The Final Adversary (24 page)

The sun shone like a benediction on the group waiting to board the surfboats. Stanley Beecham had been delighted at the news that all ten missionaries had decided to go to the interior. “We’ll leave tomorrow,” he said. “Garroway will be our first stop. From there we’ll pair off to different stations. Since Garroway is about thirty miles up the coast, it’ll be quicker to go by surfboat than overland.”

One of the natives loading the baggage was Bestman, who had helped Katie when she’d left the ship. Surprised to see him, she said, “Why, Bestman, how good to see you again.”

“Yes, Mammy. You be careful. Not fall down again.” His white teeth flashed as he smiled.

When it was time to board the surfboats, the boatmen hoisted sails on both vessels and the group stepped in. The boats moved along the coast, sometimes driven at such a rapid pace it seemed they would be dashed to pieces on the rocks. Other times the waters would be so calm the oarsmen could frequently take a nap while they waited for the wind to become more favorable. This irritated Andy, who wanted to push on.

Beecham noticed Andy’s impatience and smiled. “Might
as well throw that watch away, my boy. These people keep a different time.”

Andy’s response was only a grimace.

The rocky ride made a few of them seasick, including Katie. “Don’t
you
feel a little sick?” she asked Barney, seeing his concern.

“Nope. I heard once that only idiots are immune to seasickness. Guess I’m safe.”

The long trip was trying—the scorching sun and wind left them sunburned, weather-beaten, and exhausted. It was a relief when the prow of the boat finally hit the beach at one-thirty the next morning.

Katie peered through the black darkness, seeing only shadows. The boatmen shouted and the shadows on shore moved. Soon there was a scramble as debarking began. Perplexed as to what to do, Katie waited.

“Mammy, you ready to go now?” a voice beside her said.

“Yes, I’m ready,” she replied, recognizing Bestman.

He took her hand and guided her to the prow of the boat. “Now, you stand still, Mammy,” he said, and she heard him step into the water. “Mammy, you come.”

“How can I get to the shore?”

“Mammy, I go carry you.”

He picked her up like a child and sloshed through the surf to the shore and set her down on a rock.

“You all right now, Mammy?”

“Yes, Bestman. I’m fine.”

He carried the other women across the rough waters as well, and soon the entire group was together. The cool wind whipped around them, moaning eerily. It made the goose bumps rise on Katie’s arms. Though she was eager for the challenge ahead, this depressing introduction to the wild, unknown world was unnerving.

“Come along.” Beecham’s voice was a welcome intrusion to Katie’s thought. “The station’s not far from here.”

Beecham set out at a brisk pace through the darkness. The
others followed, blindly trusting their leader. Shortly they saw the welcome gleam of a lighted window. “That’s it,” Beecham said cheerfully.

At the house they were met by a small native couple speaking a strange language, their white teeth prominent against the ebony skin.

“Gwani. These people are starved. They would like some food as soon as possible.”

The servants’ winning smiles won Katie’s heart. As they scurried around preparing the meal, Beecham helped the missionaries get settled. The women were assigned to the only bedroom in the house.

As they stepped into the room, Lily screeched, “It’s a SNAKE!”

“Oh, come on, Lily,” Katie said. “It was only a lizard. You ought to be glad it
wasn’t
a snake!”

“It went right across my foot! Oh, I should have stayed in the city! I’m not sure I’ll make it!”

“You will, Lily—just give yourself a chance. Remember why we came.”

Katie kept encouraging the others as they grabbed their bags and changed into dry clothing. When the call for supper came, they were all ready.

The table had room only for the women, so the others sat on their haunches. After the blessing, everyone dived into the rice and beans, hungrily scraping the morsels off tin plates.

While they ate, Beecham gave them a rundown on his plans. “I think we’ll rest up for two days here and sort of get used to the surroundings before we go to our various stations.”

“Where are they?” Del asked with his mouth full.

Beecham put his plate down and walked over to a map of Liberia tacked on the wall. “This is Rhodilly,” he said, pointing to the area. “The work has been growing steadily. That’s where the De-Laughters will be stationed. And this is Newaka, a good location with a nice house. The Rankens will serve there.”

