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 Paths in the wilderness 
 
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EMBARKING FOR AMERICA 
 
PATHS IN THE 
 WILDERNESS 
 
 A Story of Lutheran Pioneers in 
 
 Georgia 
 
 By 
 
 Rev. C. E. Sparks 
 
 Illustrated by Wm. S. Nortenheim 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 THE UNITED LUTHERAN PUBLICATION HOUSE 
 
Copyright, 1923 , By 
 The Board of Publication of 
 The United Lutheran Church in America 
 
 Made in the United States of America. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Paths in the Wilderness is a story 
 based upon a most interesting phase of the 
 early history of America and of the Lutheran 
 Church in America. 
 
 In this story historical characters figure, 
 and distinctive church principles are taught. 
 There is enough of fiction and of story inter¬ 
 est in the pages to hold the attention of any 
 person, young or old. 
 
 Originally published as a serial in the col¬ 
 umns of “Lutheran Young Folks,” the his¬ 
 torical and teaching value of the story, as 
 well as its genuine interest have suggested its 
 addition in book form to the permanent liter¬ 
 ature of the Church. This is the explanation 
 of the appearance of this volume. 
 
 An air of mystery surrounds much of the 
 history of colonial days. There is an abun¬ 
 dance of material which in the hands of the 
 writer of fiction would prove the foundation 
 of many interesting and instructive stories. 
 The Rev. C. E. Sparks has opened a new 
 
 3 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 path through which we believe others will 
 travel in finding and presenting new themes 
 and new stories which teach history and recall 
 the spirit and the teachings of our Church. 
 
 We do not hesitate to commend this vol¬ 
 ume both to young and old and express the 
 belief that it will prove the forerunner of a 
 most valuable series of books of fiction based 
 on events and facts of colonial days. 
 
 W. L. Hunton. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Home Ties. 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 “Deep Calleth Unto Deep' - ’ . 24 
 
 CHAPTER IIP 
 
 Home Finding . 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Trackless Forest . 51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Friends New and Old . 65 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Governor's Strong Hand . 80 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Diplomacy and Intrigue . 94 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Coals of Fire .107 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Leading of God .120 
 
6 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Power of the Spirit .133 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 A Great Victory . 146 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Home Again .159 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Embarking for America. Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 Harold Confronting Redfield .49 
 
 Long Bow Talks With Harold. 65 
 
 A Sharp Swish and Cry of Pain. 97 
 
 The Natives Sitting About the Campfire 
 
 in Silence .120 
 
 He Landed Upon the Back of the Spy 
 
 146 
 
Paths in the Wilderness 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 Home Ties 
 
 It was a bleak November day in the year 
 1733 that a young man of, perhaps, eigh¬ 
 teen or nineteen might have been seen walk¬ 
 ing aimlessly along the streets of that sea¬ 
 port city of England, Dover. His thread¬ 
 bare coat was buttoned closely about his 
 neck, and his ragged cap pulled well down 
 over his face in a vain effort to shut out the 
 raw, chilling wind that smote him. Harold 
 Milman was walking aimlessly because he 
 did not know where to go or what to do. 
 
 He had just seen the doors of a debtors’ 
 prison close behind his father, and he did 
 not yet have the heart to go back to his 
 mother and sister in the poor little hovel 
 from which he knew they would be ejected 
 
 9 
 
10 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 in a few days. Sickness and debt, and then 
 the inevitable debtors’ prison for his father, 
 to be followed now by the breaking up of 
 their home, was the spirit-crushing burden 
 that he was trying to bear. 
 
 “When do you suppose General Ogle¬ 
 thorpe will return from America?” 
 
 Harold lifted his head and looked over 
 his shoulder. Close behind him were two 
 young men engaged in earnest conversation. 
 
 “In his letter he did not indicate when he 
 would come home, but he asked me to be 
 prepared to return to America with him as 
 his secretary,” was the reply to the question. 
 
 “That is a great scheme of Oglethorpe’s 
 to found a colony in the New World for the 
 men in the debtors’ prisons.” 
 
 “Yes, it is a great thing to give such men 
 a new chance in life.” 
 
 Here was something that certainly inter¬ 
 ested Harold. He walked slowly on before 
 the young men, with ears attentive to catch 
 what further might be said. 
 
 “What does your brother John think of 
 your going to the colony with Oglethorpe?” 
 
 “He thinks it is just the thing, and he is 
 
HOME TIES 
 
 11 
 
 planning to go too, and be a missionary to 
 the Indians.” 
 
 “Do you think that will break up our lit¬ 
 tle society?” 
 
 “It ought not, and, besides, it is not likely 
 that we will leave before some time next 
 year.” 
 
 “I hear that a party of Germans are to 
 land here soon, who expect to go to Ogle¬ 
 thorpe’s colony. They are some Salzburgers 
 whom the papists are driving out.” 
 
 “It will not be long then before another 
 ship will be sailing for America.” 
 
 Harold straightened himself. A sudden 
 plan flashed into his mind. Perhaps there 
 would be an opportunity for his father to 
 join this company of Germans with his fam¬ 
 ily and make his way to the colony in the 
 New World. What a great thing it would 
 be to have an opportunity for a new start in 
 life ! At first he had not thought of himself, 
 but as he began to build air castles his youth¬ 
 ful love of adventure was kindled. As a 
 boy he had often thought of the New World 
 as he listened to the tales of that wonderful 
 land, but he had never dared to hope that 
 
12 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 some day he would be able to go there. Sud¬ 
 denly an impulse seized him, and, turning, 
 he spoke to the young men. 
 
 “Pardon me, but I chanced to overhear 
 you speaking of General Oglethorpe’s col¬ 
 ony in America. I would like to ask what 
 are the necessary steps to secure the release 
 of one from the debtors’ prison in order to 
 join the colony.” 
 
 “Well, Charles,” said one of the young 
 men, turning to his companion, “you ought 
 to be able to arrange that. You are in such 
 close touch with the movement.” 
 
 “I don’t know that I can do anything my¬ 
 self,” said the young man addressed as 
 Charles, smiling kindly at Harold, “but I 
 can introduce you to some of the trustees of 
 the colony, who will be glad to do what they 
 can.” 
 
 “I would appreciate that,” replied Har¬ 
 old eagerly. “Are any of them here in 
 Dover?” 
 
 “Yes; they are making preparations now 
 to receive the German Salzburgers, and if 
 you have a little time to spare I will take 
 you to them now.” 
 
HOME TIES 
 
 13 
 
 “That will please me greatly, for I am 
 anxious to act at once.” 
 
 The three young men walked along briskly 
 until they reached an office near the wharf. 
 Here they turned in. 
 
 “Good morning, Mr. Wesley,” greeted 
 one of the men in the office as they entered, 
 “I was just thinking of you. Have you 
 reached a decision yet about the secretary¬ 
 ship of which General Oglethorpe wrote?” 
 
 “Yes, at least I think so. Brother John 
 urges me to accept, and he wishes to ac¬ 
 company me as a missionary to the Indians.” 
 
 After a little further conversation Charles 
 Wesley (for it was he) introduced Harold 
 and made known his errand. Harold ex¬ 
 plained how his father, on account of sick¬ 
 ness, had contracted a debt for which he was 
 now in prison. He expressed the desire that 
 he might be released and the family allowed 
 to accompany the Salzburgers to the new 
 colony.; 
 
 The trustee questioned Harold closely 
 concerning all the circumstances. At last he 
 gave the assurance that he thought the mat¬ 
 ter could be arranged. He then gave 
 
14 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 Harold some instructions and dismissed him. 
 
 “I would like for you to meet my brother 
 John,” said Charles Wesley as they left the 
 trustees’ office. “He will doubtless be inter¬ 
 ested in you, since you are to go to America.” 
 
 “I am quite sure I shall be glad to meet 
 the brother of one who has proven to be such 
 a friend in need,” replied Harold. 
 
 A walk of several blocks brought the three 
 young men to the lodging place of the 
 Wesley brothers. As they entered the room 
 Harold was immediately impressed with the 
 seriousness of the demeanor of John Wesley. 
 Yet there was something winning about his 
 personality that strangely attracted him. 
 His eyes flashed eagerly when Charles ex¬ 
 plained that Harold was planning to depart 
 for America along with the company of 
 Salzburgers who were soon expected to land 
 at Dover. 
 
 “I had hoped to be in that company my¬ 
 self,” he said, “but since Brother Charles 
 will not go until General Oglethorpe makes 
 his next trip I shall wait until then.” 
 
 He explained his deep interest in an effort 
 to carry the Gospel to the savages of Amer- 
 
HOME TIES 
 
 15 
 
 ica and his hope that many of them might 
 be won to Christianity. From this the con¬ 
 versation turned to personal religious ex¬ 
 perience. This was a new theme for Harold. 
 He had always held religion and the Church 
 in reverence, but had thought little of his 
 own personal relation to Jesus Christ. In 
 spite of his indifference he found himself in¬ 
 terested, and when he left there had been 
 opened up before him new and wider fields 
 for thought and meditation. 
 
 Harold now hastened home. He was 
 eager to bear the news to his mother and 
 sister, yet he had some misgivings as to how 
 they would receive the plan to join the colony 
 in the New World. The more he thought over 
 the matter the more he hesitated to tell them 
 this part of the plan. Still he realized that 
 this was the only hope of freeing his father 
 from the foul debtors’ prison. His mother, 
 he knew, had many; ties to bind her to her 
 old English home. Tender memories, friends 
 and associates were all here. She was little 
 fitted to endure the hardships of a pioneer’s 
 life. Before their present misfortunes 
 had come upon them she had known many of 
 
16 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 the refinements of life. All these things 
 came to Harold’s mind as he made his way 
 homeward. 
 
 At last he reached the little hovel which 
 was for the present their home. Both his 
 mother and sister had plainly been weeping, 
 but now had composed themselves. His 
 mother smiled bravely as he entered. 
 
 “Mother,” he began hesitatingly, “I have 
 some strange things to tell you. I met two 
 most peculiar men this morning. Their 
 names were John and Charles Wesley.” 
 
 “Oh, yes, they are those Methodists of 
 whom I have heard so much lately. They 
 have been making quite a stir in the old 
 school at Oxford.” 
 
 “Charles I met on the street. He was 
 such a kind, friendly man. But John seems 
 to be able to read your very heart. He said 
 such strange things about religion. He 
 seems so earnest and sincere, yet he is not 
 satisfied with what he calls his personal 
 experience.” 
 
 “Yes, I have heard some very strange 
 reports about their ways.” 
 
 “But, mother, I am forgetting to tell you 
 
HOME TIES 
 
 17 
 
 the most important thing. Charles intro¬ 
 duced me to one of the trustees of General 
 Oglethorpe’s colony, of which we have been 
 hearing something. You know General 
 Oglethorpe has founded a colony in the New 
 World for the inmates of the debtors’ pri¬ 
 sons. A company of Germans are to sail for 
 that colony soon, and he tells me that he be¬ 
 lieves that he can secure father’s release if 
 we will join the party and accompany them 
 to America.” 
 
 Mrs. Milman gasped and turned pale. At 
 first Harold was not sure whether it was 
 from consternation at the thought of facing 
 the dangers and hardships of a life in. the 
 New World or at surprise at the opportunity 
 of securing his father’s release. However, 
 she did not leave him long in doubt. 
 
 “Why, Harold,” she sobbed when she had 
 sufficiently recovered to be able to speak, “is 
 there really a chance to get your father out 
 of that foul prison? As weak as he is from 
 his sickness he would surely die there. God 
 hasn’t forgotten us after all. We haven’t 
 been as true to Him as we should and we 
 do not deserve His mercy. But God is 
 
18 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 merciful, even to those who forget Him 
 sometimes.” 
 
 “0 mother, do you really mean that we 
 shall go to the colony in the New World?” 
 exclaimed the girl, who had been eagerly 
 listening to the conversation between her 
 mother and brother. 
 
 “Yes, Agnes, when God so clearly shows 
 His guiding hand I believe that we ought 
 not to refuse to follow His leading.” 
 
 “But, mother,” broke in Harold, “have 
 you thought of all that it means for you to 
 go to that wilderness country with all of its 
 hardships, dangers and trials? You are not 
 strong, and have never been accustomed to 
 such a life as that will be.” 
 
 “Yes, my son, I know all of those things 
 but all of us must be willing to sacrifice for 
 father’s sake. 
 
 Harold now told them of all the instruc¬ 
 tions which the trustee had given him, and 
 they planned eagerly how they would join 
 the company of Salzburgers when they should 
 sail for America. 
 
 The next few weeks were busy ones for 
 the Milrnan family. Through the influence of 
 
HOME TIES 
 
 19 
 
 the trustee Harold’s father was released from 
 the prison and allowed to assist the family 
 in their preparations for the voyage. Har¬ 
 old also on several occasions met the Wes¬ 
 leys, who continued to manifest special in¬ 
 terest in him. They also did a number of 
 helpful things for the family. At each of their 
 meetings John especially turned the con¬ 
 versation to religious topics. It was evident 
 that he was intensely interested in the work 
 of the Church of England as well as in his 
 own personal spiritual condition. 
 
 Harold always repeated to his mother the 
 things which the Wesleys said to him on re¬ 
 ligious subjects, and it was due to her clear 
 explanations that he was able to grasp many 
 of the rather abstruse matters which were 
 discussed. Finally, after an especially earn¬ 
 est conversation, Harold urged the Wesleys 
 to come to his home that his mother might 
 discuss some of these matters with them. 
 They accepted the invitation and the follow¬ 
 ing day presented themselves at the Milmans’ 
 humble home. 
 
 The particular subject upon which the con¬ 
 versation chanced to turn was that of the 
 
20 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 observance of the rites of the Church as a 
 means of spiritual development. Both 
 John and Charles Wesley considered the 
 strict adherence to these as of the utmost 
 importance. 
 
 “These,” said John, “have been given us 
 for spiritual comfort, and there is no better 
 way to grow in grace than to follow them 
 carefully.” 
 
 Mrs. Milman had read a few years before 
 Luther’s treatise on “Christian Liberty,” and 
 now she began to quote from it. “Martin 
 Luther says: ‘Works, since they are irra¬ 
 tional things, cannot glorify God; although 
 they may be done to the glory of God, if 
 faith be present.’ All kinds of Church rites 
 are works, which will in no way help our 
 spiritual life unless we have true faith in 
 Jesus Christ. Like Luther, I believe that 
 the most important thing for spiritual growth 
 is faith and trust in Jesus as our Saviour. 
 If we do not have comfort and peace it is 
 because faith is lacking.” 
 
 “Yes, I know,” replied Wesley, “we must 
 have faith, and Luther has certainly done a 
 most important work in emphasizing that 
 
HOME TIES 
 
 21 
 
 great truth. However, are not the rites and 
 ordinances of the Church calculated to pro¬ 
 mote and inspire faith?” 
 
 “That is true,” replied Mrs. Milman, “in 
 just so far as these rites and ordinances teach 
 the Word of God. Faith comes only through 
 the Word.” 
 
 Further discussion of the matter was in¬ 
 terrupted by the entrance of Mr. Milman, 
 who announced that the Salzburgers were 
 expected to land in Dover the next day. This 
 meant that they must now hasten their prepa¬ 
 rations for the voyage. 
 
 As the Wesleys took their leave John 
 turned to Harold. “I shall expect to' meet 
 you in the colony soon, and I hope to have 
 your assistance in the work which I am 
 planning. There surely must be a wide field 
 to preach the Gospel to the natives in Amer¬ 
 ica. From what I can learn they need Chris¬ 
 tianity very much.” 
 
 “I shall not forget either of you,” replied 
 Harold warmly. “You have been very kind 
 to us here, and if I can return the favor 
 when you reach America I shall certainly do 
 so. I trust that we shall meet again.” 
 
22 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 When the next day dawned Harold was 
 down at the wharf. In the growing light 
 he could see the ship bearing the Salzburgers 
 making its way into the harbor. It was sev¬ 
 eral hours before the company had landed. 
 The trustees of the Georgia colony cared for 
 them as best they could and provided them 
 with shelter until the ship which was to carry 
 them to America should be made ready for 
 the voyage. There were only a few English 
 families besides the Milmans who were to 
 go on the same ship, and Harold at once 
 began to cultivate the acquaintance of these 
 Germans. He undertook to teach some of 
 them to speak English, while they in turn 
 helped him to learn German. 
 
 The one thing that impressed Harold 
 especially was the religious spirit and piety 
 of these people. His association with the 
 Wesleys had aroused his interest in religion, 
 but he had never met any people who seemed 
 to have such simple faith in God and trust in 
 His guidance as these humble Salzburgers. 
 When he began to become acquainted with 
 the pastors of the company he recognized in 
 them the fruits of the teachings of Martin 
 
HOME TIES 
 
 23 
 
 Luther, which his mother at every oppor¬ 
 tunity was so fond of quoting. 
 
 At last the day came when the voyage to 
 America began. As the ship sailed out of 
 the harbor Harold, with his father, mother 
 and sister, stood on the deck with their eyes 
 fixed upon the shores as they gradually faded 
 from sight. Mrs. Milman turned away with 
 tears in her eyes. “That is home yonder,” 
 she said, “but life and opportunity are 
 toward the setting sun.” 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 “Deep Calleth Unto Deep” 
 
 “See the path that the setting sun makes 
 upon the waters,” said Mr. Milman, as he 
 pointed toward the west. 
 
 “Yes, that path leads into the golden 
 future,” replied his wife. “With God’s help 
 it will lead to health and prosperity.” 
 
 “It is the path to the New World. It 
 leads into mystery,” said Agnes. 
 
 “Oh, no,” said Harold, “it leads to op¬ 
 portunity. Can you not see the opportuni¬ 
 ties shining and glittering and leading us on? 
 The New World is the land of opportunity.” 
 
 “What different things different eyes see,” 
 said Pastor Boltzius, who chanced to over¬ 
 hear the comments of the Milman family. 
 “How much we would miss in life if there 
 was nothing more than what we ourselves 
 see. How grateful we should be that others 
 can point out what we miss.” 
 
 The sun now sank below the horizon and 
 
 24 
 
“ DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP” 
 
 25 
 
 the captain advised the colonists to go to the 
 cabin below. The first few days of the voy¬ 
 age were uneventful. Favorable winds 
 carried the ship swiftly on its way. The 
 Milman family became better acquainted 
 with their fellow-voyagers as the days wore 
 on. Mrs. Milman especially enjoyed the 
 opportunity to discuss religious problems 
 with Pastor Boltzius or Pastor Gronau. The 
 simple faith and meekness of these humble 
 exiles was an inspiration to her. She could 
 not help comparing their religious life with 
 the teachings of Luther as she had read 
 them. 
 
