The Royal Handmaid

by Gilbert, Morris

  “Well, I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s natural enough for you young people to be drawn to one another.”

  Rena took one more glance at Travis and Meredith and then turned away, saying, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Despair Sets In

  The excitement over their new clothes lasted only until a week of heavy rain and strong winds devastated their camp and their spirits. It took days to clean up the mess and rebuild their shelters. Their new canvas clothes did not dry quickly, so when they gathered for their regular Sunday morning service after the week of bad weather, it was with sodden clothes and heavy hearts. They had thought their fortunes on the island were improving, but this seemed like a titanic setback, and it was hard to be thankful to God.

  The service proved to be a grim affair. The missionaries were all there, but the only crew members attending were Shep and Chip. The group sang a few songs, and when Rena stood up to preach, she realized she had absolutely nothing to say. Every word felt as though it had to be dredged out of her. In desperation she finally asked, “Does anyone have a testimony to share?”

  No one said a word, and Rena saw weariness and fatigue on every face.

  Finally Maggie spoke up. “I think sometimes we give up on God too soon.” When everyone looked at her, she seemed embarrassed.

  “What do you mean by that?” asked Travis, who was sitting beside Shep.

  “Well, I mean . . .” She hesitated. “Well, with all of our problems, you might think it strange that I should think of this. But, you know, I spent most of my life ashamed of being overweight. I don’t know how many times I prayed and how many diets I tried, but nothing ever worked.”

  “I don’t think being overweight is an earthshaking problem,” Dalton said. “We’re stuck out on this island, and apparently God has forgotten about us. Being overweight is not a big thing compared to that.”

  “Well, it was for me,” Maggie said. She gave Dalton a long, level look, then she glanced at Shep, who was grinning at her. They had talked about this many times, but she had never spoken of it to the group.

  “I don’t think anything’s too small for God to pay attention to. It never ceases to amaze me that God knows all of my thoughts. And He knows the thoughts of everyone here—and everyone all over the world at the same time. And He knows every problem and He cares.”

  “If He cared about us, He’d get us off this island. I hardly think He cares that you’ve lost weight here!” Dalton said stubbornly. He picked up a stick and began to dig in the ground with it aimlessly. “I’ve come to the point where I don’t think God cares about little things.”

  “Well, I disagree,” Maggie said quietly. “I’ve asked God so many times to let me lose weight, and now He’s done it.”

  “It’s hardly worth the hardship the rest of us have had to endure!” Dalton said in a biting tone. “I can’t believe you’re saying this.”

  The group fell silent. Finally Travis, who usually sat quietly at their meetings, spoke up. “I’ve got a word I’d like to share.” Everyone turned his attention to him. “We’re going to get off of this island. I believe that with all my heart.” He looked at Dalton, whose face revealed utter disbelief. “I know it doesn’t look very good, but I was reading just this morning in the book of Acts, and it seemed like God put that story in there just for us.” He opened his Bible. “You remember the story where Paul was a prisoner on his way to Rome with some Roman soldiers? When they got on the ship, they ran into a storm, and it even had a name. Here in Acts twenty-seven, verse fourteen, it says the storm’s name was Euroclydon. It’s a funny thing for a storm to have a name, so it must have been a dandy. Anyway, when everybody had given up hope, Paul stood up and spoke. I’d like to read for you what Paul said.” He began to read in a steady tone.

  “Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”

  He closed the Bible and said softly, “You know, sometimes God puts us in a place where our only hope is in Him, and that’s a good place to be.” He smiled and lifted the Bible high. “When we’re flat on our back, there’s no way to look but up, and when we look up, there’s the Lord Jesus.”

  As Travis continued to speak words of encouragement, Rena felt a weight descend upon her. She felt totally helpless; all that she had valued in life seemed to have turned to dust and ashes. She was astonished to find tears filling her eyes, and she bowed her head and brushed them away before the others could see. She kept her head bowed and listened. Travis spoke with such hope and confidence that she felt ashamed at her lack of faith. Finally Travis closed the service with a prayer full of such hope and cheer that Rena could only feel astonishment that he could keep up his spirits after so many months of such misery.

  After the service was over, Rena walked quickly away. Dalton joined her, and the two walked silently down to the water’s edge. When they reached it, they stood looking out over the sea. It was a beautiful sight, yet Rena hated it. “I feel so trapped here, Dalton,” she murmured, despair in her voice.

  “You are trapped. We all are.” He stared moodily out at the waves that came in relentlessly, filling their ears day and night with noise like thunder. “We were fools to even think about becoming missionaries.”

  Rena had had such thoughts herself, but she had never expressed them. Now she turned to him and said, “We mustn’t give up hope.”

  Dalton turned and put his arms around her. He kissed her, his lips hard and demanding.

  She struggled against his embrace, for he was no longer the man she had felt she was in love with.

  “Don’t do this, Dalton,” she begged.

  “Why not? We might as well do as we please. We love each other, and we should take whatever pleasure we can.”

  He pulled her close again, and he ran his hands over her in a way she could not permit. Wrenching herself away, she said, “I’m going back to camp.”

