was a young gentleman in trouble, but that the trouble, whatever
it might be, involved nothing criminal or dishonest. That he was a
gentleman, he was sure--his bearing and manner proved that; but he was
a gentleman who did not "put on airs." Not that there was any reason why
he should put on airs, but, so far as that was concerned, there was no
apparent reason for the monumental conceit and condescension of some
of the inflated city boarders in the village. Brown was not like those
people at all.

Seth had taken a fancy to him at their first meeting. Now his liking
steadily increased. Companionship in a lonely spot like Eastboro
Twin-Lights is a test of a man's temper. Brown stood the test well. If
he made mistakes in the work--and he did make some ridiculous ones--he
cheerfully undid them when they were pointed out to him. He was, for the
most part, good-natured and willing to talk, though there were periods
when he seemed depressed and wandered off by himself along the beach or
sat by the edge of the bluff, staring out to sea. The lightkeeper made
no comment on this trait in his character. It helped to confirm his own
judgment concerning the young fellow's trouble. People in trouble were
subject to fits of the "blues," and during these fits they liked to be
alone. Seth knew this from his own experience. There were times when he,
too, sought solitude.

He trusted his helper more and more. He did not, of course, permit
him to take the night watch in the lights, but he did trust him to the
extent of leaving him alone for a whole afternoon while he drove the old
horse, attached to the antique "open wagon"--both steed and vehicle a
part of the government property--over to Eastboro to purchase tobacco
and newspapers at the store. On his return he found everything as it
should be, and this test led him to make others, each of which was