THE NEW CLUB-ROOM
Autumn was drawing near, and still the pointing Finger had not been
recognised. A few of the meetings had been held in the shed, and,
although most of the men had been loyal to their promise, they had been
anything but comfortable times.
Nanna thought the matter had not been made a subject of united prayer
enough. So at morning prayer, which Phebe had lately established, it was
mentioned, and she also spoke of it to some of the men, asking them to
pray about it too.
Hugh Black had attended most of the meetings, taking up the same place
behind the shed. The men had got to know of this, but said nothing, and
once Phebe had caught sight of him herself. His presence brought back a
little of the old nervousness, but when she told Nanna, that old Amazon
said: "Toots, child, what difference should an extra quality in cloth
make to you! I should say he needs your help as much as anybody."
To Phebe's great astonishment he walked into the shop one morning.
"Can I have a word with you alone, Mrs. Waring?" he asked.
"Most certainly," and the two entered the parlour.
Phebe's heart was going pit-a-pat at a very unusual rate. Could it be he
had come to put any difficulties in the way--to make any complaints! How
is it in any moment of excitement we are sure to jump to the most
doleful conjectures?
"Pray be seated, Mr. Black," she managed to say, in a tolerably steady
voice.
"Thank you. I have often wanted to come to see you, Mrs. Waring, and
this morning I thought I'd just make a rush for it. Perhaps you wouldn't
believe it, but I felt quite nervous at the thought of coming."
"That is very strange; I am sure you are given to inspire more terror
than I am. To tell you the truth I felt nervous when I saw you come in,"
and then they both laughed. There is nothing like a laugh for putting
people at their ease.
"Well, Mrs. Waring, I'd better go straight to the point at once. I like
what you say to those men--indeed, I take most of it to myself, too. But
that's not what I wanted to say. What are you going to do when the bad
weather comes on?"
"Wear a macintosh," was the simple answer. How could she be so dense!
Surely here was the pointing Finger, yet she did not recognise it.
"Yes, yes; but that's not it. Where are you going to hold the meetings?"
Phebe grasped the arms of her chair to steady herself. She had caught
sight of the Finger now. She lifted her eyes to the star--God was near!
Then, with her usual simple straightforwardness, she told him all that
had been in her mind and how she had been waiting for guidance to know
if it was right to spend the hundred pounds. "I can afford to do so
now," she added, "much better than I could at the beginning of the
summer."
"It would not be right to let you do it. I came here with the
determination to offer you fifty pounds, if that would help you in any
way, but I'll make it a hundred."
"Sir!" gasped Phebe, her breath fairly taken away.
"Yes, it's no more than I ought to do. I'm making a profit out of the
men, and ought to do it; besides, I want to help you, too."
"Mr. Black," she said earnestly, putting her hand on his arm, "I'll
accept fifty pounds thankfully, but no more. I must do some of it
myself. And do you know, you are here as God's servant! We have prayed
so much about this, and God has sent you with the answer."
"I'm not a religious man, Mrs. Waring. I don't want to sail under any
false colours. I'm what you'd call 'a black sheep.'"
"Perhaps so, but for all that you are doing some of God's work, and some
day you'll do it for God's sake."
"Do you think I shall?" and the man had quite a yearning look on his
face.
"Yes, I do."
Then they talked of the best means of securing a second-hand iron
building and the best place to put it. When they parted Hugh Black said:
"Well, Mrs. Waring, if you will not accept more than the fifty for the
building, I mean to help you in some other way."
"So you shall, if God opens up the way."
"Do you think that God wants me to do anything for Him?"
"I am sure of it. The very fact that you were led to make that offer
proves it. Do believe it, Mr. Black, for it will help you to get near to
God."
"I'll try." Then he shook hands with her, and, just as he was opening
the door, turned round and said in a shaky voice: "Pray for me, Mrs.
Waring, will you? I was not always what I am now."
"I will, and God will answer." With another hearty shake of the hand he
was gone.
How the sun did shine that day! The sunbeams did not glance from the
fifty sovereigns, but from this signal proof of God-partnership in the
work. There is a little bit of the Thomas spirit in us all. We do so
like to see!
That day at dinner-time Phebe arranged that Bessie and Reynolds should
be in at the same time. While Nanna was carving Phebe told her startling
piece of news.
Nanna put down her knife and fork, and, starting to her feet, exclaimed,
clasping her hands: "Praise the Lord! it's worth more than fifty pounds
to feel Him so near."
"Glorious!" exclaimed Bessie; "let's sing the doxology."
And they did so, Reynolds as heartily as anybody, and Janie coming to
the door to join in, though she knew nothing of what the praise was
specially for.
"And another thing which is so fine," said Nanna, when they were quietly
seated again, "is that all this proves God is working in that man's
heart. We must all pray for him; we'll just pray him into the Kingdom."
Reynolds wanted very much to ask if he was going to enter that way too.
Nanna had certainly looked at him very significantly but said nothing.
After dinner was over, Nanna whispered to Phebe: "Dear heart, wasn't it
worth the pain that letter brought you to have all this?"
