He had been away from home for several days, lecturing in the north of England.Erica was not expecting his return till the following day, when one evening a telegram was brought in to her.It was from her father to this effect:
"Expect me home by mail train about two A.M.Place too hot to hold me."He had now to a great extent lived down the opposition which had made lecturing in his younger days a matter of no small risk to life and limb; but Erica knew that there were reasons which made the people of Ashborough particularly angry with him just now.
Ashborough was one of those strange towns which can never be depended upon.It was renowned for its riots, and was, in fact (to use a slang word) a "rowdy" place.More than once in the old days Raeburn had been roughly handled there, and Erica bore a special grudge to it, for it was the scene of her earliest recollection one of those dark pictures which, having been indelibly traced on the heart of a child, influence the whole character and the future life far more than some people think.
It was perhaps old memory which made her waiting so anxious that evening.Moreover, she had at first no one to talk to, which made it much worse.Aunt Jean had gone to bed with a bad toothache, and must on no account be disturbed; and Tom had suddenly announced his intention that morning of going down to Brighton on his bicycle, and had set off, rather to Erica's dismay, since, in a letter to Charles Osmond, Donovan happened to have mentioned that the Fane-Smiths had taken a house there for six weeks.She hated herself for being suspicious; but Tom had been so unlike himself since Rose's visit, and it was such an unheard-of thing that he should take a day's holiday during her father's absence, that it was scarcely possible to avoid drawing the natural inference.She was very unhappy about him, but did not of course feel justified in saying a word to any one else about the matter.Charles Osmond happened to look in for a few minutes later on, expecting to find Raeburn at home, and then in her relief she did give him an account of the unfortunate Sunday though avoiding all mention of Tom.
"It was just like you to come at the very time I was wanting some one to talk to," she said, sitting down in her favorite nook on the hearth rug with Friskie on her lap."Not a word has been said of that miserable Sunday since though I'm afraid a good deal has been thought.After all, you know, there was a ludicrous side to it as well.I shall never forget the look of them all when Rose and Icame down again: Mr.Fane-Smith standing there by the table, the very incarnation of contemptuous anger, and father just here, looking like a tired thunder cloud! But, though one laughs at one aspect of it, one could cry one's eyes out over the thing as a whole indeed, just now I find myself agreeing with Mr.Tulliver that it's a 'puzzling world.'""The fact is," said Charles Osmond, "that you consent patiently enough to share God's pain over those who don't believe in Him; but you grumble sorely at finding a lack of charity in the world; yet that pain is God's too.""Yes," sighed Erica; "but somehow from Christians it seems so hard!""Quite true, child," he replied, half absently."It is hard most hard.But don't let it make you uncharitable, Erica.You are sharing God;'s pain, but remember it is only His perfect love which makes that pain bearable.""I do find it hard to love bigots," said Erica, sighing."They!
What do they know about the thousand difficulties which have driven people into secularism? If they could but see that they and their narrow theories and their false distortions of Christ's Gospel are the real cause of it all, there would be some hope! But they either can't see it or won't.""My dear, we're all a lot of blind puppies together," said Charles Osmond."We tumble up against each other just for want of eyes.
We shall see when we get to the end of the nine days, you know.""You see now," said Erica; "you never hurt us, and rub us the wrong way.""Perhaps not," he replied, laughing."But Mr.Roberts and some of my other brethren would tell a different tale.By the bye, would you care to help another befogged mortal who is in the region you are safely out of? The evolution theory is the difficulty, and, if you have time to enter into his trouble, I think you could help him much better than I can.If I could see him, I might tackle him;but I can't do it on paper.You could, I think; and, as the fellow lives at the other side of the world, one can do nothing except by correspondence."Erica was delighted to undertake the task, and she was particularly well fitted for it.Perhaps no one is really qualified for the post of a clearer of doubts who has not himself faced and conquered doubts of a similar nature.
So there was a new interest for her on that long, lonely evening, and, as she waited for her father's return, she had time to think out quietly the various points which she would first take up.By and by she slept a little, and then, in the silence of the night, crept down to the lower regions to add something to the tempting little supper which she had ready in the green room.But time crept on, and in the silence she could hear dozens of clocks telling each hour, and the train had been long due, and still her father did not come.
