The dawn was in the sky by this time, and as it broadened they
could see faint specks here and there, where others, like
themselves, clung to drifting spars. Mrs. Lawrie shuddered with
cold and the reaction from an excitement which had been far more
powerful than she knew at the time.
Her preserver then took off his coat, wrapped it around her, and
produced a pocket-flask, saying; "this will support us the longest;
it is all I could find, or bring with me."
She sat, leaning against his shoulder, though partly turned away
from him: all she could say was: "you are very good."
After awhile he spoke, and his voice seemed changed to her ears.
"You must be thinking of Mr. Lawrie. It will, indeed, be terrible
for him to hear of the disaster, before knowing that you are
saved."
"God has spared him that distress," she answered. "Mr. Lawrie
died, a year ago."
She felt a start in the strong frame upon which she leaned. After
a few minutes of silence, he slowly shifted his position
towards her, yet still without facing her, and said, almost in a
whisper:
"You have said that I am very good.
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