"Now, now!" cried Joe and I together, and, heavy as we were, with the water pouring from us, we flew across the remainder of the heap, and arrived, panting and safe, at the other end, ere one wave more had swept the surface. The moment we were in safety we turned and looked back over the danger we had traversed. It was to see a huge billow sweep the breakwater from end to end. We looked at each other for a moment without speaking. "I believe, sir," said Joe at length, with slow and solemn speech, "if you hadn't taken the command at that moment we should all have been lost." "It seems likely enough, when I look back on it. For one thing, I was not sure that my stick would stand, so I thought I had better grasp it low down." "We were awfully near death," said Joe. "Nearer than you thought, Joe; and yet we escaped it. Things don't go all as we fancy, you see. Faith is as essential to manhood as foresight--believe me, Joe. It is very absurd to trust God for the future, and not trust him for the present. The man who is not anxious is the man most likely to do the right thing. He is cool and collected and ready. Our Lord therefore told his disciples that when they should be brought before kings and rulers, they were to take no thought what answer they should make, for it would be given them when the time came." We were climbing the steep path up to the downs. Neither of my companions spoke. "You have escaped one death together," I said at length: "dare another." Still neither of them returned an answer. When we came near the parsonage, I said, "Now, Joe, you must go in and get to bed at once. I will take Agnes home. You can trust me not to say anything against you?" Joe laughed rather hoarsely, and replied: "As you please, sir. Good night, Aggie. Mind you get to bed as fast as you can." When I returned from giving Agnes over to her parents, I made haste to change my clothes, and put on my warm dressing-gown. I may as well mention at once, that not one of us was the worse for our ducking. I then went up to Connie's room. "Here I am, you see, Connie, quite safe." "I've been lying listening to every blast of wind since you went out, papa. But all I could do was to trust in God." "Do you call that _all_, Connie? Believe me, there is more power in that than any human being knows the tenth part of yet. It is indeed _all_." I said no more then. I told my wife about it that night, but we were well into another month before I told Connie. When I left her, I went to Joe's room to see how he was, and found him having some gruel. I sat down on the edge of his bed, and said, "Well, Joe, this is better than under water. I hope you won't be the worse for it." "I don't much care what comes of me, sir. It will be all over soon." "But you ought to care what comes of you, Joe. I will tell you why. You are an instrument out of which ought to come praise to God, and, therefore, you ought to care for the instrument." "That way, yes, sir, I ought."