part of the life they chose; but the master he loved, the good woman who
had been so kind to him, the sweet girl whose winsome presence had made
the long voyage so pleasant for them all--if he could only save these
dear and innocent creatures from a cruel death, he felt that he could
willingly give his life for them.

As he sat there with his head in his hands, bowed down by the first
great trial of his young life, the starless sky overhead, the restless
sea beneath, and all around him suffering, for which he had no help, a
soft sound broke the silence, and he listened like one in a dream. It
was Mary singing to her mother, who lay sobbing in her arms, spent with
this long anguish. A very faint and broken voice it was, for the poor
girl's lips were parched with thirst; but the loving heart turned
instinctively to the great Helper in this hour of despair, and He heard
her feeble cry. It was a sweet old hymn often sung at Plumfield; and as
he listened, all the happy past came back so clearly that Emil forgot
the bitter present, and was at home again. His talk on the housetop
with Aunt Jo seemed but yesterday, and, with a pang of self-reproach, he
thought:

'The scarlet strand! I must remember it, and do my duty to the end.
Steer straight, old boy; and if you can't come into port, go down with
all sail set.'

Then, as the soft voice crooned on to lull the weary woman to a
fitful sleep, Emil for a little while forgot his burden in a dream of
Plumfield. He saw them all, heard the familiar voices, felt the grip of
welcoming hands, and seemed to say to himself: 'Well, they shall not be
ashamed of me if I never see them any more.'

A sudden shout startled him from that brief rest, and a drop on his
forehead told him that the blessed rain had come at last, bringing
salvation with it; for thirst is harder to bear than hunger, heat, or
cold. Welcomed by cries of joy, all lifted up their parched lips, held
out their hands, and spread their garments to catch the great drops that
soon came pouring down to cool the sick man's fever, quench the agony of
thirst, and bring refreshment to every weary body in the boat. All night
it fell, all night the castaways revelled in the saving shower, and took
heart again, like dying plants revived by heaven's dew. The clouds broke
away at dawn, and Emil sprung up, wonderfully braced and cheered by
those hours of silent gratitude for this answer to their cry for help.
But this was not all; as h