a, was
his Rosario in the least shabby of her gowns, and sure not to make
trouble with Dolores on such a solemn day. The Rector, for his part, had
turned Englishman over night. He was sporting a blue woolsey suit that a
friend of his, an engineer on a steamer, had brought on from Glasgow. On
his vest shone a watch chain as big as one of the stays on his boat--and
that was the real surprise he had saved for the celebration. He was
sweating like a stoker in that garment that might have done very well in
winter. He had taken upon himself the task of keeping order, shoving
people back when they edged up too close to the priest and the baptismal
party. "The idea, gentlemen.... That talking, there! Sh-h-h. This
ceremony is not a thing to laugh about. The fun, later on ...!" And he
set a good example by taking off his cap and putting on a long face, as
the chaplain, sweating just as much under that stifling cope, was
fumbling through his book to find the prayer beginning _Propitiare
Domini supplicationibus nostris et benedic navem istam_.... _Sina_ Tona
and _tio_ Mariano on either side of the curate stood with eyes nailed to
the ground. The sacristan watched his master like a cat after a mouse,
ready to say _amen_ on the slightest pretext. The multitude with heads
bare was hushed and still, as though something extraordinary were about
to happen.

Don Santiago knew his public. He read the simple prayer slowly and
solemnly, making each syllable stand out, and introducing impressive
pauses to take full advantage of the general silence. The Rector, quite
beside himself with emotion and not knowing what he was doing, nodded
assent to every word, as though taking those Latin phrases that were
falling on his _Mayflower_ seriously to heart. What he really caught was
all that about _Arcam Noe ambulantem in diluvio_; and he straightened up
to his full height in pride, at the vague feeling that his boat was
being likened to that ancient craft, the most famous in Christian
annals! So he was a real comrade now of that wicked old patriarch who
invented wine and became the first and best sailor of his time, on
earth! _Sina_ Tona could stand the strain no longer. She crammed her
handkerchief into both eyes to keep the tears from bursting out. When
the prayer was over, the curate reached for the hyssop: _Asperges_ ...
and he sprinkled a rain of water upon the boat's stern, and the spray
dripped down in shining drops over the painted sides. _Am