The Final Adversary (31 page)

“I’m glad Barney thought of this trip,” Ranken commented. “I’ve been dying to see all of you. I get so lonesome sometimes, I catch myself talking to myself!”

“I’m worse than that, Slim!” Pearl said. “I even
answer
myself!”

Ranken looked at her, nodded slowly. “I guess it’s worse on you and me, Pearl. We’ve lost something that can’t be replaced.” Then he shook his head disparagingly. “Well, this is no wake! Let me tell you about my latest blunder.”

He plunged into a long story of how he had tried to accomplish something that failed miserably, and had the others rolling in laughter. When he and Pearl left the bow to go stand on the fantail, Katie said, “They’ve had it worse than any of us, Del. We’ve all been lonely. I’ve missed Irene and you’ve missed Andy—but to lose your husband or wife, that has to be terrible!”

Del smiled at Katie, admiring the color in her cheeks and
the sunlight on her blond hair. She was fresh and fair in his eyes, but he could not tell her this. “That’s right, Katie.”

She waited for him to go on, but when he stopped, she said, “Tell me about the work in Chodi, Del. Is it going well?” She listened as he spoke, little knowing that it was not the mission work he wanted to discuss. When he finally paused, she said, “I was very happy when I heard about your decision—to leave the city and go back to Chodi.”

“You were?” Del brightened. “It’s been good—but it does get lonesome.”

“I get lonesome, too,” Katie admitted.

Del could have spoken to his advantage, but unsure of the right words, he missed the opportunity. Soon she went below, and Del groaned at his stupidity. He was glad to have been with her, but angry that he had not seized his chance to tell her how he felt. With chagrin, he went to find Barney but found him in deep conversation with Dorothy, so he went to his room to plot his strategy.

At dinner there were only four officers present: Captain Borg, Lieutenant Bjelland, Carlin, the chief engineer, a short, husky man, and Drake, the second officer, quite the opposite of Carlin.

“A little crowded,” Captain Borg said as they all sat down. “But all the better for good fellowship.” The food was brought in, and Borg nodded at Barney. “I suppose you are in the custom of saying grace, Reverend Winslow?”

“I’m afraid so, Captain,” Barney smiled. “However, I’m known as a man with a quick prayer.”

“Good!” the chief engineer laughed. “Get on with it, Reverend!”

Barney lived up to his boast, and in a few seconds they were eating, and conversation began to flow smoothly.

“Tell me about your voyage from America,” the captain said. And when he heard they had sailed with Captain Seale, he nodded. “Fine sailor! Known him for many years.”

“Have you seen him lately, Captain?” Katie asked.

“No, not for a couple of years.”

“He’s not the same man,” Katie went on, and when Borg inquired how Seale had changed, Katie told how he had become a Christian.

Captain Borg thought about what she said, then nodded. “I’m not surprised. Seale’s always been interested in that sort of thing.”

“His first mate, a man called Sipes, got the same thing,” Del grinned.

“Sipes got religion?” Lieutenant Bjelland lifted his eyebrows. “I find that hard to believe! Fellow was nothing but a bruiser!”

“Barney Winslow had a hand in his conversion,” Slim Ranken smiled. He told them the story of the bout with Sipes.

“You’re Bat Winslow?” Drake, the second officer, exclaimed, his eyes wide. “Why, I saw you fight Kid Nelson in Troy!”

Barney shook his head. “Ancient history, Mr. Drake,” he said. “I’m fighting worse than Kid Nelson now.”

The officers were interested, and for a long time they all lingered over the meal as the missionaries told of their work. Finally the captain rose, saying, “This has been quite pleasant. We’ll look forward to more of your experiences, won’t we, gentlemen?”

The other officers nodded, and the company broke up. “Let’s go to the recreation room,” Slim Ranken suggested. “I’d like us to have all the fellowship we can on this cruise.”

For the next hour they talked about old times. When it came to memories of those who had died—Tobe, Irene, and Lily—they didn’t linger on the topic since it was too painful.

“Wish Awful were here,” Barney said wistfully. “I miss that fellow!”

“Tell us again about how he witnessed to you in prison,” Katie said. “I never get tired of hearing about that.”

Dorothy had been left out—mostly because they had spoken of mutual experiences. Now she said with an edge of
sharpness, “I don’t think Barney likes to be reminded of that time, Katie.”

