The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill Lutz (mobi reader android TXT) 📕

Little Note To Tell Of His Engagement To Gila. He Said It Was Not To Be

Announced Publicly Yet,  As Gila Was So Young. They Would Wait A Year

Perhaps Before Announcing It To The World,  But He Wanted Courtland To

Know. In An Added Line At The Bottom He Said: "That Was A Great Old

Speech You Made The Other Night,  Court. I Haven't Forgotten It Yet. Your

Reference To Marshall Was A Cracker-Jack! The Faculty Ought To Have

Heard It."

Courtland Read It Wearily,  Closed His Eyes For A Minute,  Passed His Hand

Over His Brow,  Then He Handed The Note Over To Pat. The Understanding

Between The Two Was Very Deep And Tender Now.

Pat Read Without Comment,  But The Frown On His Brow Matched The Set Of

His Big Jaw. When He Spoke Again It Was To Tell Courtland Of The Job He

Had Been Offered As Athletic Coach In A Preparatory School In The Same

Neighborhood With The Theological Seminary Where Courtland Had Decided

To Study. Courtland Listened Without Hearing And Smiled Wearily. He Was

Entering His Gethsemane. Neither One Of Them Slept Much That Night.

In The Early Dawning Courtland Arose,  Dressed,  And Silently Stole Out Of

The Room,  Down Through The Sleeping City,  Out To The Country,  Where He

Had Gone Once Before When Trouble Struck Him. It Seemed To Him He Must

Get Away To Breathe,  He Must Go Where He And God Could Be Alone.

Pat Understood. He Only Waited Till Courtland Was Gone To Fling On His

Clothes In A Hurry And Be After Him. He Had Noted From The Window The

Direction Taken,  And Guessed Where He Would Be.

On And On Walked Courtland With The Burning Sorrow In His Soul; Out

Through The Heated City,  Over The Miles Of Dusty Road,  His Feet Finding

Their Way Without Apparent Direction From His Mind; Out To The Stream,

And The Path Where Wild Flowers And Grasses Had Strewn The Ground In

Springtime; Gay Now With White And Purple Asters. The Rocks Wore Vines

Of Crimson,  And Goldenrod Was Full Of Bees And Yellow Butterflies.

Gnarled Roots Bore Little Creeping Tufts Of Squawberry With Bright,  Red

Berries Dotting Thick Between. But Courtland Passed On And Saw It Not.

Above,  The Sky Was Deepest Blue And Flecked With Summer Clouds.

Loud-Voiced Birds Called Gaily Of The Summer's Ending,  Talked Of Travel

In A Glad,  Gay Lilt. The Bees Droned On; The Bullfrogs Gave Forth A Deep

Wise Thought Or Two; While Softly,  Deeply,  Brownly,  Flowed The Stream

Beside The Path,  With Only A Far,  Still Fisherman Here And There Who

Noticed Not. But Courtland Heard Nothing,  Saw Nothing But The Dark Of

His Gethsemane. For Every Nodding Goldenrod And Saucy Purple Aster Was

But A Bright-Winged Thought To Him To Bring Back The Saucy,  Lovely Face

Of Gila. She Belonged Now To Another. He Had Not Realized Before How

Fully He Had Chosen,  How Lost She Was To Him,  Until Another,  And That

His Best Friend,  Had Taken Her For His Own. Not That He Repented His

Decision Or Drew Back. Oh No! He Could Not Have Chosen Otherwise. Yet

Now,  Face To Face With The Truth,  He Realized That He Had Always Hoped,

Even When He Walked Away From Her,  That She Would Find The Christ And

One Day They Would Come Together Again. Now That Hope Was Gone Forever.

She Might Find The Christ,  He Hoped--Yes,  Hoped And Prayed She

Would!--It Was A Wish Apart From His Personal Loss,  But She Could Never

Summon Him Now,  For She Had Given Herself To Another!

He Gained At Last The Rock-Bound Refuge Where He Knelt Once Before. Pat,

Coming Later From Afar,  Saw His Old Panama Lying Down On The Moss And

Knew That He Was There. Creeping Softly Up,  He Assured Himself That All

Was Well,  Then Crept Away To Wait. Pat Had Brought A Basket Of Grapes

And A Great Bag Of Luscious Pears Against The Time When Courtland Should

Have Fought His Battle And Come Forth. What Those Hours Of Waiting Meant

To Pat Might Perhaps Be Found Written In The Lives Of Some Of The Boys

In That School Where He Coached Athletics The Next Winter. But What They

Meant To Courtland Will Only Be Found Written In The Records On High.

Some Time A Little After Noon There Came A Peace To Courtland's Troubled

Soul.

     When Thou Passest Through The Waters I Will Be With Thee,

     And Through The Floods They Shall Not Overflow Thee!

It Was As Near To Him As Whispers In His Ear,  And Peace Was All About

Him.

He Stood Up,  Looked Abroad,  Saw The Beauty Of The Day,  Heard The

Dreaminess Of The Afternoon Coming On,  Heard Louder God's Call To His

Heart,  And Knew That There Was Strength For All His Need. It Was Then

Pat Came With His Refreshment Like A Ministering Angel.

When They Got Back To The City That Evening There Was A Note From

Bonnie,  The First Courtland Had Received Since The Formal Announcement

Of Her Arrival And Her Gratitude To Him For Being The Means Of Bringing

Her To That Dear Home.

This Letter Was Almost As Brief As The First,  But It Breathed A Spirit

Of Peace And Content. She Enclosed A Check On The Funeral Account.

