IN THE MORNING
All through the night people remained in the street without. With the
return of day their numbers so increased that the authorities began
to be concerned. The house itself was besieged. It was with
difficulty that the police could keep a sufficient open space in
front to enable persons to pass in and out. An official endeavoured
to represent to the inmates the authoritative point of view.
'Whose house is this?' he asked of the servant who opened the door.
He was told.
'Can I see Mrs. Powell?'
The maid seemed bewildered.
'We don't know what's the matter with her. We're going to send for a
doctor.'
'Is she ill?'
'She's grown old since last night.'
'What do you mean?'
The officer stared. The girl began to cry.
'I want to get away. I'm frightened.'
'Don't be silly. What have you got to be frightened at? Can't I see
someone who's responsible? I don't know who you've got in the house,
but whoever it is, he'd better go before there's trouble.'
'They say it's Christ.'
'Christ or no Christ, I tell you he'd better go somewhere where his
presence won't be the occasion of a nuisance. Is there no one I can
see?'
'I am here.' The answer came from Mr. Treadman, who, with three other
persons, had just entered the hall. 'What is it, constable? Is there
anything you want?'
'I don't know who you are, sir, but if you're the cause of the
confusion outside you're incurring a very serious responsibility.'
'I am not the cause; it is not me they have come to see. They have
come to see the Lord. Officer, Christ has come again.'
Mr. Treadman laid his hand upon the official's arm; who instantly
shook it off again.
'I know nothing about that; I want to know nothing. I only know that
no one has a right to cause a nuisance.'
'Cause a nuisance? Christ! Officer, are you mad?'
'I don't want to talk to you. I have my instructions; they're enough
for me. My instructions are to see that the nuisance is abated. The
best way to do that is to induce your friend to take himself
somewhere else without any fuss.' Voices came from the street. 'Do
you hear that? A lot of half-witted people have foolishly brought
their sick friends, and have actually got them out there, as if this
was some sort of hospital at which medical attendance could be had
for the asking. If anything happens to those sick people, it won t be
nice for whoever is to blame.'
'Nothing will happen. The Lord has only to raise His hand, to say the
word, for them to be made whole. They know it; their faith has made
them sure.'
The officer regarded the other for a moment or two before he spoke
again.
'Look here, I don't know what your game is----'
'Game?'
'And I don't know what new religion it is you're supposed to be
teaching----'
'New religion? The religion we are teaching is as old as the hills.'
'Very well; then that's all right. You take it to the hills; there'll
be more room there. You tell your friend that the sooner he takes a
trip into the country the better it'll be for everyone concerned.'
'Officer, don't you understand what it means when you are told that
Christ has come again? Can it be possible that you are not a
Christian?'
The official waved his hand.
'The only thing about which I'm concerned is my duty, and my duty is
to carry out my instructions. If, as I say, your friend is a sensible
man, he'll change his quarters as soon as he possibly can. You'll
find me waiting outside, to know what he intends to do. Don't keep me
any longer than you can help.'
The official's disappearance was followed by a momentary silence;
then Mr. Treadman laughed awkwardly, as if his sense of humour had
been tickled by something which was not altogether pleasant.
'That is the latest touch of irony, that Christ should be regarded as
a common nuisance, and on His Second Coming to be the Judge of all
the earth requested to take Himself elsewhere!'
The Rev. Martin Philipps pursed his lips.
'What you say is correct enough; it is a ludicrous notion. But, on
the other hand, the position is not a simple one. If, as they bid
fair to do, the people flock here in huge crowds, at the very least
there will be confusion, and the police will have difficulty in
keeping order.'
'You would not have the people refrain from coming to greet their
Lord?'
'I would nave them observe some method. Do you yourself wish that
they should press upon Him in an unmanageable mob?'
'Have no fear of that. He will hold them in the hollow of His hand,
and will see that they observe all the method that is needed. For my
part, I'd have them flock to Him from all the corners of the earth--
and they will.'
'In that case I trust that they will not endeavour to pack themselves
within the compass of the London streets.'
'Be at peace, my friend; do not let yourself be troubled. All that He
shall do will be well. Now, first, to see our dear sister, whose
request He granted, and whom He so greatly blessed by staying beneath
her roof.'
As he spoke, turning, he saw a figure coming down the stairs--an old
woman, who tottered from tread to tread, clinging to the banister, as
if she needed it both as a guide and a support.
'Who is this?' he asked. Then: 'It can't be Mrs. Powell?' It was. He
ran to her. 'My dear friend, what has happened to you since I saw you
last?'
The old woman, grasping the banister with both hands, looked down at
him.
'I have seen Him face to face!'
'Seen whom?'
'Christ. I have stood before the judgment-seat of God.'
There was a quality in her voice which, combined with the singularity
and even horror of her appearance, caused them to stare at her with
doubting eyes. Mr. Treadman put a question to the servant, who still
lingered in the passage:
'What does she mean? What has taken place?'
The girl began again to whimper.
'I don't know. I want to go--I daren't stop--I'm frightened!'
Mr. Treadman ascended to the old woman.
'Take my arm; let me help you down, then you can tell me all that has
happened.'
With her two hands she caught his arm in a convulsive grip. At her
touch they saw that his countenance changed. As they descended side
by side upon his face was a curious expression, almost as if he was
afraid of his companion. As she came the others retreated. When he
led her into a room the others followed at a distance, showing a
disposition to linger in the doorway. He brought her to a chair.
