"'And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come
unto Thee on the water.
"'And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he
walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
"'But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to
sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
"'And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him, and
said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?'"
After this Gavin's voice was again steady, and he said, "The
sand-glass is almost run out. Dearly beloved, with what words shall I
bid you good-by?"
Many thought that these were to be the words, for the mist parted, and
they saw the island tremble and half of it sink.
"My people," said the voice behind the mist, "this is the text I leave
with you: 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.' That
text I read in the flood, where the hand of God has written it. All
the pound-notes in the world would not dam this torrent for a moment,
so that we might pass over to you safely. Yet it is but a trickle of
water, soon to be dried up. Verily, I say unto you, only a few hours
ago the treasures of earth stood between you and this earl, and what
are they now compared to this trickle of water? God only can turn
rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry ground. Let
His Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path; may He
be your refuge and your strength. Amen."
This amen he said quickly, thinking death was now come. He was seen to
raise his hands, but whether to Heaven or involuntarily to protect his
face as he fell none was sure, for the mist again filled the chasm.
Then came a clap of stillness. No one breathed.
But the two men were not yet gone, and Gavin spoke once more.
"Let us sing in the twenty-third Psalm."
He himself raised the tune, and so long as they heard his voice they
sang--
"The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
"My soul He doth restore again;
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness
Ev'n for His own name's sake.
"Yea, though I walk in Death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear none ill;
For Thou art with me; and Thy rod
And staff----"
But some had lost the power to sing in the first verse, and others at
"Death's dark vale," and when one man found himself singing alone he
stopped abruptly. This was because they no longer heard the minister.
"O Lord!" Peter Tosh cried, "lift the mist, for it's mair than we can
bear."
The mist rose slowly, and those who had courage to look saw Gavin
praying with the earl. Many could not look, and some of them did not
even see Rob Dow jump.
For it was Dow, the man with the crushed leg, who saved Gavin's life,
and flung away his own for it. Suddenly he was seen on the edge of the
bank, holding one end of the improvised rope in his hand. As Tosh
says--
"It all happened in the opening and shutting o' an eye. It's a queer
thing to say, but though I prayed to God to take awa the mist, when He
did raise it I couldna look. I shut my een tight, and held my arm
afore my face, like ane feared o' being struck. Even when I daured to
look, my arm was shaking so that I could see Rob both above it and
below it. He was on the edge, crouching to leap. I didna see wha had
haud o' the other end o' the rope. I heard the minister cry, 'No, Dow,
no!' and it gae through me as quick as a stab that if Rob jumped he
would knock them both into the water. But he did jump, and you ken how
it was that he didna knock them off."
It was because he had no thought of saving his own life. He jumped,
not at the island, now little bigger than the seat of a chair, but at
the edge of it, into the foam, and with his arm outstretched. For a
second the hand holding the rope was on the dot of land. Gavin tried
to seize the hand; Rintoul clutched the rope. The earl and the
minister were dragged together into safety, and both left the water
senseless. Gavin was never again able to lift his left hand higher
than his head. Dow's body was found next day near the school-house.
Chapter Forty-Five.