He was able to speak encouraging words to his companion every time the thunder passed away; and he was more than ever conscious of the happiness of having her near to him at this time. He knew that he had loved her truly; for his love had been true enough and strong enough to compel him to give her the advice that precluded his ever being able to tell her of his own feeling for her. The joy of her gracious companionship was not for him; but he would do all that in him lay to assure her happiness. He knew that he was able to soothe her now that she had received a shock that would have been too much for most women. The horror of the mode of the man's death, quite apart from the terror of the tempest, was enough to prostrate any ordinary man or woman. It was very sweet to him to feel her cling to his arm when they crawled back to their shelter. He laid his hand tenderly upon the hand that clasped him, and he refrained from saying a word to her at that moment. When the storm had moderated in some measure he spoke to her; and he was too wise to make any attempt to turn her thoughts from the tragedy which, he knew, could not possibly fade from her mind even with the lapse of years. “He predicted truly so far as he himself was concerned,” he said gravely. “The end came for him as he said. Poor wretch! He may have possessed all his life a curious sense beyond that allowed to others--an instinct--it may not have been finer than the instinct of a bird. I have read that one of the desert birds will fly an hundred miles to where a camel has fallen by the way. The camel itself has, we are told, an instinct that guides it to water. But I do not say that he was not an agent of evil. There is evidence to prove that sorcery can give the power to predict what seems to be the truth, but it is only a juggling of the actual truth. The manner of that poor wretch's death makes one feel suspicious. He predicted the end of the world; well, the world came to an end, so far as he was concerned. You perceive the jugglery? But his was a weak mind. He may have been lured on to his own destruction. However this may be, his end was a terrible one. I grieve that it was left for us to witness it.” She shook her head. “I shall never forget to-day,” she said. “I had a feeling more than once when the lightning was brighter than common, and the world seemed to shake under the rattle of the thunderclap, that the next moment would be the last.” “There was no terror on your face--I saw it once under the fiercest flash,” said he. “At first--ah, I scarce know how I felt,” said she. “But when I heard your words saying, 'Rock of Ages,' my fear seemed to vanish.” “The lines ring with the true confidence that only the true Rock of Ages can inspire,” said he.