ugh the silent leather
doors that could scarcely swing open for the crowd inside them, and
heard at last--_his_ voice!

She was away up at the top of the gallery. Men and women were standing
close all about her. She could not catch even a glimpse of the platform
with its array of noble men whose consecration and power and intellects
had made them great religious leaders. She could not see the young
commanding figure standing at the edge of the platform, nor catch the
flash of his brown eyes as he held the audience in his power while he
told the simple story of his Western work; but she could hear the voice,
and it went straight to her lonely, sorrowful heart. Straightway the
church with its mass of packed humanity, its arched and carven ceiling,
its magnificent stained-glass windows, its wonderful organ and costly
fittings, faded from her sight, and overhead there arched a dome of dark
blue pierced with stars, and mountains in the distance with a canyon
opening, and a flickering fire. She heard the voice speak from its
natural setting, though her eyes were closed and full of tears.

He finished his story amid a breathless silence on the part of his
audience, and then with scarcely a break in his voice spoke to God in
one of his uplifting prayers. The girl, trembling, almost sobbing, felt
herself included in the prayer, felt again the protection of an unseen
Presence, felt the benediction in his voice as he said, "Amen," and
echoed its utmost meaning in her soul.

The audience was still hushed as the speaker turned to go to his seat at
the back of the platform. A storm of applause had been made impossible
by that prayer, for heaven opened with the words and God looked down and
had to do with each soul present. But the applause burst forth after all
in a moment, for the speaker had whispered a few words to the moderator
and was hurrying from the platform. There were cries of, "Don't go! Tell
us more! Keep on till six o'clock!" Hazel could not see a thing though
she stretched her neck and stood upon the tips of her toes, but she
clasped her hands tightly together when the applause came, and her heart
echoed every sound.

The clamour ceased a moment as the moderator raised his hand, and
explained that the brother to whom they had all been listening with such
pleasure would be glad to speak to them longer, but that he was
hastening away to take the train to see his invalid mother who had been
waiting for two long years f