"It is there safe enough; oh, yes, and it rings all right. The church council composed of the most important of the native parishioners met me and pointed out how wise they had been, as wise as serpents to use their own expression. The church compound is already under cultivation and the water will not only produce a crop, I should say rather, two crops in the year, but will also be a source of income as it is purchased by the villagers at so much a bucket. They are all delighted with themselves for their cleverness. The bell-tower, they say, will come all in good time. Meanwhile they have erected a little shelter of mats and bamboos in a peepul tree and have hung the bell there." "What did you say?" "I had to disapprove and point out that it was a breach of faith and a misappropriation of funds." "Was the wall needed?" "Badly! Nothing could be done with the land to make it productive until we had an effective barrier to keep out the buffaloes and goats." "Then really it is a most excellent move." "Not at all! Don't you see that there are principles involved?" "They should have asked your consent, you mean, to the temporary deflection of the money?" "I should never have given it! They knew it and took good care not to let me into the secret. What am I to do, pray? Where is my bell-tower to come from? It will take two or three years before they can refund the money. Some of it was given by an enthusiastic lover of bells, who was charmed with the idea of assisting to build the tower. Bells, he declared, were missionaries themselves and exercised a Christianising influence. What am I to say to him? He won't see any Christianising influence in the well and the wall." He sat up in his long armed chair and gazed at Eola with comic concern. It made her laugh. "My sympathies are all with the builders of the wall. I know how I felt towards the buffaloes and goats before the wall round this compound was completed. After all the bell does very well for the present in the peepul tree." "Your morals are hopelessly inferior--I won't say bad--and you would make a very weak mission agent," he said, shaking his head over her shortcomings. "Should I? Then I mustn't marry a missionary. Think how awful it would be if while he was away preaching to the heathen, I remained at home encouraging his converts to misappropriate the mission funds." "He would have to take you with him; it wouldn't be safe to leave you behind." They both laughed; then he became serious again. "But I say, really, joking apart; you know they have put me into no end of a difficulty by their cleverness, and I am at my wits' end to think how I am to rectify it." "I know!" cried Eola, with a sudden inspiration. "Haven't you any other funds in hand from which you could borrow and get the tower built at once?" He jumped to his feet as was his way when excited and strode up and down the verandah.