Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Mrs. Lighthouse

Eight days after the above-mentioned incident, the friends of James Starr were extremely anxious.The engineer disappeared for no apparent reason.Upon questioning his servants, he was informed of his ship at Granton Wharf, and from the captain of the steamer "Prince de Galles" that he had disembarked at Stirling.But since then, there has been no sign of James Starr.Simon Ford had asked him to keep his letter secret, and he said nothing about his trip to the coal mines at Aberfoyle. In Edinburgh it was therefore all talk of the unexplained disappearance of the engineer. Sir W. Elphiston, president of the Royal Society, showed his colleagues a letter from James Starr in which he begged pardon for his inability to attend the next meeting of the Society.Two or three others produced similar letters.But if these documents prove that James Starr has left Edinburgh - which is clear - they say nothing about his present condition.However, such an unnatural disappearance of such a character must first cause surprise, and then anxiety, because the disappearance continues.

None of the engineer's friends would have expected him to go to the coal mines at Aberfoyle.Everyone knew he would never enjoy seeing his old workplace again.From the day the last bucket was brought to the ground, he would never set his foot there again.However, since the steamship had dropped him on Stirling's wharf, some searches were made in that direction. The search turned up nothing.No one could recall ever seeing an engineer at this place.Only Jack Ryan, whom he met with Harry on a platform in Yale Mine, could satisfy the public attention.But you know that the merry lad, who was working forty miles away at Mellows Farm in south-west Renfrewshire, was unlikely to have imagined the extent of public anxiety over the disappearance of James Starr.So, eight days after his visit to the cottage, at Clan Irwin's vigil, he sang more merrily than ever--though he had reason to be strongly disturbed, as he would see later.

James Starr was such an important and respected figure not only in the town, but throughout Scotland, that it was impossible that nothing about him should remain unknown.The Sheriff, the Chief Justice of Edinburgh, the Lord Chancellors, and most of the Senators, all friends of the Engineer, ordered that all efforts should be made to find him.Some police were sent to the countryside, but found nothing. So it was obliged to publish an advertisement in some of the leading newspapers of the United Kingdom about the engineer James Starr, giving his physical characteristics, and indicating the date of his departure from Edinburgh, and had to wait.This caused great consternation.The British intelligentsia almost believed that one of their most eminent members had finally disappeared.

While people were so anxious about the character of James Starr, so was the character of Harry, the old foreman's son who disturbed not public opinion but his friend Jack Ray. En's happy mood. You will remember that when the two met at Yale Mine, Jack Ryan invited Harry to the Irwin Clan's festival eight days later.Harry accepted the invitation and made a formal commitment to go to the celebration.Jack Ryan has repeatedly observed that his partner is a man of faith.When dealing with him, promises are fulfilled. However, at Irwyn's celebration, there was nothing missing, no singing, no dancing, no celebration of any kind, nothing—if not Harry Ford.

Jack Ryan was angry with him at first, because his friend's absence took a toll on his cheerfulness.He even forgot the words in the middle of a song, and he froze for the first time during a jig that usually won him applause. It must be said here that Jack Ryan had not seen the notice about James Starr published in the newspaper.The brave lad therefore remembered only Harry's absence, thinking that only some serious circumstance could prevent him from fulfilling his promise.So, the day after Irving Festival, Jack Ryan had planned to take the train from Glasgow to the Dochart Coal Bunker, which he would have done—if he hadn't been prevented by an accident that nearly killed him. Live words.

Such an incident occurred on the night of December 12.Indeed, this incident could make all believers in the paranormal think they had gained support, and there were not a few of them at Melos Grange. Irwyn, with about 7,000 inhabitants, is a small seaside town in Renfrewshire, built on a bay accidentally created by the Scottish coast, almost at the mouth of the Firth of Creed.Its harbor, sheltered from the open sea winds, is so brightly lit by a gigantic lighthouse that it is impossible for a prudent sailor to get lost there.It is for this reason that so few crew members have been wrecked on this part of the coast that coasters or long-distance cruisers, trying to sail into the Fjord of Creed to Glasgow, or into the Fjord at Irwyn, are at risk. There is no danger, even in the dark of night.