 Harold soon became quite friendly with 
 several young men of his own age. They 
 delighted in making their plans for the life 
 in the New World. They had plenty of time 
 to give their imagination free rein and to 
 build wonderful air castles. The mysteries 
 of the trackless forests, the savage natives, 
 the wild beasts gave plently of material for 
 dreams and fancies. 
 
 It was an afternoon in February that 
 Harold and two of his companions were 
 standing on the deck near the bow. They 
 
26 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 never seemed to weary of watching the great 
 expanse of the ocean with its gently rolling 
 waves. The skies had been clear and the sea 
 comparatively calm thus far on the voyage, 
 and Harold had begun to lose some of the 
 dread which had awed him when he listened 
 to the tales of the terrible storms. He had 
 almost begun to think that these accounts 
 had been mere sailors’ stories and not reali¬ 
 ties. As they stood gazing over the vast 
 expanse one of the young men exclaimed, 
 “Isn’t that a peculiar cloud?” The other 
 boys followed his gaze out toward the north¬ 
 west. They could see the dark outline of a 
 cloud just rising above the horizon. As they 
 watched it with a strange fascination they 
 saw apparently little parts of the cloud break 
 away and fly scudding across the sky. 
 
 “Well, that is strange,” said Harold. “I 
 never saw anything like that. Say,” he 
 called to a sailor passing them, “do you 
 often see clouds like that?” 
 
 The sailor paused and gazed a moment in 
 the direction indicated. He did not answer 
 Harold’s question, but called excitedly to the 
 officer who was on the bridge on duty at that 
 
“ DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP ” 
 
 27 
 
 moment, U A squall Is coming. See there!” 
 
 In a moment all was excitement. Sailors 
 began furling the sails. The passengers 
 were all ordered below the deck. Harold 
 and his companions did not heed the com¬ 
 mand to go below at first, and in the hurry 
 to put the ship in shape the officer did not 
 notice them as they stood near the bow. 
 
 The skillful sailors worked rapidly and 
 soon the ship was ready for the coming 
 storm. Harold was watching the approach¬ 
 ing clouds spellbound. There was a peculiar 
 fascination in their changing forms as they 
 billowed and rolled. A dark mist seemed to 
 shut out the sea as the clouds moved down 
 upon them. First a cold breath of air began 
 to stir the rigging of the ship. Then there 
 was a dash of rain. Suddenly a blast of 
 wind smote the ship, causing it to careen. 
 Then great waves began to dash. Harold 
 found it impossible to keep his feet on the 
 slippery deck, and soon he and his com¬ 
 panions were struggling helplessly on their 
 hands and knees. 
 
 It might have proved a serious matter for 
 them had not a sailor spied them in their 
 
28 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 predicament and with much scolding assisted 
 them to get below. 
 
 Harold found his mother and father and 
 Agnes greatly excited. Until they saw him 
 they were sure that he had been dashed into 
 the sea. His present safety,. however, did 
 not allay their fear of the storm. As the 
 ship rolled and plunged they clung to each 
 other, expecting the deep to swallow them at 
 any moment. It seemed almost hours, but 
 finally Harold became more accustomed to 
 the rolling of the ship and began to look 
 about him. He was at once struck by the 
 calmness of his fellow-passengers. There 
 seemed to be no fear of the storm among the 
 Salzburgers. 
 
 “Why should we fear?” said one in answer 
 to his inquiry. “God is on the sea as well 
 as on the land. We have committed our¬ 
 selves to His care. If it is His will to take 
 us now we are prepared to go. He does 
 all things well, and if we only trust Him all 
 will come out right.” 
 
 “Yes,” said another, “ ‘All things work 
 together for good to them that love the 
 Lord.’ We have no reason to doubt that He 
 
“ DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP ” 
 
 29 
 
 can make even the storm to bring us good.” 
 
 “That is most certainly true,” broke in 
 still another, “but we must remember that 
 the promise is to them that love the Lord. 
 It is no wonder that the unbeliever should 
 have fear and trembling at such a time as 
 this. When one does not believe and trust 
 God dangers may well be frightful.” 
 
 “How true that is,” said Mrs. Milman. 
 “I fear that I have not been fully trusting 
 God. Now it is all so clear and plain why 
 you people do not have any fear or dread 
 of storms and waves. You have certainly 
 learned well the lessons taught by the be¬ 
 loved reformer Luther. It is, after all, a* 
 simple matter of faith.” 
 
 “Come, brethren, let us sing a hymn.” It 
 was the sonorous voice of Pastor Boltzius 
 that rose above the roar of the storm. Soon 
 the deep German voices rose in a familiar 
 tune and the words rang out like a shout of 
 triumph: 
 
 “An exile poor, and nothing more, 
 
 This is my sole profession, 
 
 Banished from home, of God’s pure Word 
 To make a clear confession. 
 
30 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 O Jesus mine, I know full well 
 This is the way Thou wentest, 
 
 Thy steps we’ll follow, dearest Lord, 
 
 And bear what Thou hast sent us.” 
 
 Just as the hymn was finished there was 
 a crash and water rushed into the cabin. 
 Agnes screamed and clung to her mother. 
 Harold looked about fearfully. The Salz¬ 
 burgers gave little heed to the catastrophe, 
 but above it all could be heard the voice 
 of Pastor Gronau raised in prayer. The 
 Milmans were expecting the ship to sink with 
 the next plunge, but they were reassured by 
 the voice of a sailor telling them that the 
 accident was simply one of the hatches giv¬ 
 ing way when a larger wave than usual had 
 broken over the deck. 
 
 It was not long before the storm had 
 spent its greatest fury, but it continued with 
 diminishing force for several days. Through 
 it all the Salzburgers maintained their cheer¬ 
 ful spirits. 
 
 On the morning of the fourth day the sun 
 rose clear and bright. Although the sea 
 was still rough, the captain allowed Harold 
 and several other young men to go on deck. 
 
“ DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP” 
 
 31 
 
 It was a new aspect of the sea that greeted 
 their eyes. The great waves still caused the 
 ship to roll, but during the storm they had 
 learned how better to keep their footing. 
 Some of the sails were now set and the ship 
 was making good progress on its westward 
 voyage. The rising sun sent its glittering 
 rays over the rolling waves, which seemed 
 to reveal the sea in all of its majesty and 
 power. 
 
 “The sea is great. It fascinates me,” said 
 Harold to one of his companions. 
 
 “Yes, the sea is powerful. Nothing can 
 stand before it. Yet God holds it subject 
 to His will.” 
 
 “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of his 
 waterspouts; all thy waves and thy billows 
 have gone over me. Yet the Lord will com¬ 
 mand his loving kindness in the daytime, and 
 in the night his song shall be with me, and 
 the prayer unto the God of my life.” 
 
 Harold turned. It was Pastor Boltzius 
 who was standing beside them. He also was 
 looking out over the sea with its great roll¬ 
 ing billows. “Pastor, how is it that you al¬ 
 ways have such confident trust that you are 
 
32 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 never afraid in any danger on sea or land?” 
 
 Boltzius looked at Harold kindly. “When 
 
 we have done all that we are able to do for 
 our own safety, is there anything more that 
 we can do?” 
 
 “No; certainly not.” 
 
 “If we have done all that we can for our¬ 
 selves what is there left for us to do but to 
 trust in God?” 
 
 “That is true, but will that keep the storm 
 from sinking the ship?” 
 
 “That may not keep the storm from sink¬ 
 ing the ship, but do you not believe that God 
 is perfectly good?” 
 
 “Yes, surely God is good, but we know 
 that storms do destroy ships and drown 
 people.” 
 
 “If God is good and He is able to make 
 all things work together for good to them 
 that love Him, do you not believe that if 
 He allows your life to be taken that He is 
 able to give you eternal life in heaven? Is 
 not eternal life worth more than this mortal 
 life?” 
 
 “Yes, I suppose that is true, but I had 
 never thought of it in that way. We always 
 
“DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP ” 
 
 33 
 
 wish to cling to this life and are willing to 
 sacrifice almost anything to preserve it.” 
 
 “It is all in having perfect love and trust. 
 If we love God we have His promise and 
 we know that His promises are sure. We 
 know that He will always do what is best 
 for us.” 
 
 “Yes, I see it is that same faith of 
 which mother has been telling me so much 
 recently.” 
 
 “Yes, my son, it is simple faith.” 
 
 At this point their conversation was inter¬ 
 rupted by a number of Salzburgers coming 
 forward. One of them was evidently spokes¬ 
 man for the others, for he stepped forward 
 and addressed Boltzius. 
 
 “Pastor, a number of us have been talk¬ 
 ing over our affairs this morning. We feel 
 that our colony should have someone who 
 can be our business representative. Most 
 of us are little experienced in business mat¬ 
 ters. You have proven such a good spiritual 
 guide that we believe that you are the best 
 one to be our leader in business matters. We 
 can at least trust you to deal honestly 
 with us.” 
 
34 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 Boltzius did not reply at first, but turned 
 and gazed intently for a few moments out 
 over the sea. Then he murmured to him¬ 
 self: “Thy ways, O God, are myterious and 
 past finding out. Into Thy hands I have put 
 my life. Do with me as Thou seest fit.” 
 Then he turned to the simple Salzburgers. 
 “Brethren, it is a vast responsibility that you 
 have placed upon me, as well as a remarkable 
 compliment which you have paid me. With 
 God’s help I will do the best I can.” 
 
 The men thanked him and with an air of 
 confidence walked away. 
 
 As the days now passed the sailors began 
 to assure the passengers that they were ap¬ 
 proaching the end of their voyage. All were 
 eager to reach the New World, which they 
 hoped would be the land of peace for them. 
 As they thought of the many trials which they 
 had endured they looked forward with keen 
 anticipation to the new life which was now 
 before them. 
 
 Most of the colonists now spent the greater 
 part of the day on deck. The sea was com¬ 
 paratively calm again and gentle breezes bore 
 the ship steadily forward. It was a day in 
 
“DEEP CALLETH UNTO DEEP ” 
 
 35 
 
 March, in the evening, when all but a few 
 young men had gone below. Harold stood 
 gazing, as was his wont, out over the waves. 
 His face was turned westward and he was 
 thinking of what the future had in store. In¬ 
 stinctively his mind turned to that promise 
 of the Word which he had heard quoted so 
 often during the voyage. “All things work 
 together for good to them that love the 
 Lord,” he murmured to himself. “Surely 
 it must be true. Things have been working 
 together for good to us. I haven’t loved the 
 Lord as I should, but God has doubtless been 
 merciful to us for mother’s sake.” 
 
 “See that cloud!” exclaimed one of 
 Harold’s companions excitedly, pointing out 
 across the sea. “Does that mean another 
 storm?” 
 
 Harold looked where his companion was 
 pointing, but in the gathering darkness could 
 not see very distinctly. He hailed one of 
 the passing sailors and called his attention 
 to it. The sailor looked at it intently and 
 then quickly climbed into the rigging to gain 
 a better view. 
 
 “Land!” he shouted, “Land!” 
 
36 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 In a moment the whole ship was in com¬ 
 motion. The sailors rushed eagerly to gain 
 a view. The colonists came hurrying on 
 deck. Soon, however, the gathering dark¬ 
 ness shut out the welcome sight. Reluctantly 
 they went below again. It was late, how¬ 
 ever, before any of them went to sleep, so 
 great was the excitement over the near ap¬ 
 proach of the end of their voyage. At last 
 all became quiet and even Harold fell asleep. 
 
 The sun was shining brightly when he 
 awoke the next morning. He hurried on 
 deck. At once he discovered that the ship 
 was entering a harbor. They were making 
 slow progress as the wind was light. In the 
 distance Harold could see a cluster of build¬ 
 ings on a point of land that seemed to jut 
 out into the water. 
 
 A sailor standing by observed Harold in¬ 
 tently gazing at the settlement. “That is 
 Charleston,” he said, “our first landing place 
 in the New World.” 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Home Finding 
 
 “Welcome to the New World.” 
 
 Harold had been watching so intently the 
 sailors as they were making the landing that 
 he had not noticed a stranger who had come 
 on board and was now addressing Pastor 
 Boltzius. As he turned and saw this man 
 with a military bearing grasping the hand of 
 Pastor Boltzius he instinctively knew that 
 this was no other than General Oglethorpe. 
 
 “It will not take many days to reach 
 the colony at Savannah,” he continued. “The 
 ship has cargo to discharge here, and then 
 we will proceed down the coast.” 
 
 General Oglethorpe was true to his word, 
 for five days later the colonists found them¬ 
 selves comfortably camped in tents on a bluff 
 overlooking the Savannah River, where they 
 were to remain until the permanent location 
 for the settlement should be decided upon. 
 This was a matter for which only a few days 
 
 37 
 
38 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 were required. The grateful Salzburgers 
 were not hard to satisfy and Boltzius and 
 Oglethorpe quickly came to an agreement. 
 Twenty-five miles up the river it was decided 
 to found a settlement to be known as New 
 Ebenezer. Hither they prepared to take 
 their journey. 
 
 The time had now come for the Milmans 
 to decide whether they would remain with 
 the Salzburgers or join the English colony 
 at Savannah. During the voyage they had 
 formed many warm friendships among their 
 fellow-passengers and they all urged the 
 English family to remain with them. Pastor 
 Boltzius especially insisted that he desired to 
 have them as members of his flock. How¬ 
 ever, on account of the fact that they had 
 always been accustomed to English customs, 
 they decided that it would be better to re¬ 
 main in Savannah. 
 
 “If you decide to join us later we shall 
 be glad to welcome you,” said Pastor Bolt¬ 
 zius, as the Milmans bade the Salzburgers 
 farewell. The latter now took up their jour¬ 
 ney into the wilderness. 
 
HOME FINDING 
 
 39 
 
 The same provision had been made for 
 the Milmans as had been made for the other 
 members of the party which had come over 
 at the same time, so they were now ready to 
 begin life anew. They continued to live in 
 their tent until they could make provision for 
 a permanent habitation. 
 
 Harold and his father at once proceeded 
 to make themselves better acquainted with 
 the settlement in which they found them¬ 
 selves. The older settlers welcomed them 
 most cordially and wished to spend many 
 hours talking about affairs in the home land. 
 
 Mr. Milman, realizing that the season was 
 already far advanced, immediately began 
 casting about for a tract of land upon which 
 to build his house. There were a number 
 to choose from, and it was not difficult to 
 find an attractive location overlooking the 
 river. They moved the tent to this location 
 and began preparing the ground for plant¬ 
 ing. It was their purpose to occupy the tent 
 until the planting had been made, and then 
 give 1 their time to the building of a perma¬ 
 nent house. Mr. Milman had been gaining 
 strength rapidly and he and Harold found 
 
40 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 it a pleasant occupation to prepare the soil, 
 even though the labor was exacting. When 
 night would come they were glad for the op¬ 
 portunity for refreshing rest. Each day was 
 one of new revelations to Harold. He had 
 engaged in many day dreams concerning this 
 New World while they had been making 
 preparation for the voyage, but he found it 
 necessary to reconstruct his conceptions very 
 materially. 
 
 After locating the Salzburgers at Eben- 
 ezer, Oglethorpe returned to Savannah and 
 prepared to make a trip to England. It was 
 his purpose to gather a new company of col¬ 
 onists. He had been so favorably impressed 
 with the thrift and industry of the Salzburg¬ 
 ers that he determined to secure more of 
 them if possible. 
 
 Oglethorpe had been absent on his voyage 
 to England several days when the Milmans 
 received a call from one of the older colo¬ 
 nists. Already Harold had observed that 
 very few of their neighbors showed any great 
 amount of industry. They were allowing 
 the time for planting crops to' go by unim¬ 
 proved-- They seemed to spend most of their 
 
HOME FINDING 
 
 41 
 
 time in idleness or wandering about in the 
 surrounding forest. 
 
 “Good evening,” greeted their caller as 
 he seated himself on the log where he found 
 them resting. The tent had been pitched in 
 the shade of a large pine tree. “You people 
 are working pretty hard, it seems to me.” 
 
 “Well, yes,” replied Mr. Milman, “but 
 that is what we expected when we came. One 
 cannot get on in a new country without 
 work.” 
 
 “I am not going to kill myself at work 
 in this blazing sun. We might as well have 
 stayed in England if we have to do that.” 
 
 “Oh, I guess it does us good to work,” 
 broke in Harold. “For my part I am thank¬ 
 ful for an opportunity to make a living.” 
 
 “I don’t call this country much of an op¬ 
 portunity. It is too hot here for a white 
 man to work, and Oglethorpe won’t allow 
 us to have any Negro slaves. Up in Caro¬ 
 lina they have Negroes to do the work, but 
 down here Oglethorpe expects us to swelter 
 and die. He even goes so far as to take 
 all of the pleasure out of life by forbidding 
 us to have any rum.” 
 
42 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 “Do you think it right to makes slaves of 
 the Negroes?” asked Mrs. Milman, who had 
 come to the tent door to listen to the con¬ 
 versation. 
 
 “What else do you think they are for? 
 The Lord must have made them for a pur¬ 
 pose, and, if it isn’t to work, what is it?” 
 
 “Surely you do not think that the Lord 
 approves of going over to Africa and bring¬ 
 ing those people here just to be slaves? 
 Surely they have souls even if they do have 
 black skins.” 
 
 “White men can’t work in this country, 
 and if the Lord wants the work done He 
 must have intended that the Negroes do it.” 
 
 “Oh, I guess white men can work in this 
 country if they want to very bad,” said 
 Harold, who was getting thoroughly dis¬ 
 gusted with their caller. “We have been 
 working and are still alive and are feeling 
 better every day.” 
 
 “You will be wiser after you have been 
 here as long as I have,” replied the visitor, 
 assuming an air of superior knowledge and 
 experience. “What I came over for was to 
 tell you that we older colonists have made 
 
HOME FINDING 
 
 43 
 
 up our minds not to submit any longer to 
 some of the foolish rules of Oglethorpe. We 
 don’t propose to kill ourselves working. 
 Oglethorpe brought us to this God-forsaken 
 country and now he can take care of us.” 
 
 “You can do as you please,” retorted 
 Harold somewhat hotly. “We came here to 
 work and not to loaf.” 
 
 “Very well, do as you like. You can make 
 fools of yourselves if you want to, but I 
 advise you to join in with the rest of us, who 
 are going to make a stand for our rights.” 
 The caller then languidly arose and strolled 
 away. 
 
