggists in fifty-cent and
one-dollar size bottles. You may have a
sample bottle of this wonderful new dis
covery and a book that tells all about it,
both sent free by mail. Address, Dr. Kil
mer & Co., Iliughamton, N. Y. When
writing mention reading this generous
ofTcr in this paper. Don't make any
mistake, but remember the mime, Swamp
Root, Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root, and the
address, Iiiughtnnton, N, Y., ou every
bottle.
Battleship Texas Sails for Cuba.
Norfolk, Oct. 1. Tho United States
battleship Texas, which has been hur
riedly fitted out and placed in com
mission at tho Norfolk navy yards,
sailed for Cuba, carrying between 250
nnd 300 marines, who had been mobil
ised at the naval station here.
OYSTERS
in every style. Ca
tering to parties and
dances a specialty.
Fresh Bread, Pics,
Cakes, Candy and
Cigars.
The Bon Ton
W. . BEN SB. Proprietor.
Do You
Eat
Meat ?
When you ava hungry car,
want somethig nice in the
meat lino, drop into my
market. Wo have the nicest
kind of
Home-mad
Sausages
and meats, flab, and gnme
in season. We think, and
almost know, that wo can
plense you. Give us a
trial.
Koon Bros.,
Successors to
ROBINSON & BURDEN.
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