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Escape to a land where the uncouth savages will not hear the word?
It is their habitude to dance and sing and forever indulge in carnal
frolicking. Aye, they kill, they devour the very messengers of the
Lord! We are in the darkest, most forsaken part of the globe. By the
richness of His grace, you and I are raised up from the rest of man-
kind that are yet in ignorance and sin. The Light of His Word must
be carried here.
What do you intend? Aren t we to build a boat or some sort of
piragua?
In time, in time, but there are other matters we must attend to
first. They will be revealed to us presently. All that has been visited
upon us is a revelation. You might have drowned with the others,
and if you had, would you have been ready? But you were spared,
Mr. Morgen. Did you ask yourself why? You were spared that you
might be of particular service to the Lord and by that service, prepare
yourself, indeed render yourself fit for heaven. The captain stepped
around the fire and leaned close to the mate. Be aware, Mr. Morgen,
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he breathed sotto voce, be aware that you and I are different from
others, much different. You and I are clear of sight and have wit and
wisdom and cannot be deceived by false religions. Is that not so? We
have been given our mission. Our continuance on this island must be
used to the advantage of the Lord. I sent the crewmen away that I
might speak of this to you.
The mate thought for a moment. So I was spared, he mumbled.
Thomas and Harrison were too. Are they to serve in this mission also?
Everyone has his place. For some, it is a humble calling, but hum-
ble or not, each must hold fast in his singular service, each must stand
at his appointed post faithfully to hold the devil at bay. But here in
this place, here amongst the very heathen, we will do more than that.
We will thrust him back! Such is the charge given us in this special
time and place.
Mr. Morgen listened to the captain and nodded his head. Then he
asked, Will we build a boat or some canoe in the next months?
Be aware! Tobit bawled out. Our good fortune in the fishery
where many others have failed of late is a sign. It cannot be other-
wise! That we are natural leaders is an indication that we are to be
God s instruments. Do you not see the Lord has cast us on this shore
to do His work? If we fail him, we will be found wanting and not
deserve the glory of Heaven! We will raise here a fortress of right-
eousness. From it, the Word will be spread into these heathen islands.
The savages will topple their false idols, those beastly signs of the devil,
and the true church will rise in their stead. Think of it! Think of the
triumph of the Lord here amongst cannibals! You will then be assured
of your place in Heaven. You may take your choice, Mr. Morgen, eter-
nal life if you succeed in what the Lord has chosen you to do, or
eternal damnation if you fail Him! Watch for the sign. It will be
revealed to you soon!
THOMAS and Harrison were at a loss to know where to go next. They
stood scanning the flatland. By Tobit s order, they had climbed the
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giant steps of limestone near the falls and weaved a way through the
underwood to the grass. For an hour they had marched south, alter-
nately searching the earth at their feet and the grass waving in the
middle distance.
No droppings. Not a sign of them, the lad complained. If we
knew what sort of animal it is, we might guess its habits and know
where to find it.
Harrison pointed to the coast and asked, See where those brooks
drain over the edge? When we looked for the seals, we passed the flax
and bushes there, but we did not look upstream. They may be hid-
ing somewhere along them.
You try toward the coast, Thomas suggested. I ll go along there
under the mountain. They may live up in the trees and come down
only at night. We have not been up here in the dark. Let s meet back
at this spot no later than midday. Thomas turned toward the small
volcano to continue the search there.
It must have the nature of a sheep or deer, he decided, but be
smaller and lack the cloven hoof. It might browse the bushes on the
slopes and descend at odd times to feed on the grass. He hoped it was
not fierce or armed with claws, but he had his stick and, if he did not
come upon the creature unawares, it could be clubbed like a seal. Har-
rison was already half-hidden in the waist-high grasses and heading
toward the dark line of small trees and flax clumps. Thomas skirted
the base of the small volcano, searching for any disturbed grasses out
beyond the trees and bushes. He came to where the larger peak had
spilled over the lesser one and the two sides formed a gully. During
the rains, freshets had rushed down and washed the loose soil of the
flatland away to reveal the underlying stone. A small trickle still ran
through it. He stepped down into the void, across the water, and up
through ferns on the opposite bank. After traveling a cable s length he
discovered several stalks of grass in a line bent over in one direction.
He stooped and studied them.
The wind could not have bent those few and none of the others.
Birds could not have done it. Only an animal could. A hare might,
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a large hare leaping in that direction. The striding legs of a taller
creature might snap the stems to that angle and just that height. It
must be the trace he wished to find. Farther ahead he made out more
of the stems lying over in the same direction. In damp soil, beneath
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