The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1908-04-23

Miss Barring.
effect her words might have on the
others. Although the salon was
warm-almost uncomfortably hot ow-
| ing to the closing Of the main air
passages-she shivered.
| Mr.. Somerville drew a book from
| his pocket. IF that be So" he said
gently, may l suggest that we seek
aid from one who is all powerful? We
are few and Of different religions, but
in this hour we can surely worship at
a common altar"
=, Right said the taciturn English
man, varying his adjective for once.
The missionary offered up short but
heartfelt prayer and, finding that he
carried his congregation with him, read
the opening verse Of hymn No. 80,
For Those at Sea-"
stood few words of English, readily
grasped the fact that the padre was
asking for help in a situation which
they well knew to be desperate. They
drew near reverently and even Joined
in the simple lines:
| Oh, hear US when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea!
During the brief silence which fol-
lowed the singing of the hymn it did
indeed seem to their strained senses
that the fierce violence of the gale had
| somewhat abated. 1t was not so in
| reality. A steady fall in the barom-
eter foretold even worse weather to
come. Courtenay, assured now that
the main engines were absolutely use
less, thought it advisable to get steer
ing way on the ship by rigging the
foresal, double reefed and trapped.
The result was quickly perceptible
The Kansas might not be popped
! again, but she would travel more rap
| idly into the unknown.
Yet this afforded only another in
stance Of the way men reason when
| they seek to explain cause from effect.
The hosting of that strip Of stout can
vas was one Of the time factors in the
story of an eventful night, for it was
with gray faced despair that the cap
| tain gave the requisite order when
the second engineer reported that his
senior was dead, the crown Of two
furnaces destroyed and the engines
, clogged if not irretrievably damaged
by fallen debris. None realized better
than the young commander what dis
astrous fate awaited his ship In the
gloom Of the flying scud ahead. There
was a faint chance Of encountering an
other steamship which would respond
to his signals. Then he would risk
all by laying the Kansas broadside on
in the effort to take tow rope aboard.
/ Meanwhile it was best to bring her un-
der some sort of control, the steam
! steering gear. driven by the uninjured
donkey engine. being yet available.
In the salon Elsie had shielded her
| face in her hands to hide the tears
which the entreaty Of the hymn had
brought to her eyes. Some one whis-
pered to her:
won't you sing something, Miss
| MAXWELL"
! 1t was the American. He judged
that the sweet voice which uncon-
sciously led the singing Of the hymn
must be skilled in other music.
She looked up at him, her eyes shin
ing.
"sing! Do you think it possible?"
she asked.
Eyes. You can do a brave thing, |
! guess, and that would be brave"
II will try" she said, and she walk
ed to the piano, which was screwed
athwart the deck in front Of the pol
ished mahogany sheath Of the steel
mainmast 1t was in her mind to play
some lively excerpts from the light op-
eras then in vogue, but the secret infiu-
| ences of the hour were stronger than
her studied intent, and when her fin
gers touched the keys they wandered
almost without volition into the subtle
harmonies of Gounod's Ave Maria"
She played the air first; then, gaining
confidence, she sang the words, using
q Spanish version which had caught
her fancy. 1t was good to see the
flashing eyes and impassioned gestures
Of the Chilean stewards when they
found that she was singing in their
own language. These men, owing to
| their acquaintance with the sea and
knowledge of the coast, were now in a
state of panic. They would have burst
the bonds of discipline on the least
pretext. So, as it CHANGED, the voice
Of the English senorita reached them
as the message of an angel, and the
spell she cast over them did not lose
its potency during some hours Of dan
| gerous toll.
Excited applause rewarded the song.
Fired by example, the dapper French
count approached the piano and asked
Elsie to play Beranger's "Roi DIVE
tot"