it brilliantly, and finally send it straight out to sea, horizontal and parallel with all the rest. Not a glimmer lost. Hey, presto! There you are! One little kerosene lamp turned into a regular beacon." He began sliding the curtains across the sides of the lantern. "Of course," he added, "it's another story,—the system by which they're built to direct the light in certain ways, according to the sort of place the lighthouse is in. But it's very interesting. I'd studied it up a bit before I came out here; which is one reason why I wanted to come. And also," said Jim, "one reason why they took me, I suppose."
He showed Joan the thermostat, which rang a bell below and warned him when the lamp burned too low or too high. Then they stepped out upon the little iron balcony around the tower. There Jim became eager and eloquent, pointing out landmarks up and down the coast. Behind them the surf boomed on the Reef; below, on the boat-landing, Elspeth shaded her eyes and looked up at them.
"There's Bird Rock," said Jim, "and Trasket Rock, and the Breakneck beyond. You can just see the tower of the Coast Guard Station nearly three miles down the beach. See? Over
