"Where have you worked up to this time?"

"In one place and another."

"A light-house keeper should like to stay in one place."

"I need rest."

"Have you served? Have you testimonials of honorable government
service?"

The old man drew from his bosom a piece of faded silk resembling a strip
of an old flag, unwound it, and said:

"Here are the testimonials. I received this cross in 1830. This second
one is Spanish from the Carlist War; the third is the French legion; the
fourth I received in Hungary. Afterward I fought in the States against
the South; there they do not give crosses."

Falconbridge took the paper and began to read.

"H'm! Skavinski? Is that your name? H'm! Two flags captured in a bayonet
attack. You were a gallant soldier."

"I am able to be a conscientious light-house keeper."

"It is necessary to ascend the tower a number of times daily. Have you
sound legs?"