When a city has a heroic past, however insignificant it may be, when its castle once belonged to a Robert Stuart, there must be something left. And in Scotland, all the ruins are haunted—at least, according to Highlanders and Lowlanders alike. The oldest remnant, and at the same time the most notorious on this stretch of the sea, happens to be that of Robert Stuart's castle, named Castle Donald. Donald's castle must have been the most deserted place in those days, as a refuge for all the wandering goblins in the area.Few people visit this ancient castle on the huge rock above the sea two miles away from the city.There may be some foreigners who still want to check out these ancient historical sites, but they go there alone.The inhabitants of Irwynn would never take them there, no matter what the price.In fact, there are fictional stories circulating about the number of certain "Ladies of the Lighthouse" who frequented the old castle.

The most superstitious people affirm that they have seen and seen these absurd creations with their own eyes.Naturally, Jack Ryan falls into this category. What actually happened was that here and there there were long flashes of light, sometimes on a half-collapsed wall, sometimes on the top of a tower that crouched over the whole ruins of Castle Donald. Are the lights as humanoid as it has been asserted?Are they worthy of the name "Lighthouse Lady" given to them by the Scots by the sea?Obviously, this is just an illusion formed in the brain due to superstition, and science should explain this phenomenon according to the laws of nature.

Whatever it was, the Lady of the Lighthouse was consistently said to haunt the ruins of the old castle everywhere, and sometimes danced queerly there, especially in the dark of night.Jack Ryan, however courageous a partner he was, would never have dared to dance with them to the music of his horn woman. "Old Nick is enough to handle them," he said. "He doesn't need me to make up his hellish band!" It is conceivable that these eccentric phantom apparitions inevitably became the stuff of the vigil.Jack Ryan, because he has a whole set of legends about the Lady of the Lighthouse, never fails to know what to say when it comes to their stories!

So, at this latest vigil, after drinking ale, brandy, and whiskey as the finale of the Irving Clan festival, Jack Ryan did not forget to speak again of his beloved subject, as he called it. Your audience can be very happy or very frightened. The vigil was held in a huge barn on Melos' farm, just on the boundary line of the sea.In the center of the crowd, a charcoal fire was burning vigorously on a huge iron tripod. The weather outside is terrible.Thick clouds rolled over the waves, for a strong southwesterly wind blew in from the sea far from the shore.It was a dark night, with no light between the clouds, and the earth, the sky, and the sea merged in deep darkness, making it very difficult to approach the bay of Irwynn, if any ship dared to sail here. If you take such a risk in the strong wind that hits from the side.

