The Amazon Quest (House of Winslow Book #25)

by Gilbert, Morris

  Emily cried out, “I do trust you, Lord! I do! Only don’t let him die . . . !”

  For how long Emily sat there she did not know. Ian’s body arched and went into spasms, and he seemed to struggle for breath. His eyes rolled up backward into his head.

  All this time Emily clung to him and did not cease crying out to God. Finally she felt his body go limp, and fear flooded her heart. “Lord, don’t let him die!” She collapsed against his lifeless body, sobbing.

  Ian’s limp body remained still for what seemed like a long time. Emily’s weeping began to subside as she felt God’s presence strongly with her again, and she found herself speaking out words of trust and faith, reminding God of His power to heal. Even as she uttered the words aloud, a belief stronger than she had ever known before rose up within her, and she spoke out with a calm assurance. “You can save him, Lord,” she said. “Even if he’s dead, you can bring him back. In the name of Jesus take away this poison!”

  Right then Emily felt Ian give a faint jerking motion. She opened her eyes and saw that his eyes were fluttering. She cried out, “Ian, you’re alive!”

  Ian did not answer but took in a sudden deep breath and then exhaled it with a gusty sigh. He lay panting almost like a dog—but he was alive, and he was breathing.

  Finally Emily saw his eyes open, and she cried, “Ian, can you hear me?”

  “Yes.” Ian’s body was drenched with perspiration, and he could hardly speak, for he was struggling for breath. But the breathing was becoming more regular, and he reached out a hand almost blindly and touched her face. “How long—” he started to say but could not finish.

  Emily suddenly took him in her arms and held him as she would a child. She began to weep and cried out over and over, “You’re alive, Ian! You’re alive! God has kept you alive!”

  She released him, and Ian raised a hand that trembled badly to wipe his face. “I don’t understand it,” he muttered. “I never . . . knew anybody getting over one of those bites . . . from a fer-de-lance.”

  Emily was still holding his arm, and she squeezed it hard. “After you passed out I began crying to God, and the Lord came to me, Ian. He really did. And He told me that He’d heal you, and that I was simply to trust Him.” She looked into his eyes and saw that he was watching her intently. “And I promised Him,” she whispered, “that I would.”

  Suddenly Ian reached out and touched her hair and then her cheek. “Did I dream it?” he whispered. “Or did you say you loved me . . . when you thought I was dying?”

  And then Emily knew the truth. “Yes, I said it, and I do love you, Ian!” She put her arms around him then, and the two of them clung together, neither of them speaking. The silence seemed to surround them, but as her head lay on his chest, she could feel his heart beating strongly, and she whispered, “I do love you, Ian . . . and now I know you love me, too!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Farewells

  Emily was overwhelmed with mixed emotions as she said good-bye to the Guapi. Noki, the chief, had gathered all the people together and had made a speech, which Ian had translated. It had, in effect, said that the flame-haired woman and her brother were good—for people with pale skins. As Ian had said dryly, “That’s about as good a compliment as you’re likely to get out of Noki.”

  Omala, who had stayed close to Emily and Wes during their entire stay after nearly frightening her to death that first time he had appeared at the door of her hut, was all smiles. Emily had given the warrior her wristwatch and taught him how to wind it, and although he could not tell time, he was proud of his new acquisition. He was wearing it around his neck on a leather thong as he said his good-byes.

  “This is quite a farewell party,” Wes said as he looked over the food that the women had prepared and set out for them.

  They had gathered Brazil nuts and thrown them into the fire after divesting them of their outer husk. Then they had fished the blackened shells out of the glowing embers, crushed them between two rocks, and picked out the nuts with sharp slivers of wood. The nuts were delicious, as were the berries that the women and young girls had gathered early in the cool of the morning.

  Emily found herself enjoying foods now that she once thought she’d never be able to stomach, including the iguana eggs, which she had been taught to gather by poking a stick into the river’s sandy beaches. She still tactfully avoided, however, the juicy grubs and crunchy large ants that were eaten either alive or cooked by the Guapi.

  After eating with the whole tribe, they listened to more speeches and to the native music that filled the jungle air. When Emily, Wes, and Ian finally donned their knapsacks, Noki came forward and began to speak again. Emily noticed that Ian paid very close attention to the chief, and when the Guapi warrior had ended, Ian turned and said, “He says you are good people. That if all of the Jesus people are like you and your brother, it makes him believe that Jesus is strong medicine.”

  Emily was touched and moved by the chief’s words. “Tell him for me that I hope he takes Jesus into his heart and that all of his people find peace in Him.”

  Ian translated this, and Noki’s dark eyes glowed. He spoke some more and finally lifted his hand in a gesture of farewell.

  “Time to go, I guess,” Wes murmured. “You know, I hate to leave this place in a way.”

  “So do I,” Emily said. She turned to follow Ian, who led the way into the rain forest. As she followed him, she felt the warmth of their closeness the day he had been bitten by the fer-de-lance. That had been only a week ago, but now he seemed to be fully recovered. Those days had been precious indeed to Emily, for she had discovered that she and Ian could talk for hours and that all of the old animosity and hatred and bitterness she had allowed to come into her heart was completely gone.