  Dalton called after her. “We might as well take what we can get, Rena. It’s all we’re going to have in this cursed place!”

  ****

  Lanie pulled up a root and laughed. “Well, I found another one.”

  Pete took the root from her hand. “That’s a nice one.” He hesitated, then said, “You know, I never thought about living like this, Lanie.”

  “I didn’t either. It’s changed everything.”

  The two had come out to dig taro roots, and both of them had been silent for a while. They too had struggled with feelings of depression, but lately they had been encouraged by Travis’s optimism and encouraging words.

  Pete’s feelings for Lanie had grown during the time they’d been on the island. Now as he knelt beside her, he dropped the root he was holding and reached for her hands. She set down the butcher knife she had been using for digging, her face full of astonishment. “I’ve tried to keep quiet about the way I feel, Lanie, but I can’t anymore.”

  Lanie grew still. She was a highly intelligent woman but a very lonely one. Her parents had died of disease while missionaries in China, and she missed them a great deal. She was also embarrassed about her height and felt that men were not attracted to her. Now as she stared at Pete, who was trying to put words together, she saw something in his face she had longed to see in a man but had never dreamed she would. She knew that Pete Alford was basically shy, and when he seemed unable to speak, she asked quietly, “Do you care for me, Pete?”

  Pete’s eyes widened, and he nodded, then said huskily, “Yes, I love you, Lanie.”

  Lanie was hungry for such words. She knew this man would n
ever be eloquent, but he was honest to the bone—a good man and strong—and he cared for her! She got to her feet, and when he arose with her, she put her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him on the lips. As their kiss lingered she felt his arms go around her, almost crushing her with his strong embrace.

  When he lifted his head, he said, “I’ve never loved another woman.”

  Lanie smiled, and a tear trailed down her cheek. “One’s enough.”

  Still holding her, Pete said, “I don’t know what to do next, but I want to marry you.”

  “Do you, Pete?”

  “Yes. Do . . . do you feel that way about me?”

  Lanie MacKay smiled fully and freely, feeling as if she had come home after a long, hard journey. “Yes, I do feel that way.” He swung her around as if she were a child, and the laughter she had kept bottled up for years spilled out joyously as she clung to him.

  ****

  “You and Pete want to get married?” Rena stared at Lanie, who had drawn her aside to tell her what had happened. Rena had never seen Lanie like this. Her eyes were dancing and her smile was brilliant, revealing a buoyant spirit that Rena had never seen. “But that’s impossible.”

  “No, it’s not,” Lanie said.

  “But what if we get rescued?”

  “If we do, that’s fine. We’ll still be man and wife, but we’re going to get married, Rena.”

  Rena tried desperately to think of reasons to deter her, but nothing came. Finally she said, “If you’ll just wait—” An urgent cry broke into her words, and both women turned to see Dalton and Cerny Novak coming out of the woods carrying a limp form. The rest of the crew was huddled about them.

  Rena cried out, “What is it, Dalton?”

  “It’s Captain Barkley. We were chopping down trees, and a big one fell on him and crushed his leg.”

  Rena saw that the captain’s face was pale, his teeth clenched in a grimace. She looked down at his left leg, which was twisted into an abnormal position. The sight sickened her, and she could not think for a moment.

  “We’ve got to help him,” Travis said. “Where’s Karl? He’ll know what to do.”

  “He went hunting over to those ridges in the east,” Shep said. “I’ll go get him.”

  “Bring him back as quick as you can,” Travis directed, his face drawn. He leaned over the captain as Shep raced away, saying, “You’ll be okay, Captain. We’ll make it right.”

  But Caleb Barkley gave a sharp cry and suddenly went limp as they started to move toward his shelter.

  “That leg looks bad,” Novak said. “It may have to come off. I’ve seen breaks like this before,” he added tautly. “This ain’t no simple break, and nobody here can help him.” He locked eyes with Rena. “You believe in prayer, you say? I think it’s a good time to start.”

  ****

  Karl Benson kept his emotions out of his face as he examined the captain’s leg. The man was conscious again and let out a moan each time Benson touched a sensitive area.

  Travis pulled him out of the tent and asked, “What do you think?”

  “That’s a compound fracture. There’s nothing I can do here on this island with no surgical supplies and no anesthetic. They’d have trouble helping him even in a hospital. If we were near a hospital, the doctors would take that leg off.”

  “You’ve got to help him, Karl!” Travis insisted. “You’re the only one here with any medical background at all.”

  Rena came up in time to hear the last words. “Yes, Karl. What can we do to help? Just tell us.”

  “I’m not a doctor! Can’t you understand that?” Benson asked, sounding frantic. “I can’t do it.”

  “You’ve got to do it, man!” Travis said, his voice harsh. He grabbed Benson’s arm. “You can’t let our captain suffer like that!”

  “You don’t understand, Winslow.”

  “You’re right; I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you refuse to help when you’re needed. We’re going to trust in God, and you’re the man God has sent!” Travis said, his voice sharp.

  Karl Benson looked from Travis to Rena. “If I tried to put that leg back together without an anesthetic, he couldn’t stand it.”

  “Wait a minute,” Rena said. “Chip knows about a plant that’s a painkiller. He said he made himself unconscious with it one time.”

