Page:The trail of the golden horn.djvu/154

150 Surely there was other work for him to do. Was he only wasting his time by remaining at The Gap?

Suddenly there flashed into his mind the lament of the Lord, “I sought for a man that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, and I found none.” These words startled him, and he quickly turned to the twenty-second chapter of the prophet Ezekiel. He read them with kindling eyes, and his heart beating a little faster. Why had they come to him just then? Was it a message from on high? A warning for him not to leave his post of duty? Did the Lord mean for him to remain there? Was there something yet for him to do? Yes, he would stay, and when the time came that a man was specially needed, he, Charles Norris, would be found standing in The Gap. This resolve gave him considerable comfort, so once more he picked up his pen and went on with his work.

For perhaps an hour he sat there, lost in his self-imposed task of translating the clear brief English words into the long, forbidding ones of the native language. He was at length aroused by a loud knock upon the door. He started, and looked around. At once the door opened and a man entered, who stood gazing for a few seconds at the scene before him.

“I want shelter for the night,” he roughly said. “An’ grub, too. I’m starving.”

He then moved toward the stove, and the missionary noticed that he limped painfully.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, rising from his seat and stepping forward.

The visitor was about to make a savage reply, when he suddenly stopped. Something about the old man restrained him. He could not tell what it was, but