 “Well, what do you think of that?” ex¬ 
 claimed Harold as their visitor disappeared. 
 “Such people as that do not deserve to have 
 a chance in the world.” 
 
 “I have been observing for several days,” 
 said Mr. Milman, “that most of the people 
 in this settlement are shiftless and indolent. 
 Evidently they would not work when they 
 were back in England and they won’t work 
 now.” 
 
 “No, I haven’t been very well pleased with 
 the character of our neighbors either,” said 
 
44 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 Mrs. Milman. “They all seem so careless.” 
 
 The next day, Harold, who had gone on 
 an errand to the store returned in a state of 
 perplexity: “Father, I don’t understand 
 what is the matter. None of the men whom 
 I met would speak to me.” 
 
 “Is that true? Well, I suppose it means 
 that they are going to ostracize us because 
 we will not join them in their movement 
 against Oglethorpe. If he were here they 
 wouldn’t dare to take the stand they do. They 
 realize that if we continue to be industrious 
 it will disprove their contention that white 
 men can’t work in this climate. They want 
 to compel us to join them.” 
 
 “I wish we had gone with the Salzburg¬ 
 ers,” said Agnes. They were so kind to us, 
 and I am sure they are not so discontented 
 and lazy as these people.” 
 
 “Father, why can’t we go up to their set¬ 
 tlement yet?” exclaimed Harold. “You know 
 Pastor Boltzius invited us to join them any 
 time.” 
 
 Mr. Milman looked out over the tract of 
 land upon which they had been working so 
 diligently. Already there was a marked con- 
 
HOME FINDING 
 
 45 
 
 trast between their tract and those of most 
 of the other settlers, who were too indolent 
 to care for their land or cultivate it. “I 
 hate to allow all of this work to go for 
 nothing,” he slowly answered, “yet I know 
 there will not be much satisfaction in trying 
 to live among these shiftless people.” 
 
 “Let us think it over and pray for God’s 
 guidance,” said Mrs. Milman. “He will 
 make all things work together for good.” ' 
 
 The subject was dropped for the time. In¬ 
 stead of continuing the work, Mr. Milman 
 spent the remainder of the day making some 
 quiet investigations among the settlers. The 
 matter was not brought up again until the 
 next morning. Then, after careful and thor¬ 
 ough consideration, it was decided to move 
 from the Savannah settlement to Ebenezer. 
 Harold was to make a trip to consult with 
 Pastor Boltzius and to secure a location. A 
 trip of twenty-five miles through the forest 
 was not a very attractive prospect, but still 
 the spirit of adventure lured him on. 
 
 Harold spent the next day making prepa¬ 
 ration for the journey. He provided him¬ 
 self with the things he considered necessary 
 
46 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 for the trip, made a neat bundle of them and 
 was ready to set out in the morning. 
 
 Harold rose early, bound his pack upon 
 his back and set out along the trail which 
 had been made when the Salzburgers had 
 made their journey. He had turned to wave 
 a farewell when about to get beyond sight 
 of the tent, but had not gone much further 
 when he found himself face to face with the 
 visitor of a few days before. 
 
 “Hello,” he greeted, “so you have decided 
 that it is not best to work so hard after all, 
 I see. Where are you bound so early?” 
 
 The very sight of the man aroused Har¬ 
 old’s resentment. As he looked into his eyes 
 he saw an expression of sly cunning that 
 seemed to warn him to take care. He 
 had seen very little of the man since land¬ 
 ing, but knew that he went by the name of 
 Bill Redfield. His first impulse was to tell 
 |thq fellow to attend to his own business if 
 he had any. However, his better judgment 
 told him not to manifest his resentment 
 openly. After a moment’s hesitation he re¬ 
 plied, “I am just taking a little trip up the 
 
 n 
 
 river. 
 
HOME FINDING 
 
 47 
 
 “What do you know about the country 
 up the river?” There was a tone of inso¬ 
 lence in his voice. 
 
 “I don’t know anything yet,” replied 
 Harold calmly. “I am just trying to find 
 out something.” 
 
 Redfield looked him over shrewdly. “Well, 
 you had better be careful that the Indians 
 do not get you.” 
 
 “I guess the Indians are not very danger¬ 
 ous,” replied Harold, as he passed on. 
 
 He glanced over his shoulder after he had 
 gone a short distance, and was somewhat 
 startled to catch a glimpse of Redfield dis¬ 
 appearing in the underbrush beside the trail. 
 Why should he be doing that, wondered 
 Harold. What could be his purpose? 
 
 Harold tramped steadily on. Sometimes 
 the trail led along the banks of the river, 
 where he had a clear view of the stream. 
 At other times it left the river and led 
 through dense growths of pine trees. Much 
 of the way the trail was rough and the walk¬ 
 ing tiresome. The sun had just about reached 
 the zenith and Harold’s stomach also told 
 him that it was approaching the time for the 
 
48 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 mid-day meal when he found his way barred 
 by a rather large stream. It was evident 
 that there was a ford at this place, but the 
 stream was now much swollen by recent 
 rains. He sounded the stream with his staff 
 and was soon convinced that it would be 
 a dangerous matter to attempt to cross by 
 fording. He looked about for a few mo¬ 
 ments, but as he saw no immediate way of 
 solving the difficulty he decided to eat his 
 lunch before attempting the crossing. 
 
 He took the pack from his back and opened 
 his lunch and proceeded to refresh himself. 
 After he had eaten his lunch he realized that 
 the half day of steady walking had tired 
 him, so he sat resting with his back against 
 a pine tree. Before he realized it he had al¬ 
 most fallen asleep. Suddenly he started up, 
 wide awake. What had awakened him he 
 did not know, but he had that mysterious 
 feeling that sometimes tells a person that a 
 human presence is near. After the first 
 start he sat still, listening. All was quiet but 
 the rustle of the breeze among the trees or 
 the occasional chirp of a bird. Still he felt 
 that peculiar sensation of being watched. 
 

 
 
 
 £: 
 
 
 
HAROLD CONFRONTING REDFIELD 
 
HOME FINDING 
 
 49 
 
 Who was it? There came to his mind Red- 
 field’s sarcastic warning about Indians. Still 
 he knew that the Indians were all friendly 
 to the settlers. He knew that the head chief 
 of this region had accompanied Oglethorpe 
 on his voyage to England and that no hostil¬ 
 ity had ever been shown. With these 
 thoughts he dismissed all fear of Indians. 
 As he sat listening there came the sound of a 
 cracking twig from the underbrush. Quick 
 as a flash he sprang to his feet and rushed 
 into the thicket from which the sound came. 
 As he broke through the bushes there was a 
 scramble and the figure of a man started to 
 run, but tripping over a trailing vine he fell 
 sprawling. The figure scrambled to its feet 
 again, but Harold with a bound stood con¬ 
 fronting Bill Redfield. 
 
 The first expression of fear on the face 
 of the man soon gave place to one of cun¬ 
 ning defiance. For a moment the two stood 
 regarding each other in silence. It was an 
 awkward situation, but Redfield was the first 
 to speak. 
 
 “Well, what do you want?” 
 
 “That is just what I would like to know 
 
50 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 from you,” replied Harold, his anger rising. 
 “What business have you following me?” 
 
 “Oh, I guess I have as much right in this 
 country as you have, and if my business takes 
 me in the same direction as you are going, 
 what concern is it of yours?” was the inso¬ 
 lent rejoinder. 
 
 “Well, then, why don’t you come out in the 
 open like an honest man, instead of hiding 
 and trying to run away like a thief?” 
 
 “Oh, you needn’t begin to preach about 
 honesty. I guess your dad was in jail as well 
 as some of the rest of us,” was the taunting 
 slur. 
 
 Harold could restrain himself no longer, 
 and with a bound threw himself upon the 
 man before him. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Trackless Forest 
 
 The struggle was a short one. Redfield 
 was taken off his guard by the suddenness of 
 Harold’s onslaught. He was quickly borne 
 to the ground, and with Harold’s knee upon 
 his chest was soon begging for mercy. 
 
 “Well, you may go on about your busi¬ 
 ness, but, mind you, keep your hands off my 
 affairs hereafter,” was Harold’s admonition 
 as he released the scoundrel, who at once 
 slunk away. 
 
 Harold now turned his attention to devis¬ 
 ing means for crossing the stream. As he 
 looked about, he spied, some distance up 
 stream, a large tree that apparently over¬ 
 hung the creek. After some difficulty be 
 made his way through the undergrowth and 
 reached it. He discovered that by ascend¬ 
 ing this tree and climbing out upon one of 
 the large branches he could drop safely to 
 the opposite bank. The execution of this plan 
 
 51 
 
52 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 was the matter of only a few minutes. 
 
 Soon Harold found himself in difficulty. 
 The trail which he had been following had 
 not been a very distinct one. He was not 
 accustomed to making his way through for¬ 
 ests, and consequently it was. not surprising 
 that, laboring under the excitement of his 
 recent clash with Redfield, he should be 
 somewhat bewildered when he tried to take 
 up the trail again. It was some time before 
 he would acknowledge to himself that he was 
 lost. He had gotten away from the stream 
 in his effort to locate the trail. When he 
 finally realized that he was lost he was at 
 first seized by a panic and began to rush aim¬ 
 lessly hither and thither. The more he 
 rushed about, the more bewildered he be¬ 
 came. Finally, out of breath from his fruit¬ 
 less efforts, he sat down upon a fallen tree 
 trunk to rest. As he sat here he began to 
 regain his composure. With a mighty effort 
 he compelled himself to think, clearly. He 
 made up his mind that the only way was to 
 go back to the place where he had crossed 
 the stream and get his bearings from that 
 point. When he started up to carry out this 
 
THE TRACKLESS FOREST 
 
 53 
 
 plan he realized that he had absolutely no 
 idea in which direction the stream lay. Again 
 he sat down to think. A ray of sunlight sift¬ 
 ing through the trees fell at his feet. He 
 glanced up. He saw that the sun was sink¬ 
 ing near the horizon. “Surely,” he said to 
 himself, “the sun does not set in the north in 
 this country. If the sun sets in the west, 
 then that must be west,” he thought, though 
 he would have declared that it was north. 
 “I have crossed that stream, so I must be 
 west of it. Therefore the stream must be 
 east of me and the Savannah River north.” 
 Then he remembered that he had heard that 
 a person who was lost traveled in a cir¬ 
 cle. “Now, if I am to get back to that 
 stream I must be careful and not travel in a 
 circle. If I set out and keep the sun at my 
 back I will keep going east and I shall come 
 to the stream.” 
 
 At once he set out, taking care to keep the 
 sun at his back. His progress was slow and 
 at last it began to grow dark. He realized 
 that he must now make camp and wait until 
 morning. 
 
 Harold was thankful that he had brought 
 
54 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 the necessary things in his pack for camp¬ 
 ing and was so well prepared. Because of 
 this wise provision he was able to pass the 
 night comfortably. The fire which he kin¬ 
 dled gave him a sense of security and safety 
 from any prowling beasts which might be in 
 the neighborhood. When the light of the 
 rising sun awakened him the next morning 
 he felt refreshed and his brain was clear. 
 He thought out his plan of action carefully. 
 He would travel toward the rising sun until 
 he reached the stream which had caused his 
 difficulties. Then he would follow its course 
 toward the Savannah River. If he were not 
 able to find the trail which he had lost he 
 would proceed on until he reached the river. 
 He was confident that if he followed the 
 course of the river he would at last reach 
 the settlement of the Salzburgers. 
 
 Having made his plans he ate his break¬ 
 fast with a new relish. He was just finish¬ 
 ing his meal when he heard a rustling in the 
 undergrowth and the next moment an Indian 
 appeared coming toward him. The Indian 
 held out his hand with a friendly gesture, 
 repeating “How, how.” Harold realized 
 
THE TRACKLESS FOREST 
 
 55 
 
 that this was his visitor’s attempt to give an 
 English greeting, but this was evidently the 
 only English word he had learned. How¬ 
 ever, he began making signs which Harold 
 interpreted to be an inquiry of how he came 
 to be there. After numerous attempts at 
 sign making he finally seemed to make the 
 Indian understand that he was on his way 
 from Savannah to the settlement up the 
 river, but had been lost. The Indian also 
 made him understand that he had discov¬ 
 ered him from the fire which he had built. 
 The Indian offered his hand as a token of 
 friendship and motioned him to follow. 
 
 As his self-appointed guide glided noise¬ 
 lessly through the forest, Harold followed. 
 He watched him carefully and soon began to 
 learn how he, too, could make his way with¬ 
 out noise. Harold trusted his new friend 
 fully and felt confident that he would reach 
 Ebenezer in good time. 
 
 They had gone some distance when the 
 Indian stopped and pointed to a trail through 
 the forest and by signs explained that it was 
 the one leading to the settlement. Harold 
 realized that had he been alone he would 
 
56 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 scarcely have recognized it as the one which 
 he had lost. They now followed the trail 
 instead of making their way through the 
 undergrowth, and consequently their prog¬ 
 ress was much more rapid. The native led 
 the way in silence. Occasionally he would by 
 signs call Harold’s attention to something 
 along the way, but seemed intent on making 
 as rapid progress as possible. 
 
 They were evidently approaching the set¬ 
 tlement and Harold was experiencing a sense 
 of relief at coming to the end of his journey. 
 Suddenly the guide stopped, and with a sign 
 for silence, stepped into the undergrowth be¬ 
 side the trail. Without hesitation Harold 
 followed the example of his companion and 
 concealed himself. In a few moments he 
 heard the footsteps of someone coming. 
 Peering through the bushes he was surprised 
 to see the form of Bill Redfield coming from 
 the direction of Ebenezer. 
 
 Harold and his companion waited quietly 
 until Redfield had passed by. What Redfield 
 could have been doing at Ebenezer was a 
 mystery. Then the thought came to him 
 that the scoundrel had been attempting to 
 
THE TRACKLESS FOREST 
 
 57 
 
 follow him again. He evidently surmised 
 that Harold was on his way to Ebenezer and 
 for some reason wanted to discover what his 
 visit meant. On account of Harold’s losing 
 his way Redfield had also lost track of him. 
 “Perhaps it w T asn’t such a great misfortune 
 after all, to get lost,” thought Harold to 
 himself. “If that was the means of throw¬ 
 ing that fellow off my trail the delay has been 
 worth while.” 
 
 When the sound of Redfield’s footsteps 
 died away in the distance the native mo¬ 
 tioned to Harold and they continued their 
 journey. It was still an hour or more till 
 sunset when they came in sight of the settle¬ 
 ment. The Indian pointed to the build¬ 
 ings and tents and prepared to leave. Harold 
 —by signs—endeavored to express his grati¬ 
 tude to the native, who merely shook hands 
 as he departed. 
 
 It did not take Harold long to find Pastor 
 Boltzius. At once he told him his errand. 
 He related the experiences which they had 
 at Savannah and how the shiftlessness and 
 indolence of the colonists there made their 
 stay unpleasant. He also gave a detailed 
 
58 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 account of the part played by Bill Redfield. 
 
 “Redfield?” asked Boltzius. “I wonder 
 if that was the fellow who was here this 
 morning.” 
 
 “Yes, no doubt, for we saw him on the 
 trail just before we reached the settlement.” 
 
 “We?” questioned Boltzius. “I thought 
 you were alone.” 
 
 Harold then related his experience in get¬ 
 ting lost and the assistance given him by the 
 Indian. 
 
 You were fortunate to find so good a 
 friend. The natives here are indeed good 
 people, if they only knew Christ. We must 
 try to teach them the Word of God.” 
 
 “But what was Redfield doing here?” 
 
 “Oh, he was trying to persuade us that 
 we ought to have Negro slaves. He says 
 the white men cannot stand the labor in 
 this climate and that if we expect to succeed 
 we must do as they do in Carolina and Vir¬ 
 ginia, have Negroes do the work. He 
 believes that if we all insist, Oglethorpe 
 will yield and grant the privilege of having 
 slaves.” 
 
 “What do you think of his ideas?” asked 
 
THE TRACKLESS FOREST 
 
 59 
 
 Harold, who was beginning to understand 
 something of the activities of Redfield. 
 
 “I don’t agree with him at all. I believe 
 that white men can labor here if they will 
 only take care of themselves. Then, too, I 
 do not believe that it is the Christian spirit 
 to make slaves of our fellow-men.” 
 
 “That is just what I think, and father and 
 mother feel the same way about it. We felt 
 sure that you would not approve of such 
 notions. That is the principal reason why 
 we want to join this settlement.” 
 
 “We shall surely be glad to have you. We 
 will welcome you to our midst. When you 
 make the trip I would advise that you come 
 by boat, as that will be the easiest way to 
 transport your goods.” 
 
 Harold spent the night at Ebenezer and 
 set out again for home. He experienced no 
 difficulty in keeping the trail on the home¬ 
 ward trip. The water in the swollen stream 
 which had caused his difficulties on his first 
 journey had subsided so that he had no dif¬ 
 ficulty in crossing at the ford. 
 
 When he reached home and gave an ac¬ 
 count of his experiences, his father, mother 
 
60 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 and Agnes were greatly interested, especially 
 when he told of his clash with Redfield. 
 
 “I am sorry for that,” said Mr. Milman. 
 “Redfield seems to have great influence with 
 the colonists here and I am afraid he will use 
 that influence to make it unpleasant for us.” 
 
 “I believe that I know what is Redfield’s 
 purpose,” said Harold. “I believe that he is 
 planning to engage in the slave trade in some 
 way and he wants to introduce slaves into 
 this colony.” 
 
 “Yes, I think, too, that is his purpose,” 
 said Mrs. Milman. “Evidently he will not 
 like us because we do not believe in slavery.” 
 
 “I hope that General Oglethorpe will not 
 let him have his way,” said Agnes. “If he 
 were here I do not believe that Redfield 
 would dare to do some of the things that 
 he does.” 
 
 “Yes,” it is unfortunate that the General 
 should be away just now,” replied her father. 
 “So many of these people are easily influ¬ 
 enced and they are only too ready to fall in 
 with anything that promises to relieve them 
 of the necessity of working.” 
 
 “I am glad that we can go to Ebenezer,” 
 
THE TRACKLESS FOREST 
 
 61 
 
 said Mrs. Milman. “I believe that we shall 
 find things more congenial there. I wish 
 now that we had gone with them at first.” 
 
 “Yes, I didn’t realize the character of the 
 people we should find here. Still I might 
 have known if I had stopped to think that 
 they are made up of people taken out of 
 prison. We might expect most of them to 
 be shiftless and improvident. The Salz¬ 
 burgers seem so different. I heard General 
 Oglethorpe say that he hoped he could get 
 many more like them.” 
 