"I should think so, a hundred times over."
"We must not forget another time a shadow falls that God never lets
Satan have the victory in the end. It only means a little waiting, a
little enduring."
The next Sunday afternoon Phebe startled the hearers by saying: "I want
to correct a mistake which some of you have fallen into. You think I am
not paid for my services here, but I am."
"Whew!" went from more than one pair of lips.
"I have had fifty pounds given me, and I have had other payments
besides."
"Share round, missis, and then we don't mind," said one voice.
"Yes, I am going to share round, but perhaps not in the way you mean,"
and then she told them the whole of the story, of what her hopes had
been, her difficulty, the watching for the Finger, and the gift of the
fifty pounds. "Now," she exclaimed, joy lighting up her face, "who will
say God is not watching over our little meeting?"
"Hip, hip, hurrah!" shouted one of the men, which was quite equal, in
his mind, to "Hallelujah!"
The story had a splendid effect upon the men. The idea of a club-room
all their own, of money being given for their special benefit, gave a
decided impetus to the work, and the signal proof of God's near
connection with them certainly led many a heart closer to God.
"I say, missis," one man exclaimed, "let us have some share in the
paying for this room, won't you? Gentleman Dick," turning towards that
individual, "hand round yer hat for a collection. You lazy fellow, stir
yourself, do."
And before Phebe had time to say "Yes" or "No," twenty-one shillings
were collected.
"This must be spent in something extra," said she, when she had
collected her thoughts together, "so I propose you appoint Mr. Dick your
treasurer." To which they all agreed.
It did not take long to secure the iron room, and before the autumn days
had begun to show the touch of winter it was up, the floor was covered
with linoleum, pictures were on the walls, and there were as many wooden
arm-chairs as could be conveniently got in. Phebe's idea was that the
room should be made as attractive as possible. The men's money was put
to the chair fund.
Arrangements were made for the room to be open every dinner-hour and
every evening. Dick was appointed custodian, and one of the women paid
to give it a good cleaning every Saturday. Dick thought he was quite
equal to this latter duty, but Phebe was not quite so sure on that
point.
There were about fifty women in the camp, living in the long rows of
little wooden houses specially built for them, just like married
quarters in some military camps. Phebe wanted specially to get into
touch with these women.
In consulting with Mr. Black as to the best site for the room, Phebe
happened to mention her ownership of the meadow on the other side of the
line, wondering if that would be too far away. It was agreed that the
room had better be as near the camp as possible, Mr. Black guaranteeing
to be at the expense of its removal should it be found at any time
necessary to do so, owing to any development of the railway work.
The opening meeting was made a special one. Bessie had got a special
solo, with a very taking chorus, and then some of the men gave little
testimonies. To Phebe's great surprise and intense joy, after a little
pause when she had asked if any one else would like to speak, Reynolds
stepped forward. "Friends, I think it is high time I opened my mouth."
His voice trembled very much when he first began, but gradually got
steadier. "I've made up my mind to be a Christian. I gave myself to
Jesus three weeks ago, and I made up my mind on the Sunday the room was
opened to let this be known. It gave me a little courage to put it off a
while. I was tempted this afternoon to put it off still longer, but I
did not give in." ("Hear, hear!" said Dick, once the secret Christian
himself.) "What I owe to my mistress here I can never tell you; she has
made God so real to me." ("God bless her!" said Red Ribbon.) "That's all
I have to say, as I am no speaker, but I thought I must let you know
this."
Emboldened by Reynolds' example three other men made a like confession,
and then they all stood up and sang the doxology. "For," said Phebe, "if
you cannot all praise God for yourselves you can for others."
On the way home she grasped Reynolds firmly by the hand. "God bless you,
Reynolds! This is a happy day. But always remember I am as much your
debtor as you are mine. So, please, never praise me again. God only
knows how much you have helped me, and what I owe to you. I should not
be in the position I am to-day but for you."
And what effect do you suppose that little speech had upon the young
fellow? To make him proud and expect a bigger bonus than ever at
Christmas? Not a bit of it; he was more than ever her willing slave. If
masters knew the value of praise, there would be more "love-unions" than
"trades-unions."
Every dinner-hour in a small corner of Sunshine Hall--that was its
formal name--a little group of men gathered together, either for prayer
or to talk over any difficulties, and it was astonishing the knotty
points they got hold of, and the difficult questions they afterwards
propounded to their leader. In prayer they mostly spoke of her as "The
Little Missis," "The Missis" being too cold and "Mrs. Waring" too
formal.
But, in spite of all this sunshine there were still deep shadows. Public
opinion in Hadley passed very hard sentences on "The Little Missis,"
though fortunately she did not always hear them. "Unwomanly," "Forward,"
"Did not know her place," "Eager for popularity," "Fond of men's
company," "Hand in glove with the world," "Knew how to advertise her
business"--these were some of the comments. There was one good thing,
however, about this state of matters--there was clearly no danger to be
feared such as comes when all men speak well of you. How Satan must
rejoice when he can get God's workers paralysed through the criticisms
of Christians!