“Why, of course, Dorothy. I’m sorry,” Katie said.

But Barney only smiled. “Don’t worry, Dorothy. That time was bad, but I can see now that it was God dealing with me. If I hadn’t gone there, I’d probably have gone completely bad. But it was in Sing Sing that I first got a touch from God through Awful.” He didn’t speak further of his days in prison, and they all understood he was deferring to Dorothy.

“Speaking of Awful,” Pearl said, “he’s going through a rough time. Reverend Beecham came by two weeks ago on his way from Gropaka, and he said that Awful was having a lot of sickness.”

Barney bit his lip, but said nothing.

“I’ll go see him when we get back,” Del offered. He turned to Katie. “Maybe you’d like to make the trip, too. It’s not very far from your station.”

“Yes, I’d like to go, Del.”

It was Dorothy who made the first move to leave. “I think I’ll stroll around the deck before I turn in.”

Barney got up, saying, “It’s getting late. I’ll go with you, Dorothy.”

“That was pretty boring for you,” Barney said as they walked around the deck. “Nothing worse than listening to people talk about old times that you didn’t have a part in.”

“It’s nice for all of you,” Dorothy replied. She was wearing a green silk dress that shimmered in the silver moon as she moved. “I
am
jealous, though.”

He stopped abruptly. “Jealous? Of who?” “Not who,” she smiled. “I’m jealous of the experiences you all share. It’s silly, but I wish I could be part of it.”

She was looking up at him, her hair ruffled by the breeze and her large eyes wide. “But we’ll have experiences of our own to remember, won’t we, Barney?”

“Sure,” he nodded, uncertain as to how to answer. The faint throbbing of the engines and the hissing of the sea as
the ship moved along in the moonlight made him feel light and free. “You know,” he said, “you’re looking wonderful, Dorothy.”

“Why, thank you, Barney!” She laughed softly and reached out to touch his cheek. “I’ll have to mark this in my date book. It’s an event.”

“An event?”

“Yes,” she said with a curving smile. “It’s the first time you ever said a personal thing to me. I’ve been wondering if you ever would. I’ve begun to think you look at me as if I were a piece of the furniture!”

“Oh no!” he protested. He hesitated, then said, “You’ve been good for me, Dorothy. When I was sick—and afterward, too—I felt pretty low. It seemed as if all I came to Africa for had fallen through. And then you came along and talked to me, cheered me up. It—it’s meant a lot to me.”

Dorothy waited, her heart racing, but when he made no move, she said, “You’ve been good for me, too, Barney. I’ve felt so—so
right
when you’ve been with me!”

At that moment the ship changed course, and the slight tilt of the deck threw her off balance. She fell against him with a small cry, and he instinctively put his arms around her. As she looked up, she closed her eyes and felt the warmth of his lips on hers. It was not a long kiss, but enough for Barney to feel her response. She drew back and said, “That was sweet, Barney! Good-night!”

She gingerly tripped off the deck, her willowy shape disappearing around the corner as Barney watched, a dazed expression on his face.
Why did I do that?
he asked himself, solemnly turning back to the rail to stare vacantly at the wake made by the ship. Below, the water glittered in the moonlight. Above, a scattering of tattered clouds drifted across the sky. He gazed up at the fluffy cotton balls advancing toward the moon, the tendrils draping the crescent so that the brilliance of its face dimmed. With a sigh, he left, and when Del came to bed, Barney feigned sleep.

The next morning Del was impatiently waiting for Barney to wake up. “Barney, have you talked to Katie—about me, I mean?”

Barney pried his eyes open and tried to focus on Del. His voice was thick with sleep as he grunted, “No, Del, I haven’t.” He lurched to his feet, gulped down some water, then filled the basin and started working up a lather. He shaved carefully, paying little heed as Del talked steadily, mostly about Katie.

When he was finished, he dressed, and only then did he ask, “Have you said anything to her?”

“Well, not really,” Del admitted. “I’m working up to it, though. We had a great talk on deck yesterday.”

“Did you tell her how you feel?”

“Barney, I just can’t seem to work up to it!” Del’s face was filled with despair. “But if I knew that she had some sort of warning—why, I could do it.”

“Warning? What kind of warning?” Barney asked as they left the cabin and headed for the dining room.

