favourite dulse--the blacksmith being conspicuous for the voracious
manner in which he devoured it.

Soon the bellows were set up; the fire was kindled, and the ring of
the anvil heard; but poor Dove and Ruby had little pleasure in their
work that day; for the wind blew the smoke and sparks about their
faces, and occasionally a higher wave than ordinary sent the spray
flying round them, to the detriment of their fire. Nevertheless they
plied the hammer and bellows unceasingly.

The other men went about their work with similar disregard of the
fury of the elements and the wet condition of their garments.

CHAPTER X

THE RISING OF THE TIDE--A NARROW ESCAPE

The portion of the work that Mr. Stevenson was now most anxious to
get advanced was the beacon.

The necessity of having an erection of this kind was very obvious,
for, in the event of anything happening to the boats, there would be
no refuge for the men to fly to; and the tide would probably sweep
them all away before their danger could be known, or assistance sent
from the attendant vessels. Every man felt that his personal safety
might depend on the beacon during some period of the work. The
energies of all, therefore, were turned to the preliminary
arrangements for its erection.

As the beacon would require to withstand the utmost fury of the
elements during all seasons of the year, it was necessary that it
should be possessed of immense strength.

In order to do this, six cuttings were made in the rock for the
reception of the ends of the six great beams of the beacon. Each beam
was to be fixed to the solid rock by two strong and massive bats, or
stanchions, of iron. These bats, for the fixing of the principal and
diagonal beams and bracing chains, required fifty-four holes, each
measuring a foot and a half deep, and two inches wide. The operation
of boring such holes into the solid rock, was not an easy or a quick
one, but by admirable arrangements on the part of the engineer, and
steady perseverance on the part of the men, they progressed faster
than had been anticipated.

Three men were attached to each jumper, or boring chisel; one placed
himself in a sitting posture, to guide the instrument, and give it a
turn at each blow of the hammer; he also sponged and cleaned out the
hole, and supplied it occasionally with a little water, while the
other two, with hammers of sixteen pounds weight, struck the jumper
alternately, generally bringing the ham