he storm would be upon them; and
indeed, they were not more than half way when it burst.

The sky was already covered with black clouds. A great darkness
gathered round them; then came a heavy downpour of rain; and then,
with a sudden burst, the wind smote them. It was useless, now, to
try to row, for the oars would have been twisted from his hands in
a moment; and John took the helm, and told Mary to lie down in the
bottom of the boat. He had already turned the boat's head up the
lake, the direction in which the storm was traveling.

The boat sprang forward, as if it had received a blow, when the
gale struck it. John had, more than once, been out on the lake with
the fishermen, when sudden storms had come up; and knew what was
best to be done. When he had laid in his oars, he had put them so
that the blades stood partly up above the bow, and caught the wind
somewhat; and he, himself, crouched down in the bottom, with his
head below the gunwale and his hand on the tiller; so that the
tendency of the boat was to drive straight before the wind. With a
strong crew, he knew that he could have rowed obliquely towards the
shore but, alone, his strength could have done nothing to keep the
heavy boat off her course.

The sea rose, as if by magic, and the spray was soon dashing over
them; each wave, as it followed the boat, rising higher and higher.
The shores were no longer visible; and the crests of the waves
seemed to gleam, with a pallid light, in the darkness which
surrounded them. John sat quietly in the bottom of the boat, with
one hand on the tiller and the other arm round Mary, who was
crouched up against him. She had made no cry, or exclamation, from
the moment the gale struck them.

Illustration: On the Sea of Galilee.

"Are we getting near shore?" she asked, at last.

"No, Mary; we are running straight before the wind, which is
blowing right up the lake. There is nothing to be done but to keep
straight before it."

Mary had seen many storms on the lake, and knew into what a fury
its waters were lashed, in a tempest such as was now upon them.

"We are in God's hands, John," she said, with the quiet resignation
of her race. "He can save us, if He will. Let us pray to him."

John nodded and, for a few minutes, no word was spoken.

"Can I do anything?" Mary asked, presently, as a wave struck the
stern, and threw a mass of water into the boat.

"Yes," John replied; "take that earthen pot, and bale out the
w