“‘I don’t s’pose she’d know,’ he said to himself, with chattering teeth. ‘But I won’t—no, I won’t. A feller must look out fer his sister.’
“Then he remembered the prayers again; and the best thing he could think of was the psalm he had been taught only the Sunday before. He cuddled up as close to the rock as he could, and began:
“‘The Lord is my shepherd—I shall—I shall—’ Here he forgot, and had to commence again.
“‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall—not—want nothin’. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures—’ Patsy paused, and peered into the darkness doubtfully. ‘I dunno,’ he said, ‘as I want—’
“He never finished that sentence. And this was what interrupted him. A great shimmering, glittering flash, that filled all the air, and at the very same moment an awful crash—and the storm beat down upon a little white face, upturned silently to the black sky.
“‘Hallo—hallo—o—o!’ The shout rang out clear and strong on the evening air. Far off among the hills the last rumble of thunder was dying away.
“‘They must have gone along here,’ cried Farmer Coburn; ‘hold your lantern, Tom—see, there’s their tracks.’
“‘Hallo! hallo—o—o!—Why, what—’ What makes Farmer Coburn stop so suddenly, and then dart forward with one of the lanterns? A wee sound, and a sad, sad sight. The sound is the waking voice of Shock, who turns uneasily on her bed of dry leaves; the sight is a little white face, upturned to the star-dotted sky.
“How those rough men bent over the little fellow, the tears running over their cheeks, as they noticed the jacket!