“I do not think there is an animal on this island,� I laughed, “and we have seen no signs of man. The ship certainly would have attracted the attention of someone had not the island been deserted.�
“But those men out there?�
“You forget the rampart that God has flung about us. Now, madam, you can go to sleep in safety, I assure you.�
“Before that,� she said, dropping down on her knees in the sand and motioning me to follow her example, which I did awkwardly enough—I hope I was not a mocker or disbeliever, but I confess that I did not often bend the knee then—“we will have a prayer together.�
She had slipped a little prayer book within her bodice and she now drew it forth from her canvas tunic and by the light of the fire read the Psalm of David which begins, “Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord, Lord hear my voice.� And then she prayed, using some of the old collects of the Church and adding one of her own making, in which she besought God to care for us further, while she thanked Him for having raised up a defense for her in my poor presence, I listening very humbly and saying a heart-felt “Amen� at the end.
I shall never forget that scene; the gray cliff towering high above us, its crest lost in the darkness, the overturned boat, the white-clad woman kneeling by the fire, its light playing upon her until her face looked like the face of an angel, myself further back in the shadow. It was a dark, moonless night but the stars shone with tropical brilliance and in our ears echoed and reëchoed the crash of the mighty waves upon the barrier which was at once our prison and our fortress. There was a silence for a little space when she had finished and in that silence I devoted myself before God to her service again, and then we rose and she gave me her hand.
“You have been a true knight and gentleman,� she said softly, her eyes shining, “and I thank you.�
I could only take it dumbly and stare at her, whereat she smiled brightly, although her eyes suddenly filled with tears.
“And now,� she added, “God keep you. Good-night.�
I then kissed her extended hand, which she suffered without resistance.