“I mean, if you’d sort of
talk
to her, Barney. Kind of let her know how much I think of her.” Del reached out and pulled Barney to a stop as they approached the dining room. “Do that for me, Barney, will you?”

Barney took a deep breath and released it. “All right, Del. I’ll try. But it sounds stupid to me. A girl wants to hear that kind of thing from the man who loves her—not a messenger boy.”

****

All day long Barney mulled over the chore Del had forced on him. The ship docked at noon to take on supplies, and everyone went ashore to see the town and visit the open markets. That night after supper, Dorothy asked Barney to help her go over some plans she had for a mission project with the lepers, and he agreed.

It was late when they put away the papers, and he walked her to her state room. Instead of going in, she paused. “It’s so
good to have someone to work with on these things, Barney!” Then seemingly on impulse, she reached up and pulled his head down, kissing him lightly.

Just as she did so, Katie emerged from her cabin, and when she saw them kiss, she whirled and strode away. “I guess we shocked Katie,” Dorothy said. “Good-night, Barney.”

“Good-night, Dorothy,” he said.

He hurried up to the deck and caught up with Katie just as she reached the rail.

“Katie,” he said, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

She looked at him, then turned her face away. “About what?”

Her voice was sharp, and he considered postponing the talk, but there were few times as private as the present, so he leaned over beside her. “We haven’t had much time to talk, have we?”

“No, Barney.”

Her spare reply was not encouraging, and he floundered. For a time he told her of the work he was doing, and in turn asked her about hers in Maoli. But there was an uneasiness in the conversation.

Finally he plunged in. “I guess it’s been hard for you since Irene went home.”

“Yes. She was a great comfort to me.”

“Sure. A person needs somebody. I mean, it’s no good being alone all the time, is it?”

“It’s very difficult, but the Lord is with us.”

“That’s true, but like Stanley’s always said, two are better than one.” He felt like a man walking over broken glass.
Got to do it now or else,
he thought. “Katie, you and I have been real close, and we’ve gone through a lot together.”

Her eyes focused on him, and her lips softened as she thought of earlier days. “Yes, Barney,” she said. “I think of those days all the time.”

“Well, so do I. And I worry about you, Katie.”

“You do? I didn’t know that.”

He licked his lips, trying to find the right way to say what he had to. She was very beautiful as she stood there. He had always been aware of her beauty, but never had he seen her looking so soft and vulnerable. It made him nervous, somehow, but he straightened up and said as firmly as he could, “Yes, Katie, I
do
worry about you. I think about you all alone at the station. It’s bad enough when you’ve got help, but you don’t have anyone.” He hesitated, then said, “And I think you need someone, Katie.”

“You do, Barney?” Her eyes were wide and her lips slightly parted. She seemed to be totally immersed in his gaze, waiting for something.

“Y-yes, I do,” he stammered. His voice was unsteady because he suddenly thought of the night in the village when he had kissed her. The moonlight had been shining that night, just like it was now, shedding silver rays over her. He was annoyed to discover that his hands were unsteady and he could not get his mind on Del’s problem.

“What are you thinking of, Barney?” Katie whispered.

“Well—Katie—I was just wondering—”

“Yes? What is it, Barney? You can tell me.”

“Well . . . have you ever thought of marrying?”

Katie stood transfixed, in mute silence. After a while, she nodded. “Yes, I have thought of it.”

She looked up at him, her eyes luminous and her expression sweet and expectant.

“Well,” Barney blurted out, “had you ever thought of marrying Del?” She stood so rigid he thought she had not understood him, so he said hurriedly, “He—he really thinks the world of you, Katie. And he’s such a fine man! He’d make a wonderful husband!”

She dropped her head, refusing to look at him. “Is that what you came to talk to me about?” she asked quietly.

“Well—Del asked me to talk to you—”

With a jerk Katie lifted her head. She had tears in her eyes, and his heart sank. But she dashed them away and in a voice
filled with anger cried out, “Do you think I’m so anxious to get married that I’ll take anyone, Barney Winslow?”

“Oh, no—” he stammered, surprised at the anger he saw in her.

“You’re worried about
me?
Well, why don’t you worry about yourself?” she spewed. “Poor Katie doesn’t have a husband, so Good Old Barney has to find her one!” She stamped on the deck, jolting Barney at the sound. But she wasn’t finished.