 “They don’t believe in slavery,” said 
 Harold. “Pastor Boltzius says that it is not 
 according to the spirit of Christ to make 
 slaves of our fellow-men.” 
 
 “I was sure that he would take that view,” 
 said his mother. “Pastor Boltzius seems to 
 be such a sincere Christian. I have missed 
 his uplifting Christian exhortations so much 
 since he left.” 
 
 The Milmans made their preparations for 
 departure quietly. They did not wish Bill 
 Redfield to discover their plans any sooner 
 than necessary. They well realized that he 
 was capable of going to any length to cause 
 
62 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 them inconvenience. The night before they 
 were ready to start Mr. Milman hired a 
 boat from one of the officers of the colony, 
 but did not tell him for what purpose it was 
 to be used. 
 
 It was not a large task to load their few 
 belongings on the boat the next morning and 
 set out upon the trip up stream. It was hard 
 work to row against the current, but Mr. 
 Milman and Harold were well fitted for the 
 task. They realized that it would take more 
 than one day to reach Ebenezer and they had 
 planned to tie up the boat and camp at night 
 on the bank. 
 
 They had just gotten well under way when 
 the form of Bill Redfield appeared on the 
 shore. He stood gazing after them for some 
 time. 
 
 “Well, I wonder what he thinks now,” 
 said Harold, as he watched the fellow gaz¬ 
 ing after them. “I suspect he is wondering 
 where we are going and planning how he can 
 make trouble for us. I am glad he does not 
 have any influence at Ebenezer. 
 
 The whole family enjoyed the trip up the 
 river. Even Mr. Milman and Harold, in 
 
THE TRACKLESS FOREST 
 
 63 
 
 spite of the work of rowing, enjoyed the 
 beauties of the shores on either hand. The 
 stately pine trees that crowned the bluffs, the 
 majestic live oaks with their branches clothed 
 in moss, the tangled mass of vines and un¬ 
 dergrowth, with the birds flitting here and 
 there, combined to make the scene one of 
 wild abandoned beauty. 
 
 As the sun began to sink toward the hori¬ 
 zon the voyagers began to cast about for a 
 place to camp. At last they spied a little 
 cove where there was a small open space on 
 the bank. Here they tied their boat to a 
 small tree and prepared to make themselves 
 comfortable. A fire was built, the evening 
 meal prepared and the tent set up. 
 
 When the time came to go to sleep for the 
 night Harold decided that he would sleep in 
 the boat, while the others occupied the tent. 
 Wearied with the labors of the day, all were 
 soon soundly sleeping. They had left a fire 
 burning to keep away any prowling beasts, 
 so all felt a sense of security. All were 
 happy that they would soon be among con¬ 
 genial friends and w r ould be free from the 
 irritations and annoyances which had made 
 
64 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 their stay in Savannah so very uncomfortable. 
 
 Harold did not know how long he had 
 been sleeping when he suddenly wakened 
 with a start. The boat had received a jar, 
 and as he lay quiet he could feel it apparently 
 striking against some object. At first his 
 mind was not clear enough to realize just 
 where he was, but in a moment he remem¬ 
 bered that the boat had been tied to a tree 
 and he could not think of any object against 
 which it could be striking. He sat up. It 
 was a clear, starlight night, and in a moment 
 he was aware that the shore was some dis¬ 
 tance away. He looked about for the camp 
 fire, but it was nowhere in sight. The boat 
 was adrift and going down stream. He 
 looked about again and discovered that the 
 object against which the boat had struck was 
 the trunk of a tree, which was drifting down 
 stream also. How could this have happened? 
 Harold knew that he had tied the boat 
 securely. He reached over the bow and 
 drew in the rope which had fastened the 
 boat but was now trailing in the water. In 
 a moment he discovered that it had been cut. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
LONG BOW TALKS WITH HAROLD 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Friends New and Old 
 
 Harold’s mind now began to work rapid¬ 
 ly. In a moment all was clear to him. Bill 
 Redfield had evidently followed them, on 
 shore, and when he thought they were all 
 sound asleep in the tent had set their boat 
 adrift. It was evident that his vindictive¬ 
 ness knew no bounds. Doubtless, too, it was 
 his purpose to secure the boat next morning 
 and appropriate the contents for himself. 
 
 “Well, it is fortunate,” said Harold to 
 himself, “that I slept in the boat this time.” 
 
 Just how long the boat had been adrift, 
 or how far he was below the camping-place, 
 he did not know. However, he realized that 
 it would be best not to lose more time. Con¬ 
 sequently he put out the oars and began to 
 row back up stream. 
 
 It was becoming light and the others had 
 just awakened when he came in sight of the 
 camp. He found that they had been very 
 
 65 
 
66 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 much alarmed when the absence of the boat 
 was discovered, but their relief was quite evi¬ 
 dent at seeing him coming up stream again. 
 
 “Who do you suppose could have done 
 that?” asked Mr. Milman, when Harold 
 showed him how the rope had been cut. 
 
 “Redfield, of course,” replied Harold, “or 
 someone that did it for him. You know he 
 will do anything to injure us.” 
 
 The remainder of the journey to Ebene- 
 zer was uneventful. The simple-hearted 
 Salzburgers welcomed their friends most 
 hospitably. The many neighborly acts of 
 helpfulness which they rendered enabled the 
 Milmans to become comfortably settled in a 
 short time. The contrast which they noted 
 between this colony and the one at Savannah 
 was quite striking. Thrift and industry were 
 apparent on every hand, and the atmosphere 
 of the community was most congenial. The 
 settlers made everything revolve about their 
 religious life. The church was the center of 
 the community and all were most faithful 
 and loyal in their worship. 
 
 The months passed rapidly for the Mil- 
 mans. The clearing and cultivating of their 
 
FRIENDS NEW AND OLD 
 
 67 
 
 land kept them busy. Occasionally some 
 of the Salzburgers would make a trip down 
 to Savannah, but they always brought back 
 news of the dissatisfaction which prevailed 
 there. Very few of the settlers would do 
 any work, and they were continually com¬ 
 plaining because they were not allowed to 
 have slaves, as they did in Virginia and Caro¬ 
 lina. Then, too, they were making efforts 
 to smuggle in rum, which Oglethorpe had 
 forbidden the colony. Occasionally some 
 trader would bring in a supply of liquor, and 
 then there would be a drunken carousal 
 among the settlers. 
 
 “I am certainly glad we came here,” said 
 Agnes one day, after hearing one of these 
 reports from Savannah. 
 
 “Perhaps things will be different when 
 General Oglethorpe gets back,” said Mrs. 
 Milman. 
 
 “It is time for him to make haste if he 
 expects the Savannah settlement to amount 
 to anything,” answered the husband. 
 
 In spite of the discontent of the people of 
 Savannah and the many plots formed by cer¬ 
 tain individuals, the colony at Ebenezer con- 
 
68 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 tinued to prosper. The Salzburgers did not 
 allow the happenings at the older settlement 
 to disturb their tranquility, but they pursued 
 the even tenor of their way, carefully culti¬ 
 vating and improving their farms. 
 
 Jjc ifc ifc * 
 
 More than a year had passed since the 
 Milmans had joined the colony at Ebenezer. 
 Several times the Indian who had befriended 
 Harold had appeared at the settlement. He 
 came for the purpose of trading with the 
 settlers, and on each occasion he seemed 
 pleased to meet Harold. He soon learned 
 to converse with him in broken English. He 
 went by the name of Long Bow, because of 
 his skill with the native weapon. 
 
 One day Long Bow, who had been to 
 Savannah on a trading trip, brought the news 
 that General Oglethorpe was soon expected. 
 
 “Many palefaces come with him,” said 
 Long Bow to Harold. “That make much 
 trade for me.” 
 
 The Indians were always anxious to dis¬ 
 pose of their furs for the goods which the 
 settlers had to give in exchange, and many 
 of them would come long distances to reach 
 
FRIENDS NEW AND OLD 
 
 69 
 
 the settlements. Harold was rapidly form¬ 
 ing the acquaintance of the Indians and was 
 establishing a profitable business trading with 
 them. Pastor Boltzius was making an effort 
 to teach the natives who came to the set¬ 
 tlement some of the fundamentals of religion, 
 even though the care of his own flock took 
 the greater portion of his time. 
 
 One day a visitor from Savannah brought 
 the word that General Oglethorpe was ex¬ 
 pected within a few days. Harold decided 
 that he would go down to Savannah to meet 
 the company. He recalled that the Wesleys 
 expected to be with the General at this time. 
 He remembered the enthusiasm with which 
 John Wesley looked forward to the oppor¬ 
 tunity to do missionary work among the 
 natives. Harold felt sure that he would be 
 able to be of substantial assistance to him in 
 this undertaking, on account of his acquain¬ 
 tance among the Indians. 
 
 The next day Harold set out for Savan¬ 
 nah. He made the trip down the river in a 
 canoe. He had not seen Bill Redfield since 
 moving from Savannah to Ebenezer, but he 
 had frequently heard of his activities in stir- 
 
70 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 ring up discontent among the colonists. It 
 was also a matter of common report that he 
 was engaged in smuggling rum. It was, 
 therefore, a surprise to Harold, when he 
 landed at Savannah, to come face to face with 
 this individual. In the two years of pioneer 
 life Harold had grown broad-shouldered and 
 strong, so that Bill Redfield, although he still 
 held an old grudge, did not deem it wise to 
 shown open hostility, but rather to manifest 
 a semblance of friendship. 
 
 “Hello,” he greeted, “haven’t seen you for 
 a long time. How is everything over at 
 Ebenezer ?” 
 
 Harold met his advances cautiously, but 
 without a show of resentment. He did not 
 care to antagonize this leader among a cer¬ 
 tain class of Savannah settlers, but at the 
 same time he could not help having a feeling 
 of suspicion. He answered the greeting civ¬ 
 illy, but his thought was that the fellow would 
 bear watching. 
 
 The greater part of the population of 
 Savannah was at the river bank, for a short 
 time before a ship had been sighted entering 
 the river mouth, and everyone believed it to 
 
FRIENDS NEW AND OLD 
 
 71 
 
 be the one bearing General Oglethorpe and 
 the new colonists. Harold waited in the crowd 
 until the ship made the landing, and it soon 
 became apparent that the surmise had been 
 correct. General Oglethorpe and the Wes¬ 
 leys were among the first to come ashore. 
 The Wesleys were very much pleased to meet* 
 Harold again, though they did not at first 
 recognize him on account of the change that 
 two years of pioneer life had made in his 
 appearance. 
 
 “What do you think of the opportunity 
 for missionary work?” asked John, after the 
 excitement of the landing was over. 
 
 “To my mind it is most excellent,” replied 
 Harold. “Pastor Boltzius has already been 
 doing some of that kind of work, but he does 
 not have much time to give to it.” 
 
 The company with General Oglethorpe 
 were principally Salzburgers, so he planned 
 to take them at once to the colony at Ebene- 
 zer. After some discussion with Harold, 
 John Wesley also decided to visit Ebenezer, 
 as he felt sure that this would be the best 
 starting-point for his missionary enterprise. 
 
 A few days later found John Wesley at 
 
72 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 Ebenezer. He consulted Pastor Boltzius 
 concerning his undertaking, and also, through 
 the friendship of Harold, had the oppor¬ 
 tunity of meeting Long Bow. The native was 
 quite reserved in the presence of this stranger 
 paleface, and became stolidly silent when he 
 attempted to discuss religious matters. Long 
 Bow was interested in trading, but cared 
 very little about religion. He had formed 
 an attachment for Harold, because he had 
 found him strictly honest in all of his deal¬ 
 ings and because there was a personal sym¬ 
 pathy between them. Long Bow was ready 
 to trade with anyone, but he was not ready to 
 give enough of his confidence to strangers to 
 discuss religion with them. He was perfect¬ 
 ly willing to show reverence toward the white 
 man’s worship, but he was not ready to fol¬ 
 low that worship himself. 
 
 Wesley remained at Ebenezer for a num¬ 
 ber of days. On Sunday he worshipped with 
 the colonists. After service he and Harold 
 tarried for a conversation with Pastor 
 Boltzius. 
 
 After discussing the outlook for mission¬ 
 ary work among the Indians, in which Pas- 
 
FRIENDS NEW AND OLD 
 
 73 
 
 tor Boltzius was quite as much interested as 
 Wesley, the conversation turned to theologi¬ 
 cal matters. Wesley at this time held the 
 views of the extreme High Church party 
 among the Anglicans, and consequently there 
 was some difference of opinion between the 
 two men. However, both possessed a sweet 
 Christian spirit, and neither allowed any 
 touch of bitterness to enter into the discus¬ 
 sion. In fact, a firm friendship sprang up 
 between them, which lasted through their 
 whole life. Finally the subject of the apos¬ 
 tolic succession was mentioned. 
 
 “What do you mean by apostolic succes¬ 
 sion?” broke in Harold. The matters under 
 discussion were of a theological character 
 with which he was not familiar and he wished 
 to learn more of them. 
 
 Boltzius turned to Wesley to give the re¬ 
 ply, who answered: “The apostolic succes¬ 
 sion means that each minister is ordained 
 by a bishop, who in turn has been ordained 
 by another bishop, and thus a succession is 
 traced back from one bishop to another 
 to the first ordination by the apostles. 
 The validity of ordination, then, depends 
 
74 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 upon being able to trace this apostolic suc¬ 
 cession. The proper administration of the 
 sacraments also depends upon the validity of 
 ordination.” 
 
 “I understand now,” said Harold, “but 
 what does Luther say about that?” 
 
 “Luther, you remember, taught the uni¬ 
 versal priesthood of believers, and we Luth¬ 
 erans do not recognize the necessity of the 
 apostolic succession,” replied Boltzius. 
 
 “What do you mean by the universal 
 priesthood of believers?” asked Harold. He 
 was deeply interested and was improving the 
 opportunity to learn more about some of 
 these questions. 
 
 “The universal priesthood of believers is 
 that doctrine of the Scriptures taught by 
 Luther, which teaches that every believer in 
 Jesus Christ has the privilege of direct com¬ 
 munion with Christ, without having to de¬ 
 pend upon the mediation of some specially 
 appointed priest. Consequently we do not 
 hold our pastors to be priests, but simply 
 ministers set apart for special service.” 
 
 “That certainly appears reasonable to 
 me,” replied Harold. “We certainly ought 
 
FRIENDS NEW AND OLD 
 
 75 
 
 to be able to pray directly to God, without 
 having to ask someone to speak to Him 
 for us.” 
 
 “It isn’t so much a matter of what appears 
 reasonable, as of what the Word of God 
 teaches,” continued Boltzius. We must re¬ 
 member that the Word of God is the only 
 infallible rule of faith and practice. We must 
 accept what the Word of God says, whether 
 we can understand it or not. Our great 
 effort should be to interpret correctly the 
 Scriptures.” 
 
 “Yes, I recognize that fact,” said Wesley, 
 “but isn’t it also true that the Church is a 
 divine institution founded by Christ Himself, 
 and that its ordinances deserve respect and 
 reverence ?” 
 
 “Most certainly,” replied Boltzius, “but it 
 is the Word of God which prescribes what 
 are the legitimate functions and ordinances 
 of the Church. The Church is what Jesus, 
 through the Word, proclaims it to be. That 
 was one of the great contentions of Luther. 
 He maintained that no man or body of men, 
 either popes or councils, had the right to 
 define the powers of the Church. Salvation, 
 
76 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 he declared, was the gift of God’s grace 
 through faith in Jesus Christ. The Church, 
 he taught, is made up of the whole body of 
 believers. The Church, then, is the product 
 of faith, and all of its powers and preroga¬ 
 tives are contingent upon faith, and not upon 
 formal ordinances.” 
 
 “This is a new thought to me,” answered 
 Wesley. “It puts the Church upon a differ¬ 
 ent foundation.” 
 
 “Yes, you remember that Peter made the 
 confession, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of 
 the living God.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Upon 
 this rock I will build my Church.’ The foun¬ 
 dation of the Church, then, is faith in Christ, 
 the Son of God.” 
 
 “Yes, mother always insists that the most 
 important thing in religion is faith,” said 
 Harold. 
 
 “You Lutherans seem to make faith the 
 foundation of your whole religious system,” 
 observed Wesley. 
 
 “Most certainly,” replied Boltzius. “Faith 
 is the means by which we come into personal 
 touch with Jesus Christ. It is faith that 
 enables us to have perfect trust and confi- 
 
FRIENDS NEW AND OLD 
 
 77 
 
 dence in Him at all times and under all cir¬ 
 cumstances. No matter what dangers and 
 trials we may face, we know that God will 
 make all things work together for good to 
 them that love Him.” 
 
 ‘‘That explains, then,” said Wesley, “some 
 of the experiences which I had during our 
 voyage to America. When the storms were 
 raging and our English colonists were over¬ 
 whelmed with fright, your countrymen were 
 singing hymns of praise and seemed to be 
 without fear.” 
 
 “Why should they fear?” asked Harold. 
 “Why should one who believes in God not 
 trust Him in times of storm as well as in 
 times of clear skies? God is just as near at 
 one time as at another.” 
 
 “I wish I might have that experience of 
 perfect peace and trust. It is the one thing 
 I long for in my religious life.” 
 
 “It is all a matter of faith, my friend,” 
 replied Boltzius. “Just simple faith will 
 bring peace to the most troubled heart.” 
 
 “Yes, I presume that is the thing I am 
 really seeking for myself. I seem to lack 
 that perfect assurance of God’s loving mercy 
 
78 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 that I so much desire. I am trying to lead 
 others to accept Christ, but I need to culti¬ 
 vate more faith for myself.” 
 
 Harold, Boltzius and Wesley were just 
 leaving the church building when they were 
 somewhat surprised to see Long Bow, the 
 Indian, make his appearance. Wesley 
 greeted him most heartily, but the Indian 
 returned the greeting rather stolidly and 
 coldly. Long Bow turned to Harold and 
 said, briefly, “I talk with you.” Harold fol¬ 
 lowed him aside. “Redfield bad man,” he 
 continued, when they were beyond the hearing 
 of the others. 
 
 “Yes, I know that,” replied Harold. 
 
 “He wants to put General Oglethorpe out 
 of the colony.” 
 
 “How does he expect to do that?” 
 
 “He gets crowd of men with guns and 
 make himself governor.” 
 
 “How did you find that out?” 
 
 “They meet in forest. I hear them plan.” 
 
