Christian fiction; Families -- Fiction; Love stories
She watched him furtively during the opening exercises, the untrained
singing, the monotonous prayer of an old farmer-elder, the dry
platitudes of the illiterate superintendent; but he sat respectfully
listening, taking it all for what it was worth, the best service these
people knew how to render to their Maker.
Somehow her heart had gained the strength she needed from the prayers
she breathed continually, and when the time for teaching the lesson
arrived she came to her class with quietness.
There was a little awe upon the boys because of the stranger in their
midst. They did not fling the hymn-books down with a noisy thud, nor
send the lesson leaves flying like winged darts across the room quite
so much as they were wont to do. They looked askance at Harley, who
sat proudly by the visitor, supplying him with Bibles, hymn-books,
lesson leaves, and finding the place for him officiously. But Graham
sat among the boys without ostentation, and made as little of his own
presence as possible. He smiled at them now and then, put a handful of
silver into the collection envelope when they would have passed him by,
and promised a ride to one fellow who ventured to ask him hoarsely if
that was his car outside the church.
Shirley had made up her mind to forget as far as she could the presence
of the visitor in the class, and to this end she fixed her eyes upon
the worst little boy present, the boy who got up all the disturbances,
and made all the noises, and was the most adorable, homely, sturdy
young imp the Valley Church could produce. He sat straight across from
her, while Graham was at the side, and she could see in Jack's eye that
he meant mischief if he could overcome his awe of the stranger. So
before Jack could possibly get started she began her story, and told it
straight to Jack, never taking her eyes from his face from start to
finish, and before she was half-way through she had her little audience
enthralled. It was a story of the Bible told in modern setting, and
told straight to the heart of a boy who was the counterpart in his own
soul of the man whom Christ cured and forgave. What Graham was
thinking or looking Shirley did not know. She had literally forgotten
his existence after the first few minutes. She had seen the gleam of
interest in the eyes of the boy Jack; she knew that her message was
going home to a convicted young soul, and that he saw himself and his
own childish sins in the sinful life of the hero of her tale. Her
whole soul was bent on making him see the Saviour who could make that
young life over. Not until the story was almost finished did any one
of the listeners, unless perhaps Harley, who was used to such
story-recitals, have a suspicion that the story was just a plain,
ordinary chapter out of the Bible. Then suddenly one of the elder boys
broke forth: "Aw! Gee! That's just the man in the Bible let down
through the roof!" There was a slight stir in the class at the
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