'Here is a seat. Sit down.'
She glanced with her dim eyes furtively to the front and back, to the
right and left, continuing to clutch his arm, as if unwilling to
relinquish its protection. He was obviously embarrassed.
'Did you not hear what I said? Here is a seat. Let me go.'
She neither answered nor showed any signs of releasing him. He called
to those in the doorway:
'Come and help me, someone; she grips my arm as in a vice. Mrs.
Powell, I must insist upon your doing as I request. Let me go!'
With a sudden wrench he jerked himself away. Deprived of his support,
she dropped on to the ground. Indifferent to her apparent
helplessness, he hurried to the trio at the door.
'There's something awful about her--worse than madness. She has given
me quite a nervous shock.'
'General' Robins answered; he was one of the three who had come with
Mr. Treadman.
'As she herself says, she has seen Him face to face. Wait till we
also have seen Him face to face. God help us all!'
The Rev. Martin Philipps fidgeted.
'Without wishing to countenance any extravagant theories, it is plain
that something very strange has happened to Mrs. Powell. I trust that
we ourselves are incurring no unnecessary risks.'
Mr. Jebb, who also had come with Mr. Treadman, regarded the speaker
in a manner which was not flattering.
'You religious people are always thinking of yourselves. It is
because you are afraid of what will happen to what you call your
souls that you try to delude yourselves with the pretence that you
believe; regarding faith as a patent medicine warranted to cure all
ills. You might find indifference to self a safer recipe.'
Picking up Mrs. Powell from where she still lay upon the floor, he
placed her in a chair.
'My good lady, the proper place for you is in bed.' He called to the
maid: 'See that your mistress is put to bed at once, and a doctor
sent for.'
'A doctor,' cried Mr. Treadman, 'when the Great Healer Himself is
upstairs!'
'You appear to ignore the fact that, according to your creed, the
Great Healer, as you call him, metes out not rewards only, but
punishments as well. He is not a doctor to whom you have only to
offer a fee to command his services.'
'General' Robins caught at the words.
'He does ignore it; and by his persistence in so doing he makes our
peril every moment greater.'
'At the same time,' continued Mr. Jebb, 'it is just as well that we
should keep our heads. A person of Mrs. Powell's temperament and
history may pass from what she was to what she is in the twinkling of
an eye without the intervention of anything supernatural. So much is
certain.'
Mr. Treadman, who had been wiping his brow with his
pocket-handkerchief, as if suffering from a sudden excess of heat,
joined in the conversation.
'My dear friend, God moves in a mysterious way. We all know that. Let
us not probe into His actions in this or that particular instance,
but rest content with the general assurance that all things work
together for the good of those that love the Lord. Let us not forget
the errand which has brought us here. Let us lose no more time, but
use all possible expedition in opening our hearts to Him.'
'I wish, Treadman, since you are not a parson, that you wouldn't ape
the professional twang. Isn't ordinary English good enough for you?'
'My dear Jebb, you are pleased to be critical. My sole desire is to
speak of Him with all possible reverence.'
'Then be reverent in decent every-day English. Are you suggesting
that we should seek his presence? Because, if so I'm ready.'
It seemed, however, that the other two were not. 'General' Robins
openly confessed his unwillingness to, as he put it, meet the
Stranger face to face. Nor was Mr. Philipps's eagerness in that
direction much greater than his. Even Mr. Treadman showed signs of a
chastened enthusiasm. It needed Mr. Jebb's acerbity to rekindle the
expiring flame. Mr. Treadman repudiated the hints which his associate
threw out with a show both of heat and scorn.
Soon the quartette were mounting the stairs which led to the
Stranger's room. On the landing there was a pause. The 'General' and
Mr. Philipps, whose unwillingness to proceed further had by no means
vanished, still lagged behind. Mr. Jebb lashed them with his tongue.
'What's wrong with you? Is it spiritual fear or physical? In either
case, what fine figures you both present! All these years you have
been sounding your trumpets, proclaiming that you are Christ's, and
Christ is yours; that the only thing for which you have yearned is
His return. Now see how you shiver and shake! Is it because you are
afraid that He has come, or because you fear He hasn't?'
'I don't think,' stammered Mr. Philipps, 'that you are entitled to
say I am afraid--other than in the sense in which every true believer
must be afraid when he finds himself standing on the threshold of the
Presence.'
The 'General' was more candid.
'I fear, I fear! He knows me altogether! He knows I fear!'
Mr. Treadman endeavoured to return to his old assurance.
'Come, my friends, let us fear nothing. Whether we live we are the
Lord's; or whether we die we are the Lord's, blessed be the name of
the Lord! Let us rejoice and make glad, and enter into His presence
with a song.'
Without knocking, turning the handle of the door in front of which
they stood, he went into the room. Mr. Jebb went with him. After
momentary hesitation, the Rev. Martin Philipps followed after. But
'General' Robins stayed without. It was as if he made an effort to
force his feet across the threshold, and as if they refused him their
obedience. The tall, rugged figure, clad in its bizarre uniform,
trembled as with ague.
On a sudden one of the bands for whose existence he was responsible
burst into blatant sound in the street beyond. As its inharmonious
notes reached his ears, he leant forward and hid his face against the
wall.