“See, Lily,” Slim said, nodding at her. “We’ve got the pick of all the stations.” He didn’t know that it was on Lily’s account they had been assigned there. Beecham had confided to Barney and Gardner that Lily would never survive anywhere else.

“This is Gropaka—your station, Barney and Gardner,” Beecham went on. “This will be a pioneer work for you since the place has been empty the last few years. A young couple by the name of Tinner died not too long after they arrived.” He paused and said, “You’ll find their graves there.”

“They
died?
From what?” Pearl asked incredulously.

“I’ll tell you about that later.” From Beecham’s sad expression, it was evidently a tragic event. He continued pointing to the other locations. “This is your station, Del and Andy, at Chodi. It’s got a good start, but needs lots of care.”

“What about Katie and me?” Irene piped up.

“Right here. Maoli is the name of the village. It has a house of sorts, native style. But you two are tough,” he smiled.

“Now let’s get some rest. It’s been a rough day, I know, and there’ll be time to make plans tomorrow. I’ll go with the Rankens to Newaka, and the rest of you will have guides.”

Most of them slept poorly, thinking of the difficulties lying ahead. Once Barney thought he heard something moving outside the house, but he wasn’t sure. Finally he dropped off to sleep in spite of Awful’s loud snoring. At some point during the night he dreamed he was surrounded by a fierce tribe of natives who were screaming for his death. Startled awake he shoved his blanket off, then realized he’d had a nightmare.

“Go to sleep, Winslow,” he chided himself. “You’re getting to be an old woman—and not even far from the coast yet!”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Bestman

“I go with you, Mammy.”

Katie stared at the tall young African who greeted her when she came out of the house at dawn on Friday morning. She had spoken to him several times during the past two days, finding him to be highly intelligent and a devoted Christian.

“Why, Bestman, the surfboats left last night,” she said. “I thought you went back to Monrovia.”

“No. I go with you to Pahn people.”

He was determined, but Katie was not certain she had the authority to allow him to accompany her. “I’ll have to talk to Reverend Beecham, Bestman. Why do you want to go? You know we can’t pay you?”

Bestman nodded vigorously. “Jesus wake Bestman up last night. Say, ‘You go with Mammy to village.’ ” His white teeth gleamed and he added, “We do plenty preaching. Beside, if Bestman go, Pahn people no eat Mammy.”

Shocked, Katie couldn’t believe what she had heard. She asked carefully, “Bestman, I am a stranger in your country. Will you help me learn the ways of your people?”

“Oh yes, Mammy!”

“Before I came to your land, I heard how Pahn ate somebody. Is it true that Pahn eat people?”

He didn’t answer, just studied her face. She understood his silence, for cannibalism, once widespread, had been outlawed. She went on. “We came to help Pahn people. I only want to
know how your people are. Maybe I don’t hear the truth. Is it true? Pahn eat people?”

When he saw that she meant well, he grunted, “Yes, we eat somebody.”

“You, Bestman, you ate somebody?”

“I eat plenty people.”

“Who did you eat?” Katie asked. “When we got war, we catch somebody from other side. We chop him.”

“What means
chop?
”

He nodded solemnly. “Chop—eat. All same.”

Katie smiled at him. “Someday, maybe, I will make you mad. Will you eat me?”

“Oh no, Mammy!” Bestman exclaimed, shaking his head vigorously. “You be white man!”

It was no time to take up the moral question of cannibalism, Katie knew. She went directly to Reverend Beecham, where he was helping the Rankens load their supplies. “Bestman wants to go with Irene and me. Will that be all right?”

“My word, yes!” Beecham exclaimed. “That is a bit of good fortune for you, Katie! He’s a Pahn himself, of course, and with him to vouch for you, you won’t have to put in a worrisome time gaining the confidence of the people. And it solves your interpreting problem. Not to mention the fact that you’ll have a trusty servant right from the beginning. Usually you have to run through half a dozen lazy ones to get someone who’ll do.”

“Oh, I’m glad!” Katie said. “I’m going to tell him.” She ran back and told Bestman that he could go, and then went to find Irene. “God is with us,” she said brightly. “Bestman is going to help us.”

Irene smiled. “That’s good. We’ll need a man around the place, won’t we?”

