Brothers -- Fiction; Love stories; Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Fiction
"I did realize," Dinah said. "If it weren't for you--because you are so
good--nothing would have stopped me. Even now--even now--" again the hot
tears came--"I've nothing to live for, and--and--God--doesn't--care."
She turned her face into her arm and wept silently.
Scott made a sudden movement, and threw his cigarette away. Then swiftly
he bent over her.
"Dinah," he said, "stop crying! You're making a big mistake."
His tone was arresting, imperative. She looked up at him almost in spite
of herself. His eyes gazed straight into hers, and it seemed to her that
there was something magnetic, something that was even unearthly, in their
close regard.
"You are making a mistake," he repeated. "God always cares. He cared
enough to send a friend to look after you. Do you want any stronger proof
than that?"
"I--don't--know," Dinah said, awe-struck.
"Think about it!" Scott insisted. "Do you seriously imagine that it was
just chance that brought me along at that particular moment? Do you think
it was chance that made you draw back yesterday from giving yourself to a
man you don't love? Was it chance that sent you to Switzerland in the
first place? Don't you know in your heart that God has been guiding you
all through?"
"I don't know," Dinah said again, but there was less of hopelessness in
her voice. The shining certainty in Scott's eyes was warring with her
doubt. "But then, why has He let me suffer so?"
"Why did He suffer so Himself?" Scott said. "Except that He might learn
obedience? It's a bitter lesson to all of us, Dinah; but it's got to be
learnt."
"You have learnt it!" she said, with a touch of her own impulsiveness.
He smiled a little--smiled and sighed. "I wonder. I've learnt anyhow to
believe in the goodness of God, and to know that though we can't see Him
in all things, it's not because He isn't there. Even those who know Him
best can't realize Him always."
"But still you are sure He is there?" Dinah questioned.
"I am quite sure," he said, with a conviction so absolute that it placed
further questioning beyond the bounds of possibility. "Life is full of
problems which it is out of any man's power to solve. But to anyone who
will take the trouble to see them the signs are unmistakable. There is
not a single soul that is left unaccounted for in the reckoning of God.
He cares for all."
There was no contradicting him; Dinah was too weary for discussion in any
case. But he had successfully checked her tears at last; he had even in a
measure managed to comfort her torn soul. She lay for a space pondering
the matter.
"I am afraid I am one of those who don't take the trouble," she said at
length. "But I shall try to now. Thank you for all your goodness to me,
Mr. Greatheart." She smiled at him wanly. "I don't deserve it--not a
quarter of it. But I'm grateful all the same. Please won't you have your
smoke now, and forget me and my troubles?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account