, a Bible tossed into it, two
schoolboy brothers (whose leanings towards Christianity had been
discovered) pushed into an inner room, the sound of blows and cries.
"And after that my brothers did not want to be Christians any more."
Poor little timid Fawn! We hardly wonder as we look at her that she
shrank and shut her eyes. I have seen a child of twelve held down by a
powerful arm and beaten across the bare shoulders with a cocoa-nut shell
fastened to the end of a stick; I have seen her wrists twisted almost to
dislocation--seen it, and been unable to help. I think of the child, now
our happy Gladness, lover of the unlovable babies; and I for one cannot
wonder at the little Fawn's fear. But aloud she only said: "Forgive me,
I cannot go home."

The father grew impatient. "Get your jewels and let us be gone!" Fawn
ran into the house, brought her jewels, and handed them to her father.
He counted them over--pretty little chains and bangles, and then he eyed
her curiously. A child to give up her jewels like this--he found it
unaccountable. And then he began to argue, but Fawn answered him with
clearness and simplicity, and he could not perplex her. She knew Whom
she believed.

At last they rose to go, cursing the day she was born with a curse that
sounded horrible. But their younger daughter, whom they had brought with
them, threw herself upon the ground, tearing her hair, beating her
breast, shrieking and rolling and flinging the dust about like a mad
thing. "I will not go without my sister! I will not go! I will not go!"
And she clung to Fawn, and wept and bewailed till we hardly dared to
hope the child would be able to withstand her. For a moment the parents
stood and waited. We, too, stood in tension of spirit. "They have told
her to do it," whispered Fawn, and stood firm. Then the father stooped,
snatched up the younger child, and departed, followed by the mother.

All this time two of our number had been waiting upon God in a quiet
place out of sight. One of the two went after the parents, hoping for a
chance to explain matters to the mother. As she drew near she heard the
wife say in an undertone to her husband: "Leave them for to-day. Wait
till to-night. You have carried off the younger in your arms against her
will. What hinders you doing the same to the elder?" And that night we
prayed that the Wall of Fire might be round us, and slept in peace.

As a dream when one awaketh, so was the memory of that afternoon