Installment ten

On our previous installment Harold Wilson had made a commitment to
lead a better life with the help of his Bible and of Captain Mann.
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Installment Ten:

The "Pacific Clipper" had been plowing her way through the waters
for a week when one day a pleasant-looking man came up to Harold
and, without introduction, very kindly asked him if he was a Christian.
This was the first time in all his life that this question had been brought
home to him. But though greatly astonished, Harold was pleased to be
questioned directly in this way by the gentleman.
"No, sir," he replied, "I am not; but I am just now thinking I ought to
be. And what is your name, sir?"
"My name is Anderson."
"Are you one of the missionaries going to the Philippines, sir?"
"Yes; and why do you ask?"
"Well, Captain Mann has told me that there were missionaries aboard,
and I have been wanting to see one of them to ask some questions. You
see, I have with me a Bible given to me by an old gentleman at the
Oakland Pier. This Bible is marked. It is marked almost the same as
one my Christian mother gave me, but which I threw into the sea
because I hated Christianity. The marking therefore takes me back
to my old home, to things my mother said, and I want someone to
help me know how to begin a true Christian life. "
"Is your name Wilson, my young friend?"
"Yes, sir, but how did you learn my name?"
"It is a rather strange story, but I will tell you. A few days before
I left Oakland, I saw in a San Francisco paper the report of a
certain trial, that of a young man by the name of Wilson, who
had been sentenced, because of some wrongdoing, to a five-
year absence from the country. The reporter made note of
various extenuating circumstances, of a good mother's dying
prayer, and of the hope of strong, good friends, that the young
man would turn and become an honor to his parents, both of
whom had devotedly given him to God. It was stated that the
young man would have a position aboard the "Pacific Clipper"
and I determined to try to meet him and help him if I could."
Harold carefully eyed this new friend; for had not Captain
Mann cautioned him against being led off into wild notions?
Yet Mr. Anderson had a good face, a sincere expression, and
apparently unselfish interest. And really it seemed to Harold
that it was it was more than a mere coincidence that he had
been led to meet him.
"You did not know my mother, did you? She was a great
believer in doing just what the Bible says, and was always
urging me to follow it. She lived in San Francisco."
"Was her first name Helen?"
"Yes! Yes! Did you know her?"
"My boy, your mother was a member of my church. As her
pastor, I have more than once heard her tell of her wandering
child, and of her constant prayer that he would one day
become acquainted with the Lord Jesus. She told of the Bible
she had purchased, of the message she had written, of the
texts she had marked, of the explanation she had placed in
the margins. She believed it would one day touch his heart.
But for long years she heard nothing from him, and finally
she gave him up as lost at sea. When stricken down with
illness, and on her deathbed, she called the old brother
whom you met at the Oakland Pier, and asked him to
place in the distributor another Bible, marked as she had
marked that one years before. And are you her son, Harold?"
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To be continued.....