 “You are a good Indian. I will tell Gen¬ 
 eral Oglethorpe, and he will take care of 
 Redfield, I think. Still, he may be able to 
 make some trouble.” 
 
FRIENDS NEW AND OLD 
 
 79 
 
 “Yes, you tell General Oglethorpe,” said 
 Long Bow, as he strode away toward the 
 forest. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 The Governor's Strong Hand 
 
 Harold knew that there was no time to be 
 lost. General Oglethorpe was planning a 
 trip to the South, and his absence would give 
 Redfield his desired opportunity. It was 
 then that he would attempt to carry out his 
 plan to overthrow the governor’s authority. 
 He told no one of the information which he 
 had received from Long Bow, but prepared 
 to set out the next morning for Savannah. 
 
 On his arrival at the older settlement he 
 found Oglethorpe in the midst of his prepa¬ 
 rations for his contemplated southern trip. 
 Bill Redfield was much in evidence, holding 
 whispered consultations with men here and 
 there. Harold at once concluded that he was 
 only waiting for the departure of the General 
 to carry out the move which he had planned. 
 
 Harold went at once to Oglethorpe and 
 requested a private interview. The gov¬ 
 ernor, though busy, invited him into his 
 
 80 
 
THE GOVERNOR’S STRONG HAND 81 
 
 private apartment. Immediately he told him 
 of the information which Long Bow had 
 given. General Oglethorpe listened intently 
 to the recital, watching Harold narrowly 
 with his piercing eyes. When the account 
 was ended he grasped Harold’s hand 
 warmly. 
 
 “Thank you, my man. I am glad for your 
 loyalty. I have been suspecting that this 
 fellow Redfield was engaged in some under¬ 
 handed work, but I did not believe that he 
 would dare to go to such lengths. I had 
 noticed a spirit of antagonism among a cer¬ 
 tain class of the settlers, but I did not sup¬ 
 pose that they would venture upon so bold 
 an undertaking.” 
 
 Oglethorpe paused for a few moments, 
 still regarding Harold closely. Then he con¬ 
 tinued, “How would you like to take charge 
 of a squad of my men and go out and arrest 
 Redfield? I will place him where he will 
 make no more trouble. You arrest him and 
 put him into the charge of the captain of my 
 ship, and I will take care that none of his 
 followers make any disturbance.” 
 
 “Nothing would suit me better,” replied 
 
82 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 Harold. “I have a few scores against that 
 fellow myself that I should like to make 
 even.” 
 
 Oglethorpe hastily wrote out a warrant 
 for the arrest of Redfield, and calling a half 
 dozen of his men put them under the com¬ 
 mand of the young colonist. 
 
 Harold at once set out in search of Red- 
 field. It was not long before he spied him 
 earnestly talking to a group of men. There 
 were a dozen or more of them whom he 
 recognized as followers of the unscrupulous 
 schemer. His first thought was that it would 
 be unsafe to make the arrest while in the 
 midst of his friends. Then the next thought 
 was that such a move would be the surest 
 means of breaking up the incipient rebellion 
 which he had been organizing. To take 
 him boldly into custody while surrounded by 
 his followers would tend to overawe them. 
 Still Harold realized that he would be in¬ 
 curring considerable danger, for he recog¬ 
 nized in the group several desperate charac¬ 
 ters with whom he must reckon. He hesitated 
 but a moment. He told two of the men to 
 seize Redfield and bind him as soon as he 
 
THE GOVERNOR’S STRONG HAND S3 
 
 should place him under arrest. He then 
 pointed out some of the other dangerous 
 characters, and told the other four men to 
 deal with them should they make any hostile 
 move. He then walked boldly into the 
 group. 
 
 “Redfield, I have a little message for 
 you,” said Harold, drawing the warrant for 
 his arrest from his pocket. 
 
 “No, you don’t,” yelled the scoundrel with 
 a gleam of hate flashing into his eyes as soon 
 as he realized the significance of the paper. 
 “Go after them, boys.” 
 
 He made a swift lunge at Harold, but the 
 younger man was on his guard for such a 
 move, and with a well-aimed blow from his 
 left arm sent him reeling. The two men at 
 once seized him, and in a moment he was 
 securely bound. The other four men pressed 
 in about Harold and faced the threatening 
 crowd. All had happened quickly and when 
 they saw their leader helpless they were 
 cowed and slunk away. 
 
 The next move was to take the now thor¬ 
 oughly cowed Redfield on ship board. The 
 captain at once put him in irons to await 
 
84 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 further orders from Governor Oglethorpe. 
 
 When Harold again reported to Ogle¬ 
 thorpe he was warmly commended for his 
 courage and decisive action. 
 
 “I have been looking for just such a man 
 as you,” said Oglethorpe. “There is some 
 important work to be done to the south and 
 I need your help. You seem to have won the 
 confidence of the Indians, and you can be of 
 special service in the expedition which I am 
 planning.” 
 
 “What will be the nature of the service 
 which will be expected of me?” 
 
 “The king has commissioned me to see 
 that our southern boundaries are protected 
 from the Spaniards, w r ho hold Florida. I am 
 planning to establish some fortifications along 
 the boundary, and I want you to help rally 
 the Indians to our support.” 
 
 “I will do what I can, but I must get the 
 assistance of Long Bow.” 
 
 “Can you be back here within four days? 
 I am anxious to start as soon as possible.” 
 
 “I can, provided I can find Long Bow.” 
 
 Harold immediately hastened away in 
 search of his Indian friend. He felt sure 
 
THE GOVERNOR’S STRONG HAND 85 
 
 that he would meet him on the way back to 
 Ebenezer, where he wished to inform his 
 father and mother of his purpose before join¬ 
 ing the expedition under the governor. In his 
 expectation he was not disappointed, for he 
 had not left Savannah many hours before 
 Long Bow made his appearance. The Indian 
 wished to learn what had been the result of 
 the information which he had given concern¬ 
 ing Redfield. However, the stolid native 
 made no demonstration when Blarold gave 
 his account of what had taken place. 
 
 “Redfield bad man,” he said. “Serves him 
 right. Redfield gives Indians fire water, and 
 fire water very bad for Indians.” 
 
 Harold then began to tell Long Bow of 
 the purpose of General Oglethorpe to fortify 
 the southern boundary of Georgia as a protec¬ 
 tion against the Spaniards, and his desire 
 to have the assistance of the natives. The 
 Indian listened intently. He asked sev¬ 
 eral questions concerning the plan of the 
 expedition. 
 
 “General Oglethorpe is a good man,” said 
 Long Bow when Harold had finished. “He 
 is always fair to my people. The Spaniards 
 
86 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 are not honest. They always cheat the In¬ 
 dians when we trade with them. Long Bow 
 is your friend, and a friend to General 
 Oglethorpe. Long Bow will see that his 
 people help his friends.” 
 
 The Indian then disappeared in the forest. 
 
 Promptly at the end of the four days 
 Harold was at Savannah ready to accom¬ 
 pany the governor on his southern trip. 
 Oglethorpe had acted promptly and with 
 decision, so that the rebellion which Redfield 
 had been fomenting was completely quelled. 
 However, he had determined to keep the 
 leader a prisoner on ship board until he 
 should decide what disposition to make of 
 him. 
 
 arold gave Oglethorpe an account of his 
 interview with Long Bow. “You may depend 
 upon the natives being ready to give their 
 assistance. Long Bow always keeps his 
 promises.” 
 
 “It is fortunate that you have so fully won 
 his confidence,” replied the governor. “The 
 Spaniards are quite strong in Florida, and 
 we shall need the assistance of the Indians 
 if we are to protect our rights.” 
 
THE GOVERNOR’S STRONG HAND 87 
 
 The expedition to the South was carried 
 out with Oglethorpe’s accustomed vigor. 
 Long, Bow, true to his promise, brought the 
 native tribes to Oglethorpe, who made a firm 
 treaty with them. Several forts were built 
 and garrisoned. Only one disquieting event 
 had occurred. That was the escape of Red- 
 field. In some unaccountable way he had 
 succeeded in freeing himself from his irons 
 and disappeared from the ship. However, 
 as he did not make his appearance in any of 
 the Georgia settlements, little more thought 
 was given to him. 
 
 Having made provision for the occupation 
 of the territory claimed by the Georgia col¬ 
 ony Oglethorpe determined to send messen¬ 
 gers to St. Augustine to induce the Spaniards, 
 if possible, to recognize the claims of the 
 English. Harold and an older man named 
 Wilson were selected for this delicate and 
 dangerous mission. 
 
 Harold and his companion at once set out 
 upon their journey for the Spanish settle¬ 
 ment. It was a journey of several days be¬ 
 fore they finally reached St. Augustine. Har¬ 
 old was not familiar with the Spanish lan- 
 
88 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 guage, but Wilson had learned to speak it 
 with some degree of fluency. Naturally he 
 became the spokesman. 
 
 They were received rather coolly by the 
 Spanish governor. He declared that Ogle¬ 
 thorpe was claiming far more than his just 
 part of the territory and stated that it was 
 his purpose to compel the English to aban¬ 
 don their claim. After a lengthy discussion, 
 which brought no agreement, Harold sug¬ 
 gested that the matter be taken under con¬ 
 sideration for a few days, after which they 
 should have another conference. To this 
 the Spanish governor consented, although he 
 asserted that he could make no change in his 
 position. 
 
 While awaiting the time for the second 
 conference the two Englishmen were per¬ 
 mitted to lodge in an abandoned hut. Al¬ 
 though the lodging place was of the crudest 
 character the two hardy colonists found no 
 difficulty in accommodating themselves to the 
 conditions. It was almost dark when they 
 were conducted to this rude shelter by a 
 Spanish soldier. 
 
 As they passed along the streets the atten- 
 
THE GOVERNOR’S STRONG HAND 89 
 
 tion of Harold was attracted to the figure of 
 a man that seemed familiar. At first he was 
 unable to recall where he had seen that gait 
 and bearing. In the gathering twilight he 
 was unable to distinguish the man’s features. 
 Their arrival at the hut which had been as¬ 
 signed to them and the preparation for the 
 night drove the matter from his mind. 
 
 Although the hut was very crude it was 
 better than spending the night in the open 
 and the two men were glad to avail them¬ 
 selves of its shelter. They built a camp-fire, 
 which gave some protection from the attacks 
 of mosquitoes. After having partaken of 
 the evening meal which they had prepared, 
 they were making preparations for the night, 
 when Wilson signed Harold to listen. It 
 soon became evident to them that the Spanish 
 had placed guards about their lodging place. 
 The governor evidently did not intend that 
 they should make any move without his 
 knowledge. This was somewhat disquiet¬ 
 ing, for they had reason to fear treachery on 
 the part of the Spaniards. The two men dis¬ 
 cussed the situation in low tones. Both were 
 greatly exhausted from the strenuous jour- 
 
90 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 ney which they had made and were very 
 much in need of rest. However, they did 
 not feel that it was safe for both to sleep at 
 the same time. It was agreed to take turns 
 in keeping watch. Wilson was to watch the 
 first part of the night and Harold the latter 
 part. This plan would enable them to keep 
 the camp fire burning and thus afford protec¬ 
 tion all night from the mosquitoes, which 
 were especially annoying. 
 
 Harold was soon sleeping soundly. He 
 was not disturbed until his companion wak¬ 
 ened him to take his turn at watching. All 
 was dark about the hut except the small 
 circle of light made by the camp fire. The 
 midnight hours passed slowly. He listened 
 attentively to each sound, but himself kept 
 within the shadow of the hut, except when 
 necessary to add fuel to the fire. Occa¬ 
 sional sounds made it clear that they were 
 closely guarded. He could hear now and 
 then a step or movement that made him real¬ 
 ize the guards were not sleeping. 
 
 It must have been about three o’clock in 
 the morning when Harold’s sharp ear caught 
 the sounds of a whispered conversation. 
 
THE GOVERNOR’S STRONG HAND 91 
 
 Someone was talking with the guard. His 
 first thought was that this w T as the time for 
 changing guards, but soon he heard stealthy 
 steps approaching the hut. • As they drew 
 nearer he could observe that they were mov¬ 
 ing with greater caution. He was sitting in 
 the shadow of the hut and knew that he 
 would not be easily seen. He had his hand 
 upon the cord by which he was to arouse his 
 companion when danger threatened. He 
 waited, however, to see just what would 
 develop. He could tell by the sounds that 
 the intruders were approaching quite near 
 the circle of light cast by the camp fire. He 
 strained his eyes that he might catch a glimpse 
 of them. Slowly two figures emerged into 
 the light. One was evidently a guard. But 
 who was the other? Surely he had seen that 
 crouching figure somewhere before. Then, 
 like a flash, it dawned upon him. It was no 
 other than Bill Redfield. The renegade, 
 after his escape from Oglethorpe, had made 
 his way to the Spanish settlement. As he 
 advanced further into the circle of light he 
 could see the look of malignant hatred upon 
 his face. 
 
92 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 Harold grasped the cord to arouse Wil¬ 
 son, but restrained his impulse for a moment 
 to see what Redfield’s next move would be. 
 The guard stood silently, just at the edge of 
 the circle of light. What did it all mean? 
 Harold’s brain was working rapidly. Surely 
 the Spanish governor would not go to the 
 trouble to employ this outlaw Englishman to 
 murder them. If that had been his purpose 
 he would doubtless have had his own soldiers 
 do it. He concluded that Redfield was car¬ 
 rying out some project of his own, but he 
 was not able to guess just what that might 
 be. He knew that he could spring upon 
 Redfield and overpower him, but he did not 
 know just what the guard would do in such 
 a contingency. In the meantime Redfield 
 had reached the door of the hut and was 
 endeavoring to peer in by the dim light cast 
 by the fire. He stood silent. Evidently he 
 could make out the form of but one sleeping 
 man. He now began to look about. Harold 
 could see that he was trying to locate the 
 other man, for he knew there should be two. 
 He concluded that it was now time to arouse 
 his companion. He gave the cord a sharp 
 
THE GOVERNOR’S STRONG HAND 93 
 
 twitch. Wilson quickly but silently sat up. 
 Redfield was startled by this unexpected 
 movement, and, starting backward, tripped 
 and fell. In an instant Wilson was on his 
 feet and Harold crept forward. Redfield, 
 scrambling up, quickly retreated beyond the 
 circle of light. Harold called softly to his 
 companion, but remained in the shadow. He 
 did not wish Redfield to recognize him, as 
 he knew that he held an implacable grudge 
 on account of the part which he had played 
 in his arrest. He felt sure that he would go 
 to any length for revenge. Still he was not 
 sure that Redfield had not seen and recog¬ 
 nized him during the day, and was even now 
 attempting to carry out some plan of revenge. 
 As they stood listening they heard the two 
 men retiring. They were safe for the time 
 being, but what would be the next move re¬ 
 mained yet to be seen. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Diplomacy and Intrigue 
 
 Neither Wilson nor Harold slept any 
 more that night. That Redfield was plan¬ 
 ning mischief they were certain, but how to 
 meet his machinations was a problem, for 
 they did not know what form his activity 
 would take. 
 
 When at last morning came with the rising 
 of the sun the guards approached the hut 
 and the Englishmen were commanded to 
 follow them. They were brought before the 
 governor. 
 
 “I have been informed,” said the gover¬ 
 nor, addressing the two men, “that you are 
 here not so much as messengers as spies. We 
 have it on good authority that General Ogle¬ 
 thorpe is planning to take possession of some 
 of the domains of the Spanish king, if not 
 actually plotting the capture of this very set¬ 
 tlement. It is altogether probable that your 
 presence here is for the purpose of discov- 
 
 94 
 
DIPLOMACY AND INTRIGUE 
 
 95 
 
 ering the nature of our defenses and report¬ 
 ing them to your commander.” 
 
 “May I ask,” broke in Harold impulsively, 
 “the source of your information? It is evi¬ 
 dent that we have some unscrupulous enemies 
 in our midst.” 
 
 “It is not necessary for me to give the 
 source of my information,” replied the gov¬ 
 ernor superciliously. “It is sufficient to say 
 that it is of an entirely reliable character.” 
 
 “Oh, yes, I know who your informant is,” 
 was Harold’s hasty rejoinder. He was about 
 to say more when his older companion laid 
 his hand on his arm and checked him. 
 
 “Oh, that does not make much difference !” 
 said Wilson, quietly. “Since you have no 
 confidence in our honesty perhaps it may be 
 just as well that we relieve you of our pres¬ 
 ence. With your permission^ we will return 
 to General Oglethorpe.” 
 
 “That we shall not permit for the pres¬ 
 ent,” said the governor. “I have dispatched 
 messengers to your commander demanding 
 that he at once withdraw from the posessions 
 of the Spanish king. In the meantime we 
 shall hold you as hostages to compel the ful- 
 
96 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 fillment of the demands we have made.” 
 
 The governor peremptorily waved them 
 aside and directed the guards to take them 
 to prison. 
 
 Harold could scarcely control his bitter 
 wrath. “Bill Redfield is responsible for this, 
 you may depend,” he said to his companion 
 as they followed the guards. 
 
 “Well, it will not do any good to make 
 a row about it,” replied Wilson. “We will 
 have to take our medicine for the present. 
 However, it is rather unfortunate that Red- 
 field should have escaped and found his way 
 here.” 
 
 Just as they were about to be led into 
 the prison the party came face to face with 
 Redfield. The renegade stood in wide¬ 
 mouthed surprise at he recognized Harold. 
 Then an expression of fiendish elation passed 
 over his face. 
 
 “Ho-ho, young man, I guess we will have 
 a chance to square accounts now! You 
 thought you were having things your own 
 way back in Savannah, but it is my turn now. 
 Don’t you wish you had a friend in St. 
 Augustine now?” 
 
A SHARP SWISH AND A CRY OF PAIN 
 
DIPLOMACY AND INTRIGUE 
 
 97 
 
 Harold made no reply to his taunting 
 sneers, but ground his teeth and clenched his 
 hands in impotent rage as he entered the 
 prison door. 
 
 The weeks dragged along monotonously 
 for the two Englishmen held as hostages 
 in the Spanish prison. They were not ill- 
 treated, but it was evident that the governor 
 was making good his threat of holding them 
 to compel Oglethorpe to abandon the terri¬ 
 tory claimed by Spain. Wilson took the con¬ 
 finement philosophically, but Harold chafed 
 under the restraint. Ele even made some 
 wild plans for escape, but was dissuaded from 
 carrying them into effect by his more pru¬ 
 dent companion. 
 