Ilwyn's little harbor doesn't see many ships coming in and out—at least for crews of some tonnage.Merchant ships sailing or steaming into Crede Bay dock a little to the north. But that night, some fisherman who was stranded on the shore was not without surprise to see a boat approaching the shore.If day broke suddenly, he was not surprised but horrified, for he saw the ship sailing with the wind, with all sails spread.The bay has no entrance, and there is no shelter of any kind between the gigantic rocks of the seashore.If the unwary ship still insists on approaching, how will it jump over it? The Vigil is about to end with one last story told by Jack Ryan.Those audiences who have been brought into the world of gods and monsters by him will definitely believe it easily if they encounter such a thing. Suddenly, shouts sounded outside. Jack Ryan immediately interrupted his story, and everyone hurried out of the barn. The night was dark.A gust of wind and rain swept long across the sandy floor. Two or three fishermen were pulling their bodies closer to a cliff to better protect them from the wind, shouting loudly. Jack Ryan and his companions ran towards them. These cries were not addressed to the inhabitants of the farm, but to the crew of a ship that knew nothing of their perdition. Indeed, a shadowy mass loomed indistinctly on the surface of the sea several miles away.It was a ship, easily recognizable by the position of its lights, for a white light hung on her foremast, a green light on the starboard side, and a red light on the port side.Therefore, from the bow it can be seen that the ship is heading towards the coast at full speed. "A ship in distress?" Jack Ryan exclaimed. "Yes," replied one of the fishermen, "it is too late for him to turn around now!" "Signal, signal!" cried a Scot. "What signal?" retorted the fisherman. "There is no way to keep the torches from blowing out in such a gale!" Just as these words were being exchanged rapidly, the shouting broke out again.But how is it possible to hear in such a storm?The entire crew on board never had any chance to escape the danger of being wrecked. "Why drive like that?" cried a sailor. "Is it trying to run aground?" replied the other. "Don't the captain recognize Irwin's lighthouse?" Jack Ryan asked. "Trust the lighthouse," replied a fisherman, "at least not to be confused..." Before the fisherman could finish his sentence, Jack Ryan let out a cry of terror.Can the crew hear it?At any rate, it was too late for the merchant ship to lift her hull on the row of rocks white in the darkness. But this is not, as one would have thought, Jack Ryan's final warning attempt to inform the wrecked ship.Jack Ryan had his back to the sea by then.His companions also turned around, looking at a point half a mile away on the beach. That's Castle Donald.A long light twisted and twisted in the squalling wind atop the ancient tower. "Lady Beacon!" exclaimed the superstitious Scots in the utmost terror. Frankly, one has to have a fantastic imagination to recognize a person's shape from this light.Like a luminous pennant waving in the wind, it sometimes seemed to fly from the top of the tower, as if it were about to go out, and after a while, its almost blue tip returned to the sky. there. "Lady Lighthouse! Lady Lighthouse!" cried the terrified fishermen and farmers. At this time, everything became clear.Lost in the fog, the ship had apparently gone the wrong way, mistaking the light on top of Castle Donald for Irwin's beacon.It thought it was the entrance to the bay, ten miles north of here, and it thought it was going in a direction where there was no land, but it couldn't give it any shelter! What can be done to save the ship, if there is still time?Might have to climb up the ruins and try to extinguish that light so it can no longer be confused with the lighthouse in Port Irving! There can be no doubt that it is appropriate to do so without delay.But which of these Scotchmen would have thought of it, and, if they had, who would have dared to stand against the Lady of the Lighthouse?Maybe Jack Ryan had the guts, because he was brave, and superstitious though he was, that didn't stop him from committing himself to a noble deed. Too late.A terrible cracking sound rang out amidst the impact of the hull. The keel of the stern had just touched the bottom of the sea.The bearing lights on the ship went out.The white shape that lapped the surf seemed to shatter in an instant.The ship that hit the reef was lying on its side, lying in pieces among the reefs. At this moment, due to a purely accidental coincidence, the long light disappeared as if it had been torn off by a strong gust of wind.The sea, the sky, and the beach were once again plunged into darkness. "Mrs. Lighthouse!" Jack Ryan yelled finally, facing the sudden escape of what he and his companions thought were supernatural phenomena. But though these superstitious Scots had not had the courage to face an imaginary danger, they had courage again in the face of a real danger now involving the rescue of their fellow beings.The violence of nature does not deter them.Throwing the ropes into the waves - heroically, as superstitiously as they had just been - they threw themselves into the rescue of the wrecked ship. Thankfully, they succeeded, and several - the daring Jack Ryan among them - risked their lives to the rocks, while the boat's captain and crew of eight were safely brought to the sand. The ship was a Norwegian brig called the Motara, and was bound for Glasgow with timber from the north. True enough, the captain was bewitched by the light shining on the tower of Donald's Castle, and instead of entering Creed Bay, the captain hit a beach. At the moment, only a small amount of wreckage remains of Motara, and the crashing waves have ended the pounding of fragments of these wrecks on the coastal rocks.