he held it to
the northern edge of the thatch. The straw caught in a flash and the
flame ran up the slope and along the edge of the roof like a quick match.
The squeaking of many rats was heard and their brown bodies streamed over
the roof. Before another minute had passed a great mass of flame towered
into the sky and shed a red light far out over the waste of sea.

It lit up the wilderness of white water where the sea churned savagely
amongst the sunken rocks; and it lit too the white face of a swimmer, now
nearly spent, who rising and falling with each wave, drifted in the sea
whose current bore him on towards the fatal rocks.

CHAPTER XXXII--'TO BE GOD AND ABLE TO DO THINGS'

When the swimmer saw the light he looked up; even at the distance they
could see the lift of his face; but he did not seem to realise that there
was any intention in the lighting, or that it was created for his
benefit. He was manifestly spent with his tremendous exertions, and with
his long heavy swim in the turbulent sea. Stephen's heart went out to
him in a wave of infinite pity. She tried to use the trumpet. But
simple as it is, a trumpet needs skill or at least practice in its use;
she could only make an unintelligible sound, and not much even of that.
One of the young men said:

'Let me try it, my lady!' She handed him the trumpet and he in turn used
with a will. But it was of no avail; even his strong lungs and lusty
manhood availed nothing in the teeth of that furious gale. The roof and
the whole house was now well alight, and the flame roared and leapt.
Stephen began to make gestures bidding the swimmer, in case he might see
her and understand, move round the rocks. But he made no change in his
direction, and was fast approaching a point in the tide-race whence to
avoid the sunken rocks would be an impossibility. The old whaler,
accustomed to use all his wits in times of difficulty, said suddenly:

'How can he understand when we're all between him and the light. We are
only black shadows to him; all he can see are waving arms!' His sons
caught his meaning and were already dashing towards the burning house.
They came back with piles of blazing wood and threw them down on the very
edge of the cliff; brought more and piled them up, flinging heaps of
straw on the bonfire and pouring on oil and pitch till the flames rose
high. Stephen saw what was necessary and stood out of the way, but close
to the old whaler, whe