he cloth covering he bided
his time. It was a splendid sunset. Beyond the Hills the clouds were
orange-red and seemed to part in order that the round sun should have a
wide course for his royal exit. The shadows were coming up out of the
sea. David felt, rather than saw, the purpling light stealing behind
him, but he had, for the present, to do _only_ with the day.

"_There was glory over all the land_," quoted the man, "_a flood of
glory._" Then the sun was gone! On the instant the covering was snatched
away, and David's Light shone cheerily in the glory that at first obscured
it.

"Your turn will come!" comforted the keeper as if to a friend, "they'll
bless ye, come darkness!"

With that he stepped out upon the narrow balcony surrounding the tower,
to "freshen up."

From that point the dunes, dividing the ocean and the bay, seemed but
weak barriers. The sea rolled nearer and nearer.

"Thus far and no farther," whispered David reverently; "the Lord don't
need anythin' bigger than that strip o' sand to make His waters obey
His will. No mountains could be safer than them dunes when once the Lord
has set the limit. That looks like the _Comrade_ off beyond the P'int!"
he went on; "I'll take my beef without cabbage, if that ain't Janet
a-makin' for the Light, an' as late as this, too! Billy's told her 'bout
the change, an' she wouldn't wait, once she was convinced. She might
have stayed with Billy till mornin', the impatient little cuss."

The sailboat was scudding before the ocean breeze. Its white wing was
the only one upon the bay, and David watched it with a new interest.

"Comin' over t' make her fortune," he muttered, "comin' over t' help
fleece the boarders! By gum! I wonder, knowin' what Billy knows, an'
havin' the handlin' of a craft like Janet, he didn't hold the sheet rope
pretty snug as he headed her int' this harbor."

The boat made the landing without a jar. The girl sprang out, secured
the _Comrade_, then shouldered a carpet-bag, boy-fashion, and came up
the winding path toward the lighthouse. David watched her, bending over
the railing, until she passed within; then he straightened himself and
waited.

The purple gloaming came; the Light took on courage and dignity; the
stars shone timidly as if apologizing for appearing where really their
little glow was not needed. Then softly:

"Cap'n David, are you on the balcony?"

"Who be ye comin' on the government property without permission?"
growled D