Time of the Singing of Birds by Grace Livingston Hill

Author:Grace Livingston Hill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2015-08-12T02:20:50+00:00

Chapter 13

How frantic Barney Vance would have been if he could have known that, even as he took the elevator up to the office where he was hoping to meet his friend the admiral in behalf of a scheme to find Stormy Applegate, that Stormy at that very moment was toiling, weary and footsore, and nigh unto despair along an unknown way. For Stormy was entering the first smart-looking village he had seen on his journeying from the detention camp, and he had just seen signs that it was enemy-occupied.

But Barney had thought so long about this desire of his to find Stormy that it had come to seem almost a dream that might take years to accomplish. It was something he was working out to satisfy his own desire, foolish and not worth the attempt, because they felt that Stormy was out of the running. He was either dead or so hopelessly a prisoner that no one but God could save him, and Barney met so few in his questionings that even counted on God to do anything about such things that sometimes he questioned whether he might not be losing some of his own faith, too. But still he felt he must make some attempt. If he found the admiral inclined to take this discouraging attitude and say it was out of the question, he didn’t know what other earthly help he could try for. Perhaps it was all wishful thinking, this belief of his that Stormy was still alive. Perhaps he was just being foolishly sentimental, as several men and more than one girl had already told him frankly. Well, time would tell.

Oh, God, he prayed in his heart, won’t You work this thing out for me? This is the only thing I know to do. If it fails, I won’t know what to do next. I’ll just have to let it rest with You. But, please, if that’s the way You want it, if I should make no further effort, please make me know somehow. Help me to be rid of this tormenting urge to go after him.

Then the elevator stopped at the floor he had named, and he got out and walked down the corridor to the door where he had been told to find the admiral.

And back in the schoolhouse where she presided over a restless throng of various-aged children, a golden-haired girl was earnestly praying in her heart as she listened to Skinny Wilson stumbling over his reading lesson. And while he read:

“A soldier of the lee-gy-on lay adying in Al-gy-ers—”

“That is leegion, Tommy,” corrected the gentle voice. And it is Aljeers, not Al-gy-ers. Read it again, Tommy.”

Tommy read it again rapidly before he should forget the accent:

“A soldier of the leegion lay adying in Aljeers—

There was lack of woman’s kindness, there was dearth of woman’s tears—”

But Sunny was praying in her heart: Oh, God, please don’t let him have to go. Anyway, not now before he is strong again. But if he has to go, please go with him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.