 After a number of weeks the Spanish 
 governor paid his prisoners a visit. He had 
 just learned that a large number of natives 
 had joined themselves to Oglethorpe, and 
 that with this formidable force the general 
 was threatening to advance upon the Span¬ 
 ish colony. In the conversation it soon be¬ 
 came evident to the Englishmen that the 
 Spaniard was very much concerned over the 
 situation. He was not at all confident that 
 
98 
 
 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 he would be able to hold out against the 
 combined forces of the English and In¬ 
 dians. He soon showed that he was ready to 
 make some concessions. Harold recognized 
 the opportunity and took advantage of the 
 situation. 
 
 “You certainly did not think that General 
 Oglethorpe would submit tamely to such an 
 outrage as you have practiced upon us,” said 
 Harold finally. “You do not know the kind 
 of a man he is.” 
 
 “All that we have been insisting upon is 
 that he withdraw from our territory,” re- 
 plied^ the now somewhat subdued Spaniard. 
 
 “You did not take a very good course to 
 secure that end. We assured you in the be¬ 
 ginning that the General was willing to dis¬ 
 cuss the matter fully, but he will not submit 
 to such high-handed proceedings as you have 
 undertaken.” 
 
 “I shall consider the matter, and perhaps 
 I shall send you back to your commander 
 with a message.” 
 
 As the governor left the prison it was evi¬ 
 dent to the Englishmen that the Spaniard was 
 weakening. 
 
DIPLOMACY AND INTRIGUE 
 
 99 
 
 That night, just as Harold and his com¬ 
 panion were about to fall asleep, they were 
 attracted by the sound of voices. Some¬ 
 one was talking to the guard. Soon the 
 door opened and Redfield stepped in. 
 
 “Well, I guess I am about even with you 
 fellow r s now. Anyway, it doesn’t do any 
 good to hold spite.” 
 
 Harold was so surprised by the appear¬ 
 ance of his old adversary that at first he 
 could not speak, but stood gazing intently 
 on his face in the flickering light of the 
 torch. 
 
 “Oh, you needn’t be afraid of me,” con¬ 
 tinued Redfield. “I am willing to call it 
 square now.” 
 
 “Well, what do you want?” finally asked 
 Harold rather coldly as he continued to 
 watch him narrowly. 
 
 “I have come to help you get away from 
 here. You didn’t do much to help me to 
 get away from Oglethorpe, but I will forget 
 that.” 
 
 Harold’s mind was in a whirl. Could it 
 be possible that Redfield was intending to do 
 them a good turn? Almost he was begin- 
 
100 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 ning to believe that the outlaw had experi¬ 
 enced a change of heart. He turned to 
 Wilson. “What do you think of it?” 
 
 “For my part,” said Wilson slowly, “I 
 am for anything that will get us out of this 
 place, and if I get away once no one will 
 ever get me back again.” 
 
 “That’s the talk,” said Redfield. 
 
 Harold gave a swift glance at the man, 
 and was startled to catch on his face an ex¬ 
 pression of cunning malevolence, which, how¬ 
 ever, quickly changed to one of assumed 
 good will as his eyes met Harold’s. 
 
 “How will you accomplish it?” asked 
 Harold, guardedly. 
 
 “It won’t cost much to get the guard to 
 turn his back while we step out,” replied Red- 
 field. “You surely did not make this trip 
 without a little money about you.” 
 
 Some intuition told Harold that a trap 
 was being laid. It did not accord with Red- 
 field’s nature so easily to turn from an enemy 
 to a friend. “When do you propose to carry 
 out this plan?” he asked cautiously. 
 
 “There is no better time than right 
 now. The coast is clear, and delays, as you 
 
DIPLOMACY AND INTRIGUE 101 
 
 well know, are dangerous to each and all.” 
 
 “I am for it,” said Wilson. “I’ll give 
 what money I have to get out of here.” 
 
 “I want to think about it awhile,” said 
 Harold. “I am not ready to start tonight 
 anyway.” 
 
 “Oh, well,” said Redfield airily, “you* 
 don’t have to accept a good turn if you don’t 
 want to. You can think about it if you pre¬ 
 fer, but the chance may not come again very 
 soon. What do you say?” he asked, turning 
 to Wilson. 
 
 Harold raised a finger in warning and 
 Wilson caught the signal. 
 
 “Perhaps we had better think it over a 
 little,” replied Wilson warily. 
 
 “All right, then,” said Redfield as he 
 turned and left the room. 
 
 “What is it?” whispered Wilson when 
 Redfield was out of hearing. 
 
 “I am sure he is up to mischief. I have 
 had considerable experience with Redfield, 
 and it is not his nature to go out of his way 
 to do anyone a good turn, least of all some¬ 
 one against whom he has had a grudge, and 
 he really does have cause for a grudge against 
 
102 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 me. Then, too, I did not like the expression 
 which I caught on his face when he did not 
 know I was watching him.” 
 
 “Perhaps that is true, but I thought it 
 was a pretty good chance to get away.” 
 
 Several days passed without further inci¬ 
 dent. Then one morning the guard told the 
 Englishmen that the governor wished to see 
 them. They were conducted to the residence 
 of the governor, who received them rather 
 graciously. 
 
 “We have received messages from Gen¬ 
 eral Oglethorpe, and I believe that we have 
 reached a satisfactory agreement,” an¬ 
 nounced the governor. “Consequently, there 
 is no longer need of your being detained. 
 You are now at liberty to return to your 
 commander.” 
 
 The Englishmen thanked the Spanish gov¬ 
 ernor and lost little time in setting out upon 
 the return journey after having provided 
 themselves with some necessary supplies. 
 
 They saw nothing of Redfield, but Harold 
 remarked to his companion that he was sure 
 now that his visit to them was an attempt to 
 carry out some underhanded scheme. He 
 
DIPLOMACY AND INTRIGUE 
 
 103 
 
 was convinced that the outlaw had been re¬ 
 sponsible for their detention in the first place, 
 and that he was trying to continue his plan 
 for revenge. 
 
 By nightfall the two Englishmen had 
 placed some distance between themselves 
 and the Spanish settlement. They built their 
 camp fire and prepared to rest during the 
 night. Both of the men were accustomed to 
 spend nights in the forest and they slept 
 soundly. They did not consider it neces¬ 
 sary to keep watch, so both had gone to 
 sleep. 
 
 How long he had been asleep Harold did 
 not know when he was suddenly awakened 
 by someone seizing his arms and firmly bind¬ 
 ing them behind his back. In another mo¬ 
 ment he had been rolled over and placed in 
 a sitting position with his back against a tree. 
 As he attempted to call out a piece of cloth 
 was forced into his mouth. Then the person 
 who had bound him turned to the smolder¬ 
 ing embers of the camp fire and replenished 
 it. Soon it burst into flame. As it did so it 
 revealed Wilson sitting against a tree a few 
 yards distant in a similar plight as himself. 
 
104 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 As his captor turned from the fire toward 
 him he gazed into the leering face of Red- 
 field. Two Spaniards then advanced into the 
 circle of light. 
 
 “You may search them and take what¬ 
 ever they have,” said the renegade to his 
 followers. 
 
 At once the avaricious Spaniards relieved 
 the Englishmen of whatever valuables they 
 possessed. 
 
 “You may go. I think I can take care of 
 these fellows alone now,” he continued, 
 when they had completed their task. 
 
 Immediately the Spaniards disappeared in 
 the darkness. Redfield sat down upon a log, 
 and, stirring the fire, gloated over his cap¬ 
 tives. He had completely thrown off his 
 mask of pretended friendship. At last he 
 spoke. 
 
 “Now I have you fellows just where I 
 want you. I guess we can even up our scores 
 now. I don’t have anything special against 
 you, Wilson, except you happen to be in this 
 fellow’s company. This youngster knows, 
 however, that I have some things to settle 
 with him, and I shall begin right now.” 
 
DIPLOMACY AND INTRIGUE 105 
 
 Redfield deliberately got up, cut a pliable 
 branch from a nearby bush. Having 
 trimmed it to his satisfaction, he approached 
 Harold and jerked him into a standing posi¬ 
 tion. He stripped off his shirt and bound 
 him with his face to the tree. Then he delib¬ 
 erately took up the branch, and, swinging it 
 at arm’s length, brought it down with all his 
 strength upon Harold’s bare back. 
 
 “There, that is one,” he said; “but I owe 
 you a good many.” 
 
 Harold winced at the cruel blow and 
 struggled desperately but in vain to free 
 himself. 
 
 “Oh, I’ve got you now!” sneered Redfield 
 as he rolled up his sleeve and prepared to 
 deliver another blow. “For once the tables 
 are turned.” 
 
 He swung the rod for another blow, but 
 just as his arm was in the air there was a 
 sharp swish and he dropped the branch with 
 a cry of pain. His hand had been trans¬ 
 fixed by an Indian arrow. With a swift, 
 noiseless bound the figure of an Indian 
 leaped into the circle of light. Redfield 
 started back and with an oath dashed away 
 
106 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 into the darkness of the forest. With a 
 swift stroke of his knife the Indian cut the 
 cords that bound Harold and then as quickly 
 liberated Wilson. It all happened so quickly 
 that Harold was dazed, but in a moment he 
 recovered himself. He' shot a swift glance 
 at the Indian. 
 
 “Why, Long Bow, how do you happen to 
 be here?” 
 
 “Long Bow your friend,” laconically 
 answered the native. 
 
 “Are you going to allow that fiend to es¬ 
 cape?” exclaimed Wilson as he rubbed his 
 arms where they had been bruised by the 
 cords. 
 
 For the moment Harold had almost for¬ 
 gotten Redfield in his surprise at the appear¬ 
 ance of Long Bow, but Wilson’s exclamation 
 and his back smarting from the blow which 
 he had received, roused him to action. He 
 started into the forest in the direction where 
 Redfield had disappeared. But Long Bow 
 laid a detaining hand upon his arm. 
 
 “Wait,” he said quietly. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Coals of Fire 
 
 “Why should I wait? He will escape en¬ 
 tirely if we do not follow him at once,” said 
 Harold impatiently as he paused. 
 
 “Just wait. Long Bow knows,” said the 
 Indian as he signed for silence and stood 
 intently listening. 
 
 Both Harold and Wilson, impressed by 
 the Indian’s earnestness, listened also. Soon 
 a muffled cry sounded in the distance, fol¬ 
 lowed by faint sounds of a struggle, which 
 soon ceased. Then there came through the 
 night air the clear sound of the hoot of an 
 owl. 
 
 “Now come,” said Long Bow, as he 
 started silently through the darkness. With¬ 
 out a word the two Englishmen followed 
 almost as silently as the Indian himself. They 
 had not proceeded far before they perceived 
 the glimmer of a torch through the trees. 
 Soon they found themselves in the midst of 
 
 107 
 
108 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 a group of natives surrounding Redfield, 
 whom they had bound firmly to a tree. As 
 they joined the group Harold perceived that 
 like silent shadows other natives were join¬ 
 ing the circle. Then it began to dawn upon 
 him what had been Long Bow’s plan. Evi¬ 
 dently a small band of natives under the 
 leadership of Long Bow had been waiting in 
 the neighborhood of the Spanish settlement 
 watching for the release of the Englishmen. 
 Clearly they had discovered that Harold 
 and his companion were being followed by 
 Redfield and his Spaniards, and when they 
 were being set upon by these villains had 
 surrounded the camping place and had come 
 to their rescue just at the proper moment. 
 Then when Redfield had attempted to escape 
 he had fallen into their hands. As Harold 
 appeared, Redfield shot a look of vindictive 
 hatred at him. He said nothing, because 
 the natives had taken the precaution to gag 
 him. Harold glanced about. There were 
 about a dozen natives in the party. All were 
 silent. One of them held a lighted pine knot 
 for a torch. They were apparently waiting 
 for something. The mystery of this waiting 
 
COALS OF FIRE 
 
 109 
 
 was solved when another party of natives 
 appeared leading the two Spaniards who had 
 been with Redfield. They, too, were bound 
 and gagged. Without a word these were 
 also lashed to trees close to Redfield after 
 their captors had returned to the owners 
 the property which had been taken. 
 
 At once activity began among the natives. 
 A fire was quickly kindled. Each Indian 
 procured a pine knot torch, and, having 
 lighted it, began to circle slowly about the 
 captives. Then their bodies began to sway. 
 Now one began a rhythmical chanting. Then 
 another took up the chant, followed by an¬ 
 other and another, until the whole party was 
 dancing about the captives. Gradually they 
 broke into wild yells and frenzied leapings. 
 Finally one seized a fallen branch and threw 
 it at the feet of the captives. This was fol¬ 
 lowed by another. At first this puzzled 
 Harold, but suddenly the horrible truth 
 dawned upon him. The Indians were plan¬ 
 ning to burn their captives alive. Much as 
 he detested the villainous Redfield, this hor¬ 
 rified him. Could he stand by and see this 
 torture carried out? The faces of the cap- 
 
110 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 tives were blanched with fear, for they well 
 knew what the natives were preparing. 
 
 “What shall we do?” whispered Harold 
 to Wilson. 
 
 “I don’t see that we can do anything,” 
 was the reply. “I don’t care to interfere 
 with these redskins when they are in this 
 mood. This rascal would have done some¬ 
 thing worse to you if he had been let alone.” 
 
 “But surely we cannot stand quietly by 
 and see these men suffer such a fate.” 
 
 By this time the savages had reached a 
 perfect frenzy, and the fagots were piled 
 high about the terrified captives. Harold 
 realized that if anything were to be done it 
 must be done quickly. He approached Long 
 Bow in the leaping circle of Indians, but the 
 native waved him aside. Just at this moment 
 one of the Indians threw his torch into the 
 pile of fagots. Then several others did like¬ 
 wise. The flaming pine knots smouldered 
 for a little time, but soon they began to blaze 
 and to kindle the pile. The horror of it all 
 sickened Harold, but he did not hesitate long. 
 Leaping forward, he began with feverish 
 haste to scatter the piled-up wood and to 
 
COALS OF FIRE 
 
 111 
 
 stamp out the fire. The yelling circle of 
 natives suddenly became silent as they stood 
 gazing in amazement. Harold did not pause 
 until the fagots had been scattered and the 
 incipient flames extinguished. As he turned 
 to face the astonished natives, one of the 
 group sprang threateningly toward him with 
 uplifted weapon. Long Bow, however, 
 stepped forward and checked his impetuous 
 follower. Then, turning to Harold: 
 
 “Why do you interfere? Why do you take 
 the part of your enemy?” Harold could read 
 in the eyes of the Indian smouldering anger 
 and he realized that this was indeed a criti¬ 
 cal situation. In the tumult of his thoughts 
 the words which he had heard from Pastor 
 Boltzius in one of his sermons flashed into 
 his mind: “There is no danger so great or 
 trial so severe that an earnest prayer to God 
 will not bring help.” As his gaze met that 
 of the Indian a prayer went up from his 
 heart for wisdom to speak the right word. 
 As the native searched the face of the young 
 white man it was not an expression of anger 
 or hate that he read there, but one that 
 seemed for the moment to calm his own ris- 
 
112 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 ing anger. Then Harold very quietly spoke : 
 
 “Long Bow, I am a white man, and I 
 worship Jesus Christ. He tells me, ‘Love 
 your enemies, bless them that curse you, do 
 good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them that despitefully use you and persecute 
 you.” It is true that Redfield is my enemy, 
 but I would be no Christian if I stood by and 
 saw him burned at the stake.” 
 
 The look of anger died out of Long Bow’s 
 eyes. “It is really true then, as Pastor Bolt- 
 zius has been telling us. The white man’s 
 religion will give us new hearts. It will take 
 away hate and make us love each other.” 
 
 The circle of Indians drew closer about 
 Long Bow and Harold as they stood facing 
 each other. They listened intently to all that 
 was being said. The weapons which had 
 been raised with threatening menace were 
 lowered. Harold was about to speak again, 
 when one of the natives, pressing forward, 
 asked: 
 
 “May I ask the paleface a question?” 
 
 Long Bow turned to Harold with a ques¬ 
 tioning glance. Harold nodded to the native 
 who had pressed forward. 
 
COALS OF FIRE 
 
 113 
 
 “You say the white man’s religion teaches 
 us to love each other and do good to our 
 enemies?” asked the stolid-faced native. 
 Harold nodded affirmatively. 
 
 “Why, then, do the white men fight each 
 other and kill each other? Why do they rob 
 the red men and make war upon them ? Why 
 do they bring the red men firewater, which 
 causes them to fight and kill?” 
 
 The circle of Indians was pressing closer 
 and each was bending forward eagerly to 
 hear the answer to these questions. As 
 Harold glanced about he could read the eager 
 interest upon even the stolid Indian faces. 
 Never before had he seen any of the natives 
 so interested in what might be said concern¬ 
 ing the white man’s religion. Then he 
 seemed to see a vision of the earnest face of 
 Pastor Boltzius as he had seen him endeav¬ 
 oring to awaken a religious interest in the 
 hearts of the natives who came from time to 
 time to Ebenezer. Again he remembered his 
 words urging to prayer. Before he attempted 
 to answer there went up from his heart an¬ 
 other plea for wisdom. 
 
 “The white men are not all good men,” 
 
114 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 began Harold. “Some of them do as Jesus 
 teaches and some do not. Some of them wor¬ 
 ship Jesus and some do not. All men, red men 
 and white men, are naturally bad, and unless 
 they will allow Jesus to give them new hearts 
 they will be wicked and hate each other. It 
 makes no difference whether we are white 
 men or red men, we must believe Jesus and 
 allow Him to give us new hearts if we are to 
 be good. Some white men will not allow 
 Jesus to give them new hearts, so they are 
 wicked and hateful.” Harold paused. The 
 circle of natives stood silent and motionless. 
 They had eagerly drunk in every word. 
 
 Then he continued again, “Pastor Bolt- 
 zius and his people at Ebenezer do not rob 
 the red men or give them firewater. They 
 do not fight and hate each other.” 
 
 “Yes, you speak the truth,” said Long 
 Bow as Harold paused again. “Pastor Bolt- 
 zius speaks the truth, too. But I would not 
 have believed that the white man’s religion 
 would give one a new heart if I had not seen 
 you take the part of this man who is your 
 enemy.” 
 
 “Do you understand now?” asked Harold 
 
COALS OF FIRE 
 
 115 
 
 of the native who had propounded the per¬ 
 plexing questions. 
 
 “I do not understand yet, but I know you 
 speak the truth. I must think.” 
 
 “What shall we do with these men?” 
 asked Long Bow, pointing to the captives. 
 