All day they worked on preparations, though Beecham had done much of it beforehand. Supper was a fun time—rice and beans, of course, which seemed to be the staple of the
country—and everyone seemed in high spirits. There was a great deal of bantering and laughter, but Andy did not enter into it as usual, Katie noticed.

“I think Andy’s unhappy,” she murmured to Barney.

“I suppose so. He thinks we’re making a big mistake, you know. After you all went to bed last night, he talked to us men, trying to change our minds.”

“But you didn’t, did you?”

“Oh no,” he smiled. “Andy will come around.” Then he switched to another subject. “Say, I heard about your good luck—getting Bestman to go with you. That’s wonderful!”

“He volunteered. He says Jesus came to him in a dream and told him to go with us.”

“I wish I could get directions that easily!”

“So do I,” she said. “I have to wait and wait—and even then sometimes I just have to give up and do what seems best.”

Later as the group sat around, talking about the venture, Katie mentioned Bestman’s dream to them.

“Probably just wanted to go back to his people,” Pearl said.

“Not necessarily,” Beecham countered. “It might be well for you to listen carefully when one of your flock gives you some word. All these people are spiritual, you know.”

“Spiritual?”

“You mean they’re saved?” Tobe asked.

“No, certainly not,” Beecham answered. “These people don’t think of the spirit world as we do. Most of us are very unaware of the spiritual world when we’re lost—or even after we are saved. Ask the average American if he believes in evil spirits, and he’ll think you’re daft. But you ask an American Indian, and he’ll know what you’re talking about. The Indians are like the Africans, like any primitive people. They
know
there’s a world that can’t be seen.”

“Isn’t most of that superstition?”

“Some, of course. But from now on you’re going to see things you’ve never encountered in America. There are witch doctors not a mile from this spot who can do things no
ordinary man can. I’ve seen them put a curse on a man who was as healthy as any of us—yet forty-eight hours later the man died for no apparent reason.”

“But that’s just because they’re so afraid, isn’t it?” Andy demanded. “You tell a man he’s sick often enough, and he’ll more than likely
get
sick. It’s the power of suggestion.”

Beecham smiled grimly. “You’ll get rid of that idea fast enough, Andy! There’s plenty of superstition, God knows! But to the African, he’s living with a world inhabited by spirits—good and bad. Powerful spirits! Nobody just
dies.
They believe some spirit was responsible. You’ll be exposed to the ‘avenger of blood,’ I promise you.”

“What’s that?” Gardner inquired.

“When someone dies, the witch doctor goes through his incantations. He’ll assign the responsibility for the death to someone in the village. Then the person is ferreted out and given the ‘sass-wood test.’ That consists of forcing the accused to drink the poison brew. If he vomits it up, he’s innocent. If he dies, he is guilty of bewitching the one who died.”

“How awful!” Irene gasped. “Can’t we stop it?”

“Be careful how you go about interfering in the lives of these people,” Beecham said clearly. “In the first place, there
are
evil spirits, and the only way to fight them is in the name of Jesus. Demon-possessed people are very common, and more than one missionary has been harmed by trying to deal with them. There’s no other way than the biblical way, which is to command the spirits to come out in the name of Jesus.”

“What if they don’t?” Barney asked quickly.

“Then command them again! There are those who come out only by prayer and fasting. But be cautious about the customs. You won’t like some of them, but don’t rush in like a bull in a china shop, trying to right all the wrongs you see. It’s common for these people to sell their children, especially their daughters. We all hate it, but it’s been going on for hundreds of years. Someday it will change, but for the present we have to be careful to preach the gospel, heal the
sick, cast out demons, and most of all—love the people. If you do
that,
” Beecham said emphatically, “then no matter how many mistakes you make in other ways, you’ll please God and win the people to Him.”

For a long time Beecham talked about the work. Finally he said, “Well, you’ll have to learn as you go. Now, I want you all to kneel. I’m going to lay hands on each of you. You’ll need the power of God on your life, and I’m going to pray that you have it!”

It was a scene none of them ever forgot. Beecham prayed for Andy first, putting his hands on Winslow’s head. It was a powerful prayer, claiming the power of God and asking God’s protection over him. Then he began to bind evil spirits that would destroy the work. “I bind you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Satan, you are defeated! You were crushed at the cross; and by the blood of Jesus, I command you to leave this young man alone!”