Chapter 15 VISITORS
We were clearing up from our lunch when Caspian began to growl. The hair stood on the ridge of his back and his white teeth were bared, he kept looking up the mountainside, at nothing.
But soon we heard rustlings and low talking. It seemed to be two friendly men smiling as they cautiously approached, backing off from Caspian as they waved. They were in jeans and flannel shirts, without weapons or even walking sticks. They had come from over the top of the mountain, somehow, briars and all.
Dad was cautious and aloof, but trying to be gracious as always.
"Welcome, strangers. What brings you out our way? Would you like to sit and rest? We have some hot tea left from lunch," he said in a friendly tone.
I watched his eyes. I can tell when he's praying at the same time that he's talking. He was taking an awful chance, but what else could he do?
The blond was the talker. He sounded like a grown-up country boy and was easy to like.
"The word is getting around about you people. We like your spunk and wanted to visit you and let you know that you aren't alone. You must have a lot of grit to take a stand even though it involves your family, and some of them quite young."
"Well," said Dad, "we just happened to be here when the dam broke, and now we find that it is best to stay, the way things are."
"That's what we heard,'° said the blond while the darker man agreed by nodding his head often. "We didn‘t know if we would be able to find you, but we just kept praying and it looks as if God has brought us to you. We thought you might need some encouragement and maybe some sort of help that we could offer. These fine boys seem to be pretty tough and making the best of it with God's help and protection."
Dad's eyes filled with tears. How wonderful it was that these men had come to offer human fellowship. "Well, since you were led here, let's just thank God now."
The visitors looked startled, but they bowed their heads and began talking to God about the times, the nation, and the Future.
Afterwards, Mom passed the warm tea. She apologized for having no sugar and took a seat beside Dad. I could see that she had on her suspicious look; one of her gifts was the ability to smell a "rat." Did their prayers not seem genuine? She was bristled up for protection of her brood.
The blond took up the conversation, "Seems pretty lonely up here. Do you ever see any of the others?"
Dad answered sadly, "Well, I think we've fallen out of favor with the others. They don‘t agree with our position and have decided not to associate."
The blond thumped the other fellow on the back and crowed, "I knew that we did right to take the trouble to come here. Now don‘t you people worry about being all alone. We all feel that way in our individual groups, but together we make a powerful force."
Dad nodded his head in agreement but looked puzzled. "Oh, we know that when Christ comes, everything will tum out right. The meek shall inherit the earth, just as He promised."
Now, the other man looked confused. "Well, we don‘t want to be too meek when we are up against a violent and oppressive government, do we? We wonder if you have a good place for your weapons, and if you need more."
"Do you mean guns?" asked Dad. "We're not into guns."
"You don‘t have any guns?" the man barked in disbelief.
"No. We don‘t like guns and we don‘t need them," Dad said with strength. "Besides, they are illegal, as you know."
"Well, how do you expect to stay safe up here? What‘s your gimmick?" the men asked.
"To tell the truth," replied Dad, "we're just waiting here until Jesus comes. People have been expecting Him for so long that we believe everything that's taken place lately is just the way it was predicted to be."
"Oh, lunatics are you?" the blond growled.
"Well, maybe so, but maybe not," chuckled Dad. "Time will tell."
"What are you planning to do about these boys and their education and medical care?" the dark one asked in a mean voice.
"We are putting our trust in Jesus, sir. Have you ever heard how Jesus saves human beings out of sin and gives people like us and like you eternal life?"
"No, I’ve never heard anything like that," he responded irritably.
"Well, that's what church people used to talk about," said Dad, "before all this other stuff came in. We've had a chance to really search the Bible since we‘ve been up here. We may seem weird to you, but we don't know any other answer to the problem of sin and death."
"Do you mean that you don't belong to any organization -- you know -- to protest the government?" asked the man in amazement.
"We think we belong to the real Church and that we are going to be the winners at the right time," said Dad. "God in Heaven knows what He is doing. He'll only let things go so far, and this time He is going to send Jesus to take over the world and make everything right. Come on and join us and see for yourselves -- or are you already marked?"
"Well, of course we are marked. Everybody is marked. We have to eat, don't we?"
Dad said, "You two might be secret agents, sent here to spy on us, but we cannot take the mark and lose our souls. We are up here, waiting for Jesus, and eating anyhow."
The two men slowly rose, shook their heads, refused Dad's hand, and started up over the mountain.
"We know that you have one gun," the dark man yelled back.
"It‘s lying right where it fell," shouted Dad.
We watched as they disappeared over the ridge of the mountain, never looking back.
Dad slumped heavily on a log, laying his head down on his knees, and sobbing unashamedly. We stood by, nervously wondering what to do.
Mom intervened, "Just let him cry. It's too overwhelming to hear that everyone has been marked -- that they are doomed for eternity."