uch as I thought I should be."

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Muriel said:

"I can't think how it is you're not afraid."

"Because God can take care of us here as well as anywhere else,"
answered Patty, quietly.

"Do you really think He will?"

"I'm going to ask Him now."

"Then so will I," said Muriel, kneeling by her side on the rock.

"Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and by Thy great mercy
defend us from all perils and dangers of this night."

How often they had repeated the familiar collect in church or at
evening prayers in the big schoolroom at The Priory, sometimes with
little thought for its meaning; and how different it sounded now in the
midst of the real peril and danger that surrounded them! A great wave
came suddenly dashing up and poured over their feet, and the two
trembling girls looked with white faces as the shoes, which they had
taken off and laid beside them, were swept away and lost in the depths
below. Many fresh thoughts came to Muriel then--thoughts such as had
rarely troubled her before. In the mist and the rushing water her old
standards seemed to be slipping from her; wealth and position felt of
slight value compared to those better things about which she had
hitherto cared so little: and I think, with the surging tide, some of
her old self passed away, and left a new self born in its place.

"It's going down!" cried Patty at last. "That one wave was the
high-water mark. Look! It's certainly lower than it was."

"Then we're saved!" exclaimed Muriel; and, breaking down utterly, she
covered her face with her hands, and burst into a storm of tears.

The tide was undoubtedly on the turn; each wave seemed less forceful
than the last, and though they were still surrounded by water, and
likely to be kept prisoners for many hours yet, they could consider
themselves free from danger, and feel that their lives had been spared.
Time crept slowly on; fortunately, owing to the length of the July day,
it was not yet dark, but the fog had not lifted, and they were not able
to see even so far as the adjoining rocks. Their clothes were wet
through with spray, and they felt damp, and chilly, and forlorn. Both
girls had been tired out with their long day's pleasure before they were
caught by the tide, and the hours of waiting seemed interminable.
Muriel, exhausted with fright and exposure, clung piteously to Patty,
crying quietly, and the latter gave her what comfort sh