her, if you can hold the fort."

The Sacristan left and, with a gasp of horror, the priest thought of
the galleries emptying into the little vestibule and meeting a rush of
the people from the church.

Father Collins took off his chasuble and maniple and placed them upon
the altar. He wondered at his own coolness. He advanced to the front
of the altar platform, opening his book; but he closed it again
coolly. Then, in a clear voice, that reached every corner of the
building, which he could not believe was his own, he began.

"On second thought, my friends," he said, "I will not read the Epistle
or the Gospel to-day. I have a few words to say to you, though a
sermon is not expected at this Mass."

In a front pew Doctor Reilly and Mr. O'Brien groaned softly. They had
been caught by the dreaded sermon.

Father Collins announced his text. The congregation was surprised that
it was to have a sermon instead of the usual reading, but it was more
surprised at the change in Father Collins; so much, indeed, that it
was almost breathless. The priest glanced up at the gallery, quickly,
and saw that the children had begun to leave the rear pews. He had ten
minutes to fill in. The people below could see only the front rows of
the gallery, which in this church, built in the old style, ran on
three sides. So Father Collins preached. It was the sermon he had
prepared for the High Mass, but which he could not deliver. The
beauty of it had been plain to Father Grady when he read it; but it
was plainer to the enraptured congregation which sat listening to
every syllable. Neither the Doctor nor Mr. O'Brien attempted to sleep.
In fact there were no sleepers at all, for upright in the pews sat
every man and woman, hanging on the preacher's words.

In the midst of his discourse Father Collins detected the smell of
smoke and thought that all was lost. But he made another effort. His
voice rose higher and his words thundered over the heads of the
astonished people, who were so rapt that they could not even ask
themselves what had wrought the miracle. If they smelled the smoke,
they gave no sign, for a born orator, who had found himself, held them
in the grip of his eloquence. Father Collins took another glance at
the gallery. The front row would go in a moment. Above all, the people
must not be distracted now. Something must be done to hold their
attention when the noise of the moving of that front row would fall
upon their ears. In two m