Bonnie Was Well And Happy. She Was Teaching The Grammar-School Where

Stephen Marshall Used To Study When He Was A Little Boy,  And Giving

Music Lessons In The Afternoons. She Would Soon Be Able To Pay Back

Everything She Owed And To Do A Daughter's Share In The Home Where She

Was Treated Like An Own Child. She Closed By Saying That The Kindness He

Had Shown Her Would Never Be Forgotten; That He Had Seemed To Her,  And

Always Would,  Like The Messenger Of The Lord Sent To Help Her In Her

Despair.

There Was A Ring So Fresh And Strong And True In This Little Letter,

That He Could But Recognize It. He Sighed And Thought How Strange It Was

That He Should Almost Resent It,  Coming As It Did In Contrast With

Gila's Falseness. Gila Who Had Professed To Love Him So Deeply,  And Then

Had So Easily Laid That Love Aside And Put On Another. Perhaps All Girls

Were The Same. Perhaps This Bonnie,  Too,  Would Do The Same If A Man

Turned Out Not To Have Her Ideals.

He Answered Bonnie's Note In A Day Or Two With A Cordial One,  Returning

Her Check,  Assuring Her That Everything Was Fully Paid,  And Expressing

His Pleasure That She Had Found A Real Home And Congenial Work. Then He

Dismissed Her From His Mind.

A Week Later He Went To The Seminary,  And Pat Accompanied Him As Far As

The Preparatory School Where He Was To Enter Upon His Duties As Athletic

Coach.

Courtland Found The Atmosphere Of The Seminary Quite Different From

College. The Men Were Older. They Had Chosen Definitely Their Work In

The World. Their Talk Was Of Things Ecclesiastical. The Happenings Of

The Day Were Spoken Of With Reference To The Religious World. It Was A

New Viewpoint In Every Sense Of The Word. And Yet He Was Disappointed

That He Did Not Find A More Spiritual Atmosphere Among The Young Men Who

Were Studying For The Ministry. If Anywhere In The World The Presence

Might Be Expected To Be Moving And Apparent It Should Be Here,  He

Reasoned,  Where Men Had Definitely Given Themselves To The Study Of The

Gospel Of Christ,  And Where All Were Supposed To Believe In Him And To

Have Acknowledged Him Before The World. He Found Himself The Only Man In

The Place Who Was Not A Member Of Any Church,  And Yet There Were But

Three Or Four That He Had The Feeling He Could Speak To About The

Presence And Not Be Looked Upon As "Queer." There Was Much Worldly Talk.

There Was A Great Deal Of Church Gossip About Churches And Ministers;

What This One Was Paid And What That One Got; The Chances Of A Man Being

Called To A City Church When He Was Just Out Of The Seminary. It Was The

Way His Father Had Talked When He Told Him He Wanted To Study Theology.

It Turned Him Sick At Heart To Hear Them. It Seemed So Far From The

Attitude A Servant Of The Lord Should Have. He Was In A Fair Way To Lose

His Ideal Of Ministers As Well As Of Women. He Mentioned It One Day

Bitterly To Pat When He Came Over To Spend A Spare Evening,  As He

Frequently Did.

"I Think You're Wrong," Said Pat,  In His Queer,  Abrupt Way. "From What I

Can Figure There Was Only A Few Of Those Guys Got Around Christ And Knew

What He Really Was! You Didn't Suppose It Would Be Any Different Now,

Did You? Guess You'll Find It That Way Everywhere,  Only A Few _Real_

Folks In _Any_ Gang!"

Courtland Looked At Pat In Wonder. He Was A Constant Surprise To His

Friend,  In That He Grew So Fast In The Christian Life. He Had A Little

Bible That He Had Bought Before He Left The City. It Was Small And Fine

And Expensive,  Utterly Unlike Pat,  And He Carried It With Him Always,

Apparently Read It Much. He Hadn't Been Given To Reading Anything More

Than Was Required At College,  So It Was The More Surprising. He Told

Courtland He Wanted To Know The Rules Of The Game If He Was Going To Get

In It. His Sturdy Common-Sense Often Gave Courtland Something To Think

About. Pat Was Bringing His New Religion To Bear Upon His Work. He

Already Had A Devoted Bunch Of Boys To Whom He Was Dealing Out Wholesome

Truths Beginning A New Era In The School. The Head-Master Looked On In

Amazement,  For Morality Hadn't Been One Of The Chief Recommendations

That The Faculty Of The University Had Given Pat. They Had,  In Fact,

Privately Cautioned The School That They Would Have To Watch Out For

Such Things Themselves. Instead,  However,  Of Finding A Somewhat Lawless

Man In Their New Coach,  The Head-Master Was Surprised To Discover A

Purity Campaign On Foot,  A Ban On Swearing And Cigarette-Smoking Such As

They Had Never Been Able To Establish Before. It Came To Their Ears That

Pat Had Personally Conducted An Offender Along These Lines Out To The

Boundaries Of The School Grounds,  Well Behind The Gymnasium,  Where There

Was Utmost Privacy,  And Administered A Good Thrashing On His Own

Account. The Faculty Watched Anxiously To See The Effect Of Such Summary

Treatment On The Student Body,  But Were Relieved To Find That The New

Coach's Following Was In No Wise Diminished,  And That Better Conduct

Began Presently To Be The Order Of The Day.

Pat And Courtland Were Much Together These Days,  And One Sunday

Afternoon In Late October,  While The Sun Was Still Warm,  They Took The

Athletic Teams A Long Hike Over The Country. When They Sat Down To Rest

Pat Asked Courtland To Tell The Boys About Stephen,  And The Presence.

That Was The Real Beginning Of Courtland's Ministry,  Those Unexpected,

Spontaneous Talks With The Boys,  Where He Could Speak His