door of his house. This door was at the
end of a little jetty to which his skiff was tied; and the whole
expanse of the beautiful bay was before him. It was covered with
boats, idly drifting about under the exquisite sky. Light ripples of
laughter, and sweet echoes of song upon the waters, drifted toward
him. He had read his evening portion, and he sat watching the
flickering lights of the changing aurora. The portion had been the
Nineteenth Psalm, and he was wishing that the Sweet Singer of Israel,
who thought the Judean heavens "declared the glory of God," could
have seen the Shetland skies.

Suddenly, and peremptorily, a voice encompassed him--a soft,
penetrating voice, that came like the wind, he knew not how or whence,
"Take thy boat and go to the Troll Rock." He rose at once and went to
the end of the jetty. The sea, darkly blue, was smooth as glass, the
air clear, the majestic headlands imparting to the scene a solemn
cathedral grandeur. He strove to shake off the strange impression, but
it grew stronger and more imperative, and he said softly, as if
answering some one, "I will go."

He returned to the house and called his servant Hamish. Hamish and he
lived alone, and had done so for more than thirty years, and they
thoroughly trusted each other.

"Untie the boat, Hamish. We are going for a row. We will go as far as
Troll Rock."

This rock projected over the sea, which flowed into a large cave under
it; a cave which had long been a favorite hiding place for smuggled
cargoes. But when the minister reached it, all was silence. Hamish
looked at his master curiously. What could he mean by resting on his
oars and watching so desolate and dangerous a place? Very soon both
were aware of a human voice; the confused, passionate echoes of
Margaret's above them; and these had not long ceased when Jan Vedder
fell from the rock into the water.

"This man is to be saved, Hamish; it is what we have come for." Hamish
quietly slipped into the water, and when Jan, speechless and
insensible, rose to the surface, he caught him with one arm and swam
with him to the boat. In another moment he was in the bottom of it,
and when he came to himself, his wound had been dressed, and he was in
the minister's own bed.

"Now, thou wilt do well enough, Jan, only thou must keep quiet body
and mind."

"Tell no one I am here. Thou wilt do that for me? Yes, thou wilt. Let
them think I am at the bottom of the Troll Rock--for God's sake."