  “What kind of plant was it?” Benson asked.

  “I’ll go find Chip and ask him.”

  Rena dashed off calling for Chip, and Travis put his arm around Benson’s shoulder. “I don’t know what’s the matter, Karl, and I know this is hard on you. But you’re a man of God, and you and I are going to pray that you have the wisdom to do what needs to be done and that the captain will be all right. That he won’t lose that leg.”

  Travis was aware that Karl was struggling with some deep pain that he hadn’t shared with the others. Finally Travis whispered, “Jesus is the great physician, but He uses people. He wants to use you now, Karl, to help the captain. Will you do it?”

  Karl’s hands were shaking as he pushed them through his thick blond hair. A storm seemed to sweep over him, but finally he half whispered, “I’ll try, but it’ll take God to bring him through it!”

  ****

  Rena and Travis collapsed onto the ground after Karl set the captain’s leg. “You should lie down,” Travis told Rena. “You look like you’re about to faint.”

  “That was terrible, Travis. I felt strong and capable while we were in there, but now that it’s over I don’t feel so great.” Rena shut her eyes. They had both been present when Karl had set the captain’s leg. The narcotic Chip had brewed had helped a great deal, but Karl had been afraid to administer too much—afraid that it would kill him, he had said.

  Karl had been gray with strain, but he had worked on the captain’s leg while the strongest men available—Travis, Dalton, Pete, and Cerny—had held the captain still. Rena had acted as an assistant, helping as Karl instructed. The captain had cried out in agony despite himself, and the procedure had taken a long time. Now the two sat there completely drained. “I hope we never have to go through anything like that again,” Rena said hoarsely. “I don’t think I could stand it. It was terrible.”

  “I thank God for that narcotic Chip found and that Karl was with us. What would we have done if he hadn’t been?”

  “I don’t know, but I do thank the Lord that he was here.”

  “Karl told me that if the shock of this didn’t kill the captain, he’s optimistic that the leg will heal. He’ll probably limp for the rest of his life.”

  “But he’s alive, and he can keep his leg.”

  “Come on,” Travis said. “You need to lie down.” He rose and pulled her to her shaky feet. He kept his arm around her, and they walked toward the shelter that Rena shared with Maggie, Meredith, and Lanie. When they reached it, he turned her around and looked into her eyes. “Lie down and try to sleep.”

  “I will,” she said. “I’m just beginning to find out how weak we all are. I thought I was a strong woman, Travis, but I’m not.”

  “Only God is strong,” Travis said. “The quicker we realize that, the better.” He put his hand on her cheek. She covered it with her own, and he smiled at her. “You did fine, Rena. Now go rest.”

  Travis removed his hand and walked away. She watched him go, then went in and lay down on her cot. She felt the tension begin to dissolve in her. She prayed as she had when she was a little child, a simple prayer, straight and direct. “Lord Jesus, let the captain keep his leg, and keep us all safe. In Jesus’ name . . .”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  A New Regime

  Karl leaned over the next morning and examined the captain’s leg as the man lay prone on a cot. Karl’s face was intent, and as Meredith watched near the entryway, she thought, He looks like a doctor! She had come with him to see how Captain Barkley was doing, and now she stepped up to the cot. The captain was still rather pale, and she knew that setting the leg had
been a grueling experience. She put her hand on the captain’s forehead and smiled. “I hope you’re not going to be as bad a patient as most men are.”

  A grin came to the captain’s lips. “I expect I will be. I haven’t had much experience being a patient.” His eyes went to Benson’s face, and he asked quietly, “How does it look, Doc?”

  “Better than it might have been.” Benson’s words were spare, and there were lines of weariness and fatigue on his face. He hadn’t slept well the night before, for he had been concerned that infection might set in. Setting the compound fracture had proved to be a terrifying experience, and the lines of his face showed it. “I think you’re going to be all right, Captain,” he said finally, summoning up a smile. “I’d rather you were in a good hospital in San Francisco. We’re not exactly equipped to take care of cases like this.”

  “If you hadn’t been here, Doc, I don’t know what I would have done. Lost a leg for sure. Maybe the whole thing.”

  “I’m glad I was here.”

  Meredith was proud of Benson. She knew he had abandoned his medical studies to become a missionary for a reason. But it was a mystery to her, as it was to everyone else. It would have made sense to all of them for him to have gotten his degree and become a medical missionary. But he was strangely silent on the subject, refusing to discuss it.

  “I know you’re in a great deal of pain,” Karl said to the captain. “We’ll give you some more of this drug that Chip made up for you.”

  “It’s pretty strange stuff. You know what’s in it?” the captain asked curiously, watching as Karl poured a brown liquid into a cup.

  “Some kind of opium, he says. I’m just glad Chip knew about this folk remedy. Drink it down, Captain.”

  Barkley downed the cupful of liquid, then shuddered and bared his teeth. “That is the worst stuff I’ve ever tasted!”

  “But it works, doesn’t it? You relax now. You’ll go to sleep pretty soon.”

  Caleb Barkley stuck out his hand. “Thanks a lot, Doc. I’m awful glad you’re here.”