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368 in this precious treasure as was the planter, and he was at first unwilling to go on such an errand; but, being urged, he mounted his horse, and the two men rode on to San Roman.

No sooner had the planter reached his home than he ordered the ringing of the great bell which called the hands in from every part of the estate. Hearing the sound at this unusual hour, the people came crowding to the large patio of his mansion. He ordered every one to be seated to hear important news. After a few words of explanation, the master turned to his friend and said,

"Now begin at the beginning, and read on until we shall understand."

The reader held a small Spanish Testament in his hand and opened it at the first chapter of Matthew. Verse after verse the hard, strange names rolled over his tongue, as meaningless to the listeners as were the Latin prayers they had been accustomed to hear mumbled when they went to mass. At last he came to the twenty-first verse, which declares that Jesus shall save his people from their sins. The people began to get some light and were interested. The story of the wise men from the East and the little children who were killed in Bethlehem made a great impression. And so they went on with the story of Christ's baptism, his temptation in the wilderness, the death of his friend John, the feeding of the "five thousand men, beside women and children." Missionaries of our own time tell of Mexicans who sit up all night to hear the Bible read, and these people had the same thirst for the word of God which characterizes many of their ignorant countrymen.