Produced by Nicole Apostola, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. STORIES BY FOREIGN AUTHORS POLISH, GREEK, BELGIAN, HUNGARIAN THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER OF ASPINWALL BY HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ THE PLAIN SISTER BY DEMETRIOS BIKELAS THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS BY MAURICE MAETERLINCK SAINT NICHOLAS EVE BY CAMILLE LEMONNIER IN LOVE WITH THE CZARINA BY MAURICE JOKAI THE LIGHT-HOUSE KEEPER OF ASPINWALL BY HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ From "Yanko the Musician and other Stories." Translated by Jeremiah Curtin. Published by Little, Brown & Co. Copyright, 1893, by Little, Brown & Co. CHAPTER I On a time it happened that the light-house keeper in Aspinwall, not far from Panama, disappeared without a trace. Since he disappeared during a storm, it was supposed that the ill-fated man went to the very edge of the small, rocky island on which the light-house stood, and was swept out by a wave. This supposition seemed the more likely as his boat was not found next day in its rocky niche. The place of light-house keeper had become vacant. It was necessary to fill this place at the earliest moment possible, since the light-house had no small significance for the local movement as well as for vessels going from New York to Panama. Mosquito Bay abounds in sandbars and banks. Among these navigation, even in the daytime, is difficult; but at night, especially with the fogs which are so frequent on those waters warmed by the sun of the tropics, it is nearly impossible. The only guide at that time for the numerous vessels is the light-house.