He could also ring chimes.

He was keyed to the utmost, every pulse and vein surcharged with the emotion that comes from a desperate situation and a great impulse to save it.
The great bell suddenly began to peal forth the air of The Star Spangled Banner.

Some of the notes may have gone wrong, there may have been errors of time and emphasis, but the old tune, then young, was there.
Every man lying on the floor, every one of whom was born in the States, knew it, and every heart leaped.

Elsewhere it might have been a commonplace thing to do, but there in the night and the storm, surrounded by enemies, on a vast and lonely frontier it was an inspiration.

Every Texan in the valley who heard it would know that it was the call of a friend asking for help, and he would come.
Not a Texan moved, but they breathed heavily.