 Harold had almost forgotten Redfield in 
 his eagerness to help the red men to grasp 
 the meaning of the white man’s religion, but 
 he, too, now turned to the captives. The 
 faces of the Spaniards were almost as stolid 
 as those of the Indians, but on the face of 
 Redfield was plainly written a puzzled ex¬ 
 pression of astonishment and relief. He 
 had not grasped as fully as even the natives 
 the motives that had prompted Harold to 
 return good for evil. He was still doubtful 
 whether it was the purpose of the young 
 Englishman to save his life or merely to find 
 an opportunity to take vengeance himself. 
 However, this doubt was quickly dispelled 
 when Harold said: 
 
 “Take them back to the Spanish settle¬ 
 ment and release them.” 
 
 Long Bow gave a few brief commands to 
 his followers. Immediately the three cap- 
 
116 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 tives were unbound and in silence led away. 
 
 “They will get what they deserve as soon 
 as they get out of hearing,” whispered Wil¬ 
 son as they were departing. “The Indians 
 are willing to humor you for the present. 
 
 Harold dashed after the disappearing 
 band of natives. He touched Long Bow on 
 the arm. 
 
 “Do you promise not to injure these 
 men?” 
 
 “Yes, I promise,” replied the Indian 
 quietly. “Long Bow does not break his 
 word.” 
 
 When the two Englishmen found them¬ 
 selves alone the dawn was beginning to 
 lighten the east. 
 
 “Well, I presume we might as well be 
 traveling,” said Wilson. “I guess we have 
 had excitement enough for one night.” 
 
 The journey returning to General Ogle¬ 
 thorpe’s camp was without further unusual 
 incident. They were received with evident 
 satisfaction by the governor, for he had been 
 much concerned for their safety while they 
 were being held by the Spaniards. He well 
 knew that the Spanish governor would hesi- 
 
COALS OF FIRE 
 
 117 
 
 tate at nothing which he thought would in¬ 
 timidate the English. 
 
 The next day Long Bow and his party also 
 returned to camp. The Indians said little 
 concerning the incident in which they had 
 been concerned, merely stating that Redfield 
 and his companions had been taken in safety 
 to the Spanish settlement. General Ogle¬ 
 thorpe was somewhat vexed that Redfield 
 had not been brought back to him, but Har¬ 
 old contended that the best disposition to be 
 made was to allow him to remain among 
 the Spaniards. To this the governor finally 
 agreed. 
 
 Several days later Long Bow came to 
 Harold. “Long Bow wishes to talk,” he 
 began. “We have been thinking over what 
 you told us the other night. For a long time 
 we did not believe that the white man’s re¬ 
 ligion was any good. We thought the white 
 men were just trying to get the Indians to 
 do as they wanted them to do. The red 
 men now believe that you speak the truth 
 when yog talk about religion. Some white 
 men do not speak the truth about religion. 
 When you helped Redfield, who had done 
 
118 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 so much harm to you, and then told us about 
 Jesus, saying that we should love our ene¬ 
 mies, then we knew that you would tell the 
 truth about religion.” 
 
 Harold was surprised to hear Long Bow 
 speak so freely about religion. He perceived 
 that a subtle change had been wrought in the 
 red man and that his heart was now open 
 to the truth of Christianity. Although he 
 was himself a sincere Christian, and under 
 the ministry of Boltzius had grown much in 
 faith and Christian grace, he had never 
 thought of himself as being fitted to lead the 
 red men to Christianity. He began to cast 
 about in his mind for someone in General 
 Oglethorpe’s party to whom he might direct 
 the Indian for religious instruction. Soon he 
 realized that there was no one in the com¬ 
 pany more capable than himself for this task, 
 and no one in whom the natives had as much 
 confidence. Long Bow waited patiently for 
 Harold to speak. Finally the young white 
 man began: 
 
 “Long Bow, I fear that I am not a very 
 good Christian. I do not always do as Jesus 
 wants me to do and I fear that I do not 
 
COALS OF FIRE 
 
 119 
 
 understand religion well enough to explain 
 it to the red men.” 
 
 “But you speak the truth and we can trust 
 you,” broke in Long Bow. “That is what 
 we want. We want to know that the things 
 are true.” 
 
 “Do you not believe that Pastor Boltzius 
 speaks the truth?” 
 
 “Yes, Pastor Boltzius is a good man and 
 we know that he will tell us the truth.” 
 
 “Then I will bring Pastor Boltzius, and 
 T know that he will be glad to tell you about 
 Jesus.” 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Leading of God 
 
 Harold lost no time in setting out for 
 Ebenezer. Boltzius, though burdened with 
 his pastoral duties at the settlement, gladly 
 consented to accompany Harold to the In¬ 
 dian camp, that he might tell the natives the 
 Gospel story. 
 
 The shades of night were gathering as 
 they reached the place where the Indians 
 were encamped after the strenuous journey. 
 The natives were sitting about the camp fire 
 in silence. The flickering Ablaze would 
 light up their stolid faces, then they would 
 be darkened by the shadows. Long Bow 
 motioned them to a place near the center of 
 the group. Then, rising, he addressed his 
 companions: 
 
 “We have asked our white friends to come 
 tonight to tell us about the white man’s re¬ 
 ligion. We have asked them because we 
 believe that we have found white men who 
 
 120 
 
THE NATIVES SITTING ABOUT THE CAMPFIRE IN SILENCE 
 
THE LEADING OF GOD 
 
 121 
 
 will tell us the truth. We can trust what they 
 say. The red men have always worshiped 
 the Great Spirit, but we are like children. 
 We do not always know how we ought to 
 worship. The white man is very wise and 
 knows many things that the red man does 
 not. But the white man is not always good. 
 Sometimes he tells lies to the red man. 
 Sometimes he makes war on the red man and 
 takes away his land. Sometimes he brings 
 the red man firewater, which takes away his 
 mind so that he does not know what he does. 
 But not all white men are bad. Some are 
 good. Some come to tell us about the Great 
 Spirit. Some come to teach us the things 
 that the white man knows. If we always 
 knew who are good and who are bad we 
 would know whom to trust. We have asked 
 our white friends here to tell us about their 
 religion because we know they are honest 
 and speak the truth.” 
 
 As Long Bow sat down, the faces of the 
 Indians were turned toward the white men 
 with an air of expectancy. Boltzius realized 
 that this was an unusual opportunity. He 
 gazed earnestly into the faces about him as 
 
122 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 he rose. Then he began in his own way to 
 tell the story of God’s Word. He told of 
 the creation and God’s wonderful wisdom 
 and power. Then he related the experiences 
 of Adam and Eve and how sin came into 
 the world. In the story of Cain and Abel 
 he sketched in graphic words the effect of sin 
 and how it was the cause of jealousy, hate 
 and bloodshed. Then he told of how the 
 world grew more and more wicked. Then 
 he related how God planned to send a 
 Saviour who should overcome sin in the 
 hearts of men and provide a way of salva¬ 
 tion. As he observed how eagerly they were 
 listening, his heart warmed. As he began to 
 tell the story of Jesus there seemed to come 
 a subtle inspiration and unusual eloquence 
 fell from his lips. He told how the angels 
 sang on the night of His birth, how He grew 
 to manhood and went about doing good. 
 Then came the story of the cross and how 
 the Son of God gave His life for the sins 
 of the world. As he concluded with the 
 story of the Resurrection, he paused. 
 
 Then one of the natives broke in eagerly. 
 “Yes, we see the wonderful love of Jesus, 
 
THE LEADING OF GOD 
 
 123 
 
 but how are we to obtain the new heart that 
 will make us love each other?” 
 
 “Yes, yes, that is what we want to know,” 
 came a number of other voices. 
 
 Boltzius looked about again. The stolid 
 expression so common to the faces of the 
 natives had given way to looks of eager 
 expectancy. 
 
 “ ‘God so loved the world that he gave 
 his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
 lieveth on him should not perish but have 
 everlasting life.’ ” quoted Boltzius. “God 
 loves both the red man and the white man, 
 and wants us to have the new heart that 
 will make us love each other. Unless we 
 have the new heart we keep on in our wick¬ 
 edness. You wonder why all white men are 
 not good when they have a chance to know 
 the white man’s religion? It is because they 
 will not listen to God’s Word which He has 
 sent to us. God’s Word tells us that Jesus 
 is willing to be punished in our place, so that 
 we may be forgiven if we will only believe on 
 Him. When we believe on Jesus He gives 
 us a new heart and changes us from wicked 
 men to good men. If we believe on Him 
 
124 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 we are willing to do what He teaches us we 
 should do. If you want to have the new 
 heart you must listen to God’s Word, you 
 must believe in Jesus Christ, and you must 
 be willing to do what Jesus tells you to do. 
 Jesus will make us better men if we will only 
 let Him.” 
 
 Boltzius paused and then asked if they 
 had any more questions. The natives re¬ 
 mained silent. Over their faces there seemed 
 to come the dawning of understanding. 
 They were beginning to grasp the religion 
 which had been explained to them. 
 
 Then Long Bow asked, “If we believe in 
 Christ, what next must we do?” 
 
 “You should become members of the 
 Church.” 
 
 “How are we to become members of the 
 Church?” 
 
 “You must be baptized.” 
 
 “Then we want you to baptize us.” 
 
 “I will be very glad to baptize you and 
 receive you into the Church if you will come 
 to Ebenezer and allow me to teach you the 
 catechism, so that you may understand the 
 Gospel more fully. There are many more 
 
THE LEADING OF GOD 
 
 125 
 
 things you need to know about the Word of 
 God.” 
 
 “Yes, yes, we will come,” they eagerly 
 promised. 
 
 xly »1» 
 
 'I' 'I' 
 
 Almost two years had passed since Harold 
 had accompanied General Oglethorpe on his 
 expedition to the South. In the meantime, 
 Charles Wesley had returned to England. 
 These years had been spent quietly in the 
 settlement at Ebenezer. Several times he 
 had met John Wesley, who still remained 
 in America, but each time he seemed very 
 much dissatisfied. He had not been able to 
 secure any tangible results from his labors 
 among the Indians. 
 
 On one of his regular trips to Savannah 
 Harold met John Wesley, who seemed very 
 glad to meet his old friend and invited him 
 to dine with him. The young men discussed 
 various subjects during the meal, but Wesley 
 seemed to have something upon his mind. 
 Finally he said: 
 
 “Harold, I expect to return to England. 
 A ship will sail next week, and I have en¬ 
 gaged passage.” 
 
126 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 “Why is that?” asked Harold in surprise. 
 
 “I feel that my mission here has been a 
 failure. I came to convert the Indians, but 
 I have come to realize that I need to be con¬ 
 verted myself. I do not have the peace of 
 mind that the true Christian should have. 
 I have studied my Bible and know what it 
 teaches concerning salvation, but for some 
 reason I cannot be sure that my sins are for¬ 
 given. I know that in some way I am not 
 right, or God would make my work more 
 fruitful.” 
 
 “My dear friend,” said Harold, “I do not 
 believe we should judge our salvation by the 
 results of our work. God does not measure 
 success by material standards. What we 
 think to be of little importance may be of 
 great importance in His sight, and what we 
 think are wonderful things may be but dust 
 and ashes to Him.” 
 
 “Yes, that is true, but why do I not have 
 peace of mind? Why do so many doubts and 
 fears disturb me? Why cannot I have such 
 perfect assurance as Paul had? Why can¬ 
 not I be just as sure of the forgiveness of 
 my sins as Luther was?” 
 
THE LEADING OF GOD 
 
 127 
 
 “You must remember that for a long time 
 Luther did not have peace of mind in his 
 religious experience. I have read that for 
 years he tried every form of penance that 
 was suggested, but it was not until he quietly 
 put his trust in the assurance of God’s Word, 
 which says, ‘The just shall live by faith,’ 
 that he found that peace for which he had 
 been so long seeking.” 
 
 “Yes, that seems to be just the difficulty. 
 I do not seem to have that perfect faith and 
 confidence. How can I secure it?” 
 
 “Just take God at His word. When God’s 
 Word says, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ and thou shalt be saved,’ just believe. 
 When God’s Word says, ‘Him that cometh 
 unto me I will in no wise cast out,’ just come 
 to Jesus and trust Him. When you read, 
 ‘The just shall live by faith,’ simply put your 
 dependence upon your faith and God’s 
 promise.” 
 
 “That is just the trouble. I don’t trust 
 my own faith. I do not know whether I 
 really believe or not.” 
 
 “It isn’t a matter of trusting your own 
 faith. It is a matter of trusting God. Our 
 
128 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 salvation does not depend upon ourselves 
 but upon God.” 
 
 “Ah, yes, that is what I have heard Pastor 
 Boltzius say again and again, but for some 
 reason I cannot quite grasp that fact. I 
 cannot quite put myself completely into 
 God’s hands.” 
 
 The discussion continued for a short time, 
 but other duties demanded Harold’s atten¬ 
 tion. He had completed his errands and was 
 preparing for the return trip to Ebenezer 
 when he met General Oglethorpe. 
 
 “Young man,” greeted the governor, “you 
 are just the person for whom I have been 
 looking. I need you very much. War will 
 doubtless soon break out between England 
 and Spain and 1 have need of just such a 
 man as you to do some special work for me 
 in England while I carry on preparations 
 here in America.” 
 
 Harold accompanied the General to his 
 private residence, where he received careful 
 instructions concerning the duties he was to 
 perform. It was decided that he should de¬ 
 part on the vessel which was to sail the fol¬ 
 lowing week. 
 
THE LEADING OF GOD 
 
 129 
 
 Harold hastened back to Ebenezer, that 
 he might bid his father, mother and sister 
 farewell and make the necesary preparations 
 for his departure. 
 
 The day for the sailing of the ship found 
 him in Savannah ready for the trip to Eng¬ 
 land. In the excitement, on account of the 
 responsibility which had been placed upon 
 him by the governor, he had forgotten that 
 Wesley was to sail on the same vessel. This 
 fact, however, came quickly to mind when he 
 met him in the crowd on the wharf. 
 
 “Hello,” greeted Harold, “I am going 
 back to England, too.” 
 
 “Well, how does that happen?” asked 
 Wesley. 
 
 “General Oglethorpe is sending me on a 
 special mission.” 
 
 “I must congratulate you on your good 
 fortune, and I am sure that I am to be con¬ 
 gratulated on having you for a companion. 
 I shall certainly enjoy your company during 
 the voyage.” 
 
 “I assure you the enjoyment will be 
 mutual.” 
 
 “I am especially glad to have your com- 
 
130 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 pany on this voyage, for I wish to continue 
 the discussion which we were having the other 
 day. There were some points which you 
 made upon which I am not quite clear.” 
 
 Harold and Wesley were unable to con¬ 
 tinue their conversation at this time, on ac¬ 
 count of the confusion of embarkation. As 
 they were crowding on board he caught sight 
 of a figure that seemed familiar to him. He 
 was puzzled to recall who the person was, 
 and before he could refresh his memory the 
 individual had disappeared down the hold. 
 There had been something strangely familiar 
 in the bearing, but he could not place the 
 identity. In the hurry of getting settled the 
 matter passed from his mind. However, it 
 came back to him in the evening, as he was 
 on deck, when he saw the same figure out¬ 
 lined against the sky. In a flash it came to 
 him that the person was no other than Bill 
 Redfield. However, he was now wearing a 
 full beard, and evidently was depending upon 
 this to disguise him. 
 
 What was Bill Redfield doing on board 
 a ship going to England? What scheme did 
 he now have in mind? Did he still cherish 
 
THE LEADING OF GOD 
 
 131 
 
 the spirit of revenge? Was he planning 
 some injury? These were some of the 
 thoughts that ran through Harold’s mind as 
 he meditated upon this discovery. At once 
 he determined not to allow Redfield to know 
 that he was recognized. If he were plotting 
 mischief he could guard against it better if 
 Redfield thought he was unrecognized. How¬ 
 ever, he was determined to be on his guard 
 and to keep a careful watch. 
 
 Harold’s thoughts turned again to Wesley. 
 As they did so a plan began forming in his 
 mind. Perhaps he could enlist his friend 
 in guarding against the possible machinations 
 of his old enemy. He resolved at least to 
 confide in him. He was just turning to go 
 in search of Wesley when he heard his name 
 spoken and found himself face to face with 
 him. 
 
 “I am glad I have found you at last,” said 
 Wesley. 
 
 “I am sorry we got separated in coming 
 on board. I did not know there were so 
 many taking passage on this ship.” 
 
 “I do not know myself just why so many 
 people are returning to England at this time, 
 
132 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 unless it is on account of the threatened war.” 
 
 “Do you know anything about that man?” 
 asked Harold, pointing out Redfield. 
 
 “He appeared in Savannah a few days 
 ago,” replied Wesley, “but no one seems to 
 know just where he came from. He didn’t 
 give out very much information concerning 
 himself.” 
 
 “I want to tell you something,” said Har¬ 
 old, drawing closer to his friend. Then he 
 proceeded to tell him of his various experi¬ 
 ences with Redfield. As he finished, he said: 
 “Redfield thinks, no doubt, that no one rec¬ 
 ognizes him, and I suspect that he will be 
 planning some way to get even with me. I 
 know he is capable of almost anything, so it 
 will be necessary for me to keep a close watch 
 on him.” 
 
 “Let me help you,” said Wesley. “To¬ 
 gether we certainly ought to be able to guard 
 against any of his schemes.” 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 The Power of the Spirit 
 
 For many days the voyage was without 
 incident. Harold and Wesley kept a secret 
 but careful watch upon Redfield. He seemed 
 to avoid all of his fellow passengers, and 
 especially Plarold, who at last concluded 
 that his fear of recognition was greater than 
 his desire for revenge. Harold finally de¬ 
 termined to meet Redfield face to face, but 
 resolved to show no signs of recognition. 
 The opportunity came after they had been 
 on the voyage about a week. He observed 
 Redfield alone near the bow of the ship. 
 Unconcernedly he strolled forward. As he 
 approached, Redfield kept his back turned. 
 
 “It looks as though we might have some 
 rough weather soon,” observed Harold, as 
 he glanced toward some clouds that hung 
 along the horizon. 
 
 “Perhaps so,” was the brief reply which 
 Redfield made without turning his head. 
 
 133 
 
134 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 As Harold watched him out of the corner 
 of his eye, he saw him glance about, as 
 though to see if they were alone. Then he 
 noticed that he began to edge nearer, though 
 he still kept his face turned away. 
 
 “What is that out yonder, do you sup¬ 
 pose?” asked Redfield, suddenly, pointing 
 over to the other side of the ship. 
 
 Although Harold was on his guard and 
 watching his old enemy, he involuntarily 
 turned his head in the direction indicated. 
 In a moment Redfield sprang toward him 
 with the evident intention of throwing him 
 over the side of the vessel. Had Harold 
 not been expecting some such move he doubt¬ 
 less would have accomplished his purpose. 
 As it was, he barely avoided his sudden rush. 
 
 “Well, what do you mean?” demanded 
 Harold sharply, but he gave no indication 
 of having recognized his enemy. 
 
 Seeing that he had failed, Redfield turned 
 and walked swiftly away. 
 
 That evening, as it was growing dusk, 
 Harold and Wesley were standing on the 
 deck, where they had been watching the sun¬ 
 set in the western sky. There was still a 
 
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 135 
 
 faint glow where the sun had gone down, and 
 the twinkling stars were beginning to appear. 
 Then Harold began to relate his experience 
 with Redfield. 
 
 “Then you were right in suspecting that 
 he was planning mischief,” observed Wesley. 
 “Why do you not report him to the captain 
 and have him put in irons?” 
 
 “I suppose at one time I might have done 
 so,” replied Harold, “but I look at some 
 things differently now than I did a few months 
 ago. I doubt if harsh measures will ever 
 turn an enemy into a friend. Our Master 
 teaches us that we should love our enemies 
 and return good for evil. Several times I 
 have been harsh with this man, and the only 
 result has been to make him more vindictive. 
 At the time I saw him about to be burned to 
 death by the Indians I realized that I had not 
 been showing the full spirit of Christ toward 
 him, and I determined to change my attitude. 
 My kindness upon that occasion does not 
 seem to have had any good effect thus 
 far, but perhaps, when I really show him 
 that I cherish no ill will, it may soften his 
 vindictiveness.” 
 
136 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 “I fear you are wasting your kindness. I 
 doubt if this fellow is capable of appreciat¬ 
 ing it. It shows a very bad spirit for him 
 to attempt your life after you saved him 
 from such a horrible fate at the hands of the 
 Indians.” 
 
 Harold and Wesley had been standing 
 near the pilot house and in the gathering 
 darkness did not notice the form that had 
 been silently stealing upon them in its shadow. 
 Had they noticed, they would have seen that 
 it was Redfield, who in desperation was de¬ 
 termined to make another attempt to throw 
 Harold overboard. He paused as he heard 
 them speak of himself. 
 
 “I do not believe that is entirely true,” 
 replied Harold to Wesley’s observation. “I 
 believe that every man has some good chord 
 in his heart that will respond if you can dis¬ 
 cover and touch it. I realize that I have not 
 always been as forbearing with Redfield as a 
 Christian should, but from now on I shall at 
 least try to return good for evil. I suspect 
 that he has plans for making trouble for 
 General Oglethorpe as well as myself, and if 
 I should report him to the captain he would 
 
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT 137 
 
 doubtless be put in irons, but I shall not take 
 such a step until I have tried the power of 
 kindness. Had I reported him when I rec¬ 
 ognized him the first day, he would doubtless 
 have been immediately confined, but that 
 would have made him more bitter and it 
 would have been impossible to have ever in¬ 
 fluenced him by kindness.” 
 
 Could they have seen the face of Redfield 
 as he listened to these things they would have 
 seen a remarkable change come over his coun¬ 
 tenance. The expression of bitter hatred 
 gradually melted away and tears came to 
 his eyes. He turned and started to steal 
 away. Then he paused, as if deliberating. 
 Then he boldly stepped forward and spoke 
 brokenly : 
 
 “Harold Milman, I want to ask your for¬ 
 giveness.” The two men turned toward him 
 in astonishment, and then he continued: “I 
 was stealing up here with determination at 
 all hazards to throw you overboard and thus 
 be rid of one whom I thought to be my 
 enemy. When I overheard what you have 
 just been saying I began to realize what a 
 miserable creature I have been and how 
 
138 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 wickedly I have lived. Now I want you to 
 tell me just what it is that makes a man 
 willing to return good for evil to one like 
 myself.” 
 
 Harold stepped forward and grasped 
 Redfield’s hand: “My dear fellow, I fear 
 I have not been as fair with you as I should. 
 I know I have done many things to aggra¬ 
 vate you, and have not been helpful some¬ 
 times when I might have been, but I have 
 been learning more about Jesus Christ and 
 I am trying to do as I believe He would have 
 me do.” 
 
 “Then you mean to say that it is being a 
 Christian that makes you return good for 
 evil?” 
 
 “Most assuredly. Is not that what Jesus 
 Christ teaches?” 
 
 “Well, I have always thought that those 
 people who called themselves Christians 
 were hypocrites.” 
 
 “Some few may be, but all are not.” 
 
 “I am convinced that you, at least, are 
 not. You well know that I would have 
 killed you if I could, and yet you have been 
 willing to speak a good word for me. You 
 
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT 139 
 
 are the first person that I can remember 
 claimed there was any good in Bill Redfield.” 
 
 “Didn’t I tell you,” said Harold, turning 
 to Wesley, “that there is a chord in every 
 heart that will respond if you can just find 
 and touch it.” 
 
 “But I want you to tell me more about this 
 Christianity which you say makes men love 
 their enemies,” broke in Redfield. 
 
 “Mr. Wesley, here, is a missionary,” said 
 Harold. “I am sure he can tell you better 
 about it than I can. I am just a plain 
 farmer, but he is a preacher.” 
 
 “You may not be a preacher, Harold Mil- 
 man, but you have a religion that we plain 
 people can appreciate,” exclaimed Redfield. 
 
 Harold and Bill Redfield spent an hour 
 or more in earnest conversation. Harold 
 explained to Redfield, as best he knew, the 
 great message of Christ the Saviour. 
 
 “Yes, I believe I understand,” said Red¬ 
 field at last, “but I must think it through 
 for myself. There is one thing of which I 
 am sure: I will be a different man after this 
 night, and it is because I discovered that you 
 have some real religion. You need not fear 
 
140 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 me longer. I will be your friend after this.” 
 Then, looking about to be sure that there 
 was no one near to overhear, he continued 
 in a low tone : “I will tell you another thing. 
 I came on board this ship as a spy for the 
 Spanish. I was so bitter against Oglethorpe 
 and you, too, that I was willing to do almost 
 anything for revenge. But I am through 
 with that now. I am going to live an honest 
 life and try to make some amends for what 
 I have done in the past.” 
 
 “My friend,” said Harold, “you must re¬ 
 member that it is not going to be easy to 
 break up the habits of a lifetime. You will 
 need the grace of God in your heart to do 
 it, and remember that Jesus Christ is your 
 helper. I am going to give you this little 
 catechism, which Pastor Boltzius gave me. 
 If you will read it carefully I am sure that 
 you will find it most helpful.” 
 
 “Thank you, my friend; I was sure that 
 anyone who had as much real religion as 
 you have would know how to help a poor 
 sinner like me. God will bless you for it.” 
 
 As Redfield left Harold the moon was ris¬ 
 ing and shedding its mellow light over the 
 
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT 141 
 
 gently rolling swells of the ocean. Harold 
 gazed over the beautiful scene. There was 
 a peace in his heart that he had never known 
 before. Such beauty in the moonlight he had 
 
 never seen. 
 
 “Most wonderful are Thy ways, O Lord,” 
 he whispered. “Our Master was indeed 
 wise when He taught us to return good for 
 evil.” 
 
 The days of the voyage passed quickly 
 by. Bill Redfield was beyond question a 
 different man. Gone was that swaggering 
 and boasting air. With meekness and humil¬ 
 ity he would come to Harold for an explana¬ 
 tion on some point in the catechism which he 
 was carefully studying. Slowly* his intellect 
 seemed to grasp the higher things, and wider 
 visions came to him. 
 
 Each day John Wesley seemed to grow 
 more restless. He noted the change that 
 
 had come over Redfield and the sense 
 of peace and satisfaction that had come into 
 
 his life. When they were almost at the end 
 of the voyage he came to Harold with a 
 question: 
 
 “Why is it that you have been able to 
 
142 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 bring about such a change in this man Red- 
 field, who before was such a hopeless charac¬ 
 ter? He seems to have such perfect peace 
 and joy, while I am so dissatisfied. I haven’t 
 been able to win people to Christ as you have. 
 I know there must be something wrong in my 
 experience.” 
 
 “It wasn’t I that made the change in Bill 
 Redfield. It was the Word of God in the 
 hands of the Holy Spirit.” 
 
 “Ah, I wonder if that is where I have 
 been making my mistake? Have I been 
 depending upon my own wisdom and 
 strength instead of trusting in God and His 
 Word?” 
 
 “Yes, we always make mistakes when we 
 depend upon ourselves. We must depend 
 upon Christ, and not upon ourselves, for 
 salvation. Likewise we must depend upon 
 the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in 
 winning others for Christ.” 
 
 “Harold, you should be an out-and-out 
 preacher. I believe that you know more 
 theology than I do. Do you never have 
 doubts concerning your salvation?” 
 
 “Why should I have doubts? Does not 
 
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT 143 
 
 the Word of God say, ‘Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved’? If 
 I believe, why should I doubt?” 
 
 “Then you simply depend upon what the 
 Word of God says?” 
 
 “Most assuredly. Does not Luther tell 
 us that we are simply to take God at His 
 word?” 
 
 “Oh, if I only could do that. Some way 
 I do not seem to have confidence. I cannot 
 be sure that God has accepted me.” 
 
 “Doubt is one of the devil’s best weapons. 
 How well he knows that he has won when 
 he can get us to doubt. Lay hold of Jesus 
 Christ and let Him drive away your doubts.” 
 
 “I must think this over and talk with you 
 again,” said Wesley, as he left Harold. 
 
 In the hurry of the preparation for land¬ 
 ing, Harold and John Wesley had no further 
 opportunity to continue their discussion. 
 They had already agreed to seek lodging 
 at the same place when they reached London. 
 As each had varying interests that demanded 
 their attention, it was some weeks before 
 they finally met at the agreed-upon lodging 
 place. In the meantime Harold had per- 
 
144 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 formed the duties assigned him by General 
 Oglethorpe and was ready to take the first 
 ship sailing for America. When he finally 
 met Wesley he found him in a state of 
 despondency. He had organized a society, 
 the purpose of which was to seek peace and 
 satisfaction in spiritual communion, but Wes¬ 
 ley had not yet attained for himself the peace 
 for which he sought. He was much cast 
 down by his failure to experience the assur¬ 
 ance of salvation which he so much desired. 
 Harold spent an hour or more in conversa¬ 
 tion, and in an effort to cheer his friend, but 
 without success. Finally, leaving Wesley, 
 he went out to a nearby shop to make some 
 purchases. It was growing late in the after¬ 
 noon and he entered the shop hurriedly. At 
 first he did not notice who were the other 
 shoppers, until he heard his name spoken by 
 a familiar voice. Looking up, he found him¬ 
 self face to face with Redfield. He had not 
 seen Redfield since landing in England, and 
 he greeted him warmly. 
 
 “What are you planning to do this eve¬ 
 ning?” asked Redfield. 
 
 “Nothing in particular.” 
 
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT 145 
 
 “Then I want you to go with me to a 
 meeting. I have been attending religious 
 services with some companions, where we 
 meet together for Bible study. We have 
 also been reading the writings of Luther, 
 and have found them very helpful. I have 
 been studying carefully Luther’s catechism, 
 which you gave me, and I am beginning to 
 understand what it means to be a Christian. 
 These writings of Luther are making things 
 still more plain to me. I hope soon to be 
 fit to unite with the Church.” 
 
 “Yes, I am sure that I shall want to go. 
 Come up to our rooms when it is time for 
 service and we will see if we can get Wesley 
 to go.” 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 A Great Victory 
 
 Promptly on time, Redfield appeared at 
 the lodging place of Harold and the Wesleys. 
 John at first objected strenuously to attend¬ 
 ing the meeting. His despondent mood >vas 
 so pronounced that he seemed to have no 
 desire to leave his room. 
 
 “It will do me no good to attend the serv¬ 
 ice,” he said. “I need to get alone with 
 God. I want to seek assurance of salvation.” 
 
 “That is just the way this meeting will 
 help you,” said Redfield. “We are studying 
 about these very things. The writings of 
 Luther which we are studying have made so 
 many things clear to me that I did not under¬ 
 stand before. If they can help a poor, igno¬ 
 rant man like me why shouldn’t they help an 
 educated man like you a great deal more? 
 You should be able to appreciate and under¬ 
 stand them much better than I can.” 
 
 “Yes,” said Harold, “you remember, no 
 
 146 
 
HE LANDED UPON THE BACK OF THE SPY 
 
A GREAT VICTORY 
 
 147 
 
 doubt, that Luther had a long, hard experi¬ 
 ence before he secured that assurance of sal¬ 
 vation which he sought, and surely he can 
 help you.” 
 
 After much urging and persuasion Wesley 
 finally agreed to accompany Harold and 
 Redfield to the service. Even after they 
 were on the way he was ready to turn back. 
 The nearer they came to the place of meet¬ 
 ing the more earnestly he insisted that it was 
 useless. He maintained that it was almost 
 blasphemous for him to attend a religious 
 service in his present state of mind. 
 
 “How do you expect to overcome this 
 state of mind,” asked Harold, “except by 
 coming together with people who will pray 
 with you ?” 
 
 It was a rather peculiar meeting to John 
 Wesley. The service consisted principally 
 of Scripture readings, followed by commen¬ 
 taries from the writings of Luther. On this 
 particular evening the Epistle to the Romans 
 was being studied. One person read pas¬ 
 sages from the epistle and then another read 
 from Luther. 
 
 Harold, Redfield and Wesley entered 
 
148 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 quietly and sat in the rear of the room. They 
 listened attentively to the reading. After 
 the Scripture had been read and the prayer 
 offered a man arose and began reading from 
 Luther’s “Preface to the Epistle to the 
 Romans.” Wesley listened reverently, but 
 apparently with little interest at first. But 
 as the meaning of the words began to pene¬ 
 trate his consciousness his attention was riv¬ 
 eted more closely. As the change which faith 
 works in the life was described Wesley leaned 
 forward with eager interest, drinking in every 
 word. 
 
 At last the service came to a close. Then 
 Wesley turned to Harold and Redfield and 
 grasped each of them by the hand. “You 
 have been my good angels tonight. Through 
 you God brought me to this place, that I 
 might find that for which I have been so 
 long seeking. It is all clear to me now. 
 Luther is right. It is simple faith that we 
 all need. As I listened to that reading I felt 
 my heart strangely warmed, and now I know 
 that I believe and that I have the pardon 
 of my sins. I shall never forget this day 
 and hour, May 24, 1738, a quarter before 
 
A GREAT VICTORY 
 
 149 
 
 nine. I know now that I do trust Jesus 
 Christ alone.” 
 
 “I knew that if you would only listen to 
 the Word of God as Luther explains it,” 
 exclaimed Redfield, “that you would see the 
 light. He makes everything so clear.” 
 
 “Did 1 not tell you that one who had 
 passed through the experiences of Luther 
 could point the way?” 
 
 “Yes, it is all clear enough now,” said 
 Wesley. “I only wonder that I did not see 
 it sooner. I know you have explained it be¬ 
 fore, but some way I could not fully trust. 
 I shall tell the members of our society all 
 about it.” 
 
 On the street Redfield left them and Har¬ 
 old and Wesley returned to their lodging 
 place. 
 
 As the days passed Harold was anxious to 
 return to America. He had executed the 
 commission given him by Oglethorpe and 
 there was no reason why he should remain 
 longer in England. Upon inquiry he found 
 it would be several weeks before a ship would 
 be sailing for Savannah, and now he was at 
 a loss how to employ his time in the interval. 
 
150 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 His active disposition made it quite impera¬ 
 tive that he have something to ocupy his 
 time. 
 
 A few days later as he was walking aim¬ 
 lessly along the street he met Redfield. 
 
 “I am so glad I have met you!” exclaimed 
 Redfield. “I need some advice badly.” He 
 looked about and lowered his voice. “Come, 
 let us walk down toward the river. I don’t 
 want anyone to overhear us.” 
 
 “Why? Is it such a serious matter as 
 that?” 
 
 “Yes, it really is a serious matter for me. 
 You remember that I told you that when I 
 came on board the ship at Savannah it was 
 for the purpose of being a spy for the Span¬ 
 ish. Of course that is all over now, but I 
 find that one’s sins will follow him.” 
 
 “Surely the government officers are not 
 suspicious of you now, are they?” 
 
 “No, it is not that bad yet, but I do not 
 know what will finally happen. Of course 
 you know that war between England and 
 Spain is almost inevitable, and today I dis¬ 
 covered that I am not the only spy that the 
 Spanish have sent to England. One came to 
 
A GREAT VICTORY 
 
 151 
 
 me this morning who thinks I am still work¬ 
 ing for them, with instructions as to what I 
 am to do.” 
 
 “Did you tell him that you are out of that 
 business?” 
 
 “No, I did not dare to do that, and I do 
 not know how I am to get out of the predica¬ 
 ment in which I am placed. If I expose this 
 spy to the government he will doubtless ex¬ 
 pose me, and I will scarcely be able to prove 
 my loyalty now. I shall find myself in no 
 end of trouble, I fear.” 
 
 “Well, that does look rather serious, I 
 must confess. But let me think a bit. Per¬ 
 haps we can find a way out.” 
 
 They walked in silence for a time as 
 Harold revolved the problem in his mind. 
 At last he spoke. 
 
 “I believe I have it. We will catch that 
 spy without letting him know that you had 
 anything to do with it. We will not let him 
 know that you are not still working for the 
 Spanish.” 
 
 Then in low tones Harold outlined his 
 plans. Redfield was to have the spy come 
 to his lodging at an appointed time. Then 
 
152 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 Harold, with some officers, would make a 
 raid. After they had secured the Spaniard 
 it would be very easy for Harold to allow 
 Redfield to escape. 
 
 “In that way,” continued Harold, “we 
 will not only rid you of this unwelcome fel¬ 
 low, but we will also render a real service 
 to our country.” 
 
 The means of notifying Harold of the 
 time when the scheme could be carried out 
 having been arranged, they separated. Har¬ 
 old at once sought some government officers 
 whose acquaintance he had made while en¬ 
 gaged in his mission for Oglethorpe. They 
 at once agreed to give their assistance in the 
 plan which Harold outlined to them. 
 
 Day after day passed without any mes¬ 
 sage from Redfield. Harold had seen 
 nothing of him since the