imed Teddy, who always had a tender place in his
heart for dumb creatures. "I suppose they don't see the glass at all,
and think they can keep right on going."

"That's about the way of it, I guess," affirmed Mr. Lee. "They come
against the glass with such force sometimes that I'm almost afraid
they'll break it. It's too bad, but there's no help for it yet, though
men are at work trying to find some device to prevent it."

"How long do you think the storm will last?" inquired Fred.

"Chances are that it'll last out all to-morrow," answered their host,
"though it's blowing so hard that it may blow itself out before that.
There's no telling."

"We'll have a good chance to mend up our fishing tackle then," remarked
Fred, "because it doesn't look as though there'd be much chance doing
anything outdoors."

"If you find time hanging heavy on your hands," observed Mr. Lee with a
sly twinkle in his eye, "you might get busy and clean out the lamps.
They're about due for a good scouring, and it might help you to pass
away a long day indoors."

"That's certainly a great idea," said Lester reflectively, "but there's
nothing in it for me. I've done it before and there's no novelty in it.
But I'm sure that Teddy and Fred would enjoy it immensely."

"Nothing doing," replied Teddy hastily. "Fred and I aren't going to come
to see you, Lester, and then butt in on all your simple pleasures. You
just go ahead and enjoy yourself cleaning out the lamps, just as though
we weren't around. We'll manage to plug along some way in the meantime."

They all laughed at this sally and shortly afterwards the boys took
leave of Mr. Lee and returned to the observation room. The wind roared
and the ocean boomed on the rocks with undiminished force, and they
spent the rest of the evening gazing out through the streaming windows
and wondering at the mighty spectacle spread out before them.

At last Lester, to whom the fury of a storm was a more common thing than
to his companions, proposed that they go to bed, and they reluctantly
tore themselves away. The last thing the lads heard as they sank into
dreamless slumber was the crash of tumbling waves and the maddened
shrieks of the wind as it hurtled past the lighthouse.

CHAPTER XXIII

AN UNEXPECTED WINDFALL

Dawn broke the following day without any sign of the storm's abating,
and the boys were forced to keep close within doors. Despite their
forced imprisonment, time did not hang heav