  They trekked all morning, pausing briefly for one short rest and then for another longer one at noon. They ate sparingly and then went on until they made their camp for the night.

  For supper they roasted a small deer that Ian had shot, and they sat around the campfire for a time listening to the noises of the night. Emily sat close to Ian and listened as he spoke with energy about the plans for evangelizing the Guapi. “I think they’re ready now,” he said, “for a real missionary.”

  “But you are a real missionary,” Wes spoke up. The fire threw reflecting shadows on his face as he sat cross-legged on the ground. He studied Ian carefully, then said, “What are you thinking about? Leaving here?”

  “I think I might be finished here. I want to do some more work on the language, but if real missionaries would come for a long term, I think that might be best.”

  Emily said nothing until after Wes had rolled up in his blanket beside the fire. He fell asleep at once, and she said quietly to Ian, “I didn’t know you were thinking of leaving.”

  “I’m not sure about it, Emily. I don’t really know what I’m going to do. I love to work with the Guapi, but for some reason I feel God pulling at me. I’ll just have to wait and see what He has for me next.”

  She leaned against him, and the two sat there silently. Emily had noticed that there was a companionship, even when they did not talk, that she had never felt with another man. Ian, at times, fell into long silences, and she had learned to adjust to these times. Her own propensity toward talking made up for some of his silences, and now as the fire crackled and the smell of woodsmoke filled her senses, she was content to enjoy his silent companionship.

  ****

  Adriano came out of the house, his face wreathed in smiles. “You are back, my friends! Come in—come in!”

  Emily took his greeting and stepped aside as he went to shake Wes’s hand and embrace Ian. She saw Sarita, who had come out of the house, and rather dreaded the meeting. She went forward at once, however, and put her hand out. “Hello, Sarita. It’s good to see you again.”

  “You are welcome in our house,” Sarita said.

  Her voice was neutral, and Emily could not read the expression in her dark eyes.
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  Adriano hustled them all inside and insisted at once on preparing a meal for them. He and Sarita moved around the stove and the table, and soon they had eggs from the chickens he was so proud of and a hen fried for the occasion.

  As Emily ate, savoring the feel of a chair under her and a table to hold her plate, she glanced once or twice at Sarita, who was seated beside her grandfather. She said almost nothing, but her eyes went often to Ian.

  After they had finished the main meal and were eating some fruit and berries that Sarita had gathered, Adriano listened as Ian told him about the work he had done among the Guapi. When Ian spoke of the possibility of leaving, Emily saw Sarita’s head suddenly lift and her eyes narrow.

  “You’re leaving, Ian?” Sarita asked.

  “Yes, I think it’s possible. I’m going to talk to the Pettigrews about sending a missionary, perhaps a couple. They’ve always been anxious to send somebody to the Guapi, but there was nobody who could come. But that may have changed by now.”

  Emily was tired and chose to go to bed early, but before she did, Ian called her outside. “I need to talk to you,” he said.

  Emily walked outside. The stars overhead were glittering by the millions, it seemed. She could not remember such a display of the immensity of the heavens. The stars threw their pale light down on the small house and the clearing, and she stopped and turned to him. “What is it, Ian?”

  “I’m going back to the States with you.”

  Emily blinked with surprise. “I thought you were just going to the Pettigrews.”

  “No, I’m going all the way home. That is, if you tell me that I can.”

  “Why, Ian, you don’t have to ask me if you can go home!”

  “In truth, I don’t really have a home, Emily,” Ian said quietly.

  The white of the full moon cast contrasting shadows and light on his face. It made his features look stronger. He was planed down to the bare essentials, and both his face and his body were trim and lean. He reached out suddenly and put his arms around her and pulled her close. Without speaking he drew her in and lowered his head, and Emily lifted her face for his kiss.

  For her the kiss was something old—and yet something new. She had never forgotten his caresses, not completely, and now she knew that nothing had changed. The old wild sweetness was here, and she put her arms around his neck and held him closely. She was conscious that the years, the empty years, were now being filled, and all that had passed in her life and in her spirit was being transformed. The years of waiting were finished, and she once again had the only man she had loved.

  Ian lifted his lips and seemed to savor the moment. This woman had a power over him, a way of lifting him up to some height that he would never reach with another woman, and he whispered, “I wish I could think of some way to tell you how much I love you, Emily.”

  “Just say it, Ian.”

  “All right. I love you.”

  He kissed her again, and she clung to him and put her hands on his chest. When he lifted his head again, she said, “Can you believe that this is a beginning and not something that happened a long time ago?”

  “I think it’s both,” Ian said slowly. “I would never have met you if I hadn’t been what I was. But I hope we never speak of that dark time in my life again.”

  “We won’t have to. You’re a new man now, Ian. God has done something wonderful for both of us through all of it. I have you, and you have me.”

  Ian suddenly stepped back, and a reserve of some sort came into his face. “I don’t know how it’s going to work out, Emily.”

  “Why not?”

  “I can’t ask anything of you.”

  “Why not? If you love me and I love you, then we can face whatever comes our way.”

