noon
As we wrestle with the powers of darkness now strangling our life , give to our souls to endure as seeing the invisible , and to our right arms the strength of the martyred dead of our people . Have mercy on the poor , the weak , the innocent and defenceless , and deliver us from the body of the Black Death . In a land of light and beauty and love our women are prisoners of danger and fear . While the heathen walks his native heath unharmed and unafraid , in this fair Christian Southland our sisters , wives , and daughters dare not stroll at twilight through the streets or step beyond the highway at noon . The terror of the twilight deepens with the darkness , and the stoutest heart grows sick with fear for the red message the morning bringeth . Forgive our sins -- they are many -- but hide not thy face from us , O God , for thou art our refuge ! '' As the last echoes of the prayer lingered and died in the vaulted roof , the clansmen rose and stood a moment in silence .