  “No, there are other things to consider. I . . . I mean our lives are so different.”

  His voice was quiet, and she sensed a restraint of the spirit that had flamed out in him a moment earlier.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do. You’re going to be a successful writer. I know that. But I’m not entirely sure what the future holds for me. I may come back to Brazil. God may send me to the Guapi for the rest of my life. I couldn’t ask a woman to share a difficult life like that.”

  “If that’s what God tells you to do, and I’m your wife, then I’ll go with you.”

  The two stood there for a moment, and then she put her hand on his cheek. “When I thought you were dying, I asked God to heal you. And He told me that He would, and that I should trust Him. God gave you back to me, Ian, and if He can do that, I can trust Him in anything. So if marrying you means going back to the Guapi, then I’ll go back with you, Ian.”

  He kissed her again and then said, “I won’t let you make a decision now. Come along. We’d better go inside.”

  ****

  Sarita had been silent, but now that the two guests and her grandfather were in bed, she came to Ian, who was sitting at the table reading by the oil lamp. He lifted his head and stood up. “I’ve been thinking about you so much, Sarita. I know I hurt you terribly.”

  “You’re going back to America?”

  “Yes. There’s something about me that you don’t know. Years ago I was not a good man, and I did something very evil to Emily and Wes’s family. I’ve got to go face their parents and try to make it right.”

  Sarita’s lips trembled slightly, but she kept her composure. “It is not them altogether, is it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It is Emily. You’re going back for her.”

  “If she’ll have me.”

  “I think she will.”

  And then Ian reached out and took one of her hands and held it in both of his. He studied her face and met her gaze for a long moment. “You’re such a lovely girl, Sarita. There’s some man who will be just right for you, and he’ll be getting a jewel.”

  “Do you really think so, Ian?”

  “Of course. You’re young, but God is getting a man ready for you, and you’ll be very happy.”

  ****

  The Polaris wallowed in the waves, throwing Emily slightly off balance. Ian reached out and pulled her back, holding her tight. The spray rose up and over the rail, half soaking them, but neither of them cared.

  “You’re soaking wet, Emily.”

  “So are you! And what’s more, I don’t care. We’re going home, and I always did love storms.”

  Ian held her, conscious of her warmth against him. The two stood there and finally Ian said, “That was good news we got from the Pettigrews.” They had been told by the missionaries that a couple had volunteered to take up work with the Guapi. “I think they’ll do fine,” he said. “Looks like my work there is ended.”

  They watched the horizon for a long time, then he added, “I’m going to do something that frightens me.”

  “I don’t think anything could scare you.”

  “You’re wrong about that.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t think I have the nerve to ask your father and mother if they’ll let me marry you. I think I’d lose my voice. It seems like asking such a lot.”

  The wind whipped through the air and brought the spray, drenching them again. Emily’s hair was wet and plastered to her skull, but her eyes danced. She put her arms around his neck and said, “I can. Leave it up to me.”

  “What if your father says no?”

  “Then I’ll do what I did when I was a little girl. I’ll sit on his lap and tell him how handsome he is and how wonderful he is, and the first thing you know his no will turn into a yes!”

  Ian suddenly laughed. “All right, I’ll let you have it your way. As a matter of fact, I think that’s going to be the story of you and me—my making decisions and your changing them to suit yourself.”

  “You’ll get used to it soon. You’ll even like it after a while.” Emily laughed and then put her arms around him and held him close. “It’s going to be just perfect, Ian.”

  ****


  Ian felt terribly out of place as the door opened and Aaron and Gail dashed out to embrace their children. He stood back and for one instant had the absurd idea of turning and running. That won’t do, he thought. Just face up to it.

  “Ian,” Gail said and came forward. She put her hands out, and when he took them, she put her face up to be kissed. “I’m so glad you decided to come.”

  “Right! Somebody had to bring these two wayward children home. I wouldn’t trust ’em to go to the grocery store.” Aaron winked as he said this and came forward, putting his hand out and shaking Ian’s. “Come on in. I’ve been helping Gail cook supper.”

  “No, you haven’t. You’ve been getting in the way,” Gail laughed.

  At that moment a huge dog came sailing out of the door. He leaped up on Emily, who would have been pushed back if Ian had not grabbed her.

  “Cap’n Brown, you monster!” Emily cried and got down on her knees to hug him. Cap’n Brown ecstatically licked her in the face, and then she turned and said, “Come on and greet the Cap’n, Ian.”

  Ian went forward rather hesitantly, but Cap’n Brown barked sharply in a staccato series of yelps and promptly licked Ian’s face.

  “Never mind that mangy dog,” Aaron protested. “Let’s go inside. We want to hear everything.”

  Twenty minutes later the family was all seated around the table, and as usual Emily did most of the talking. Her eyes danced, and words tumbled out of her mouth as she told them event after event that had taken place in the Amazon.

  “What about your magazine article?”

  “It’s all ready to send off. I worked on it on the voyage home.”

  “And I fixed up a darkroom on the ship, and all the pictures are developed now. It’s just a matter of enlarging some and cutting others. They came out great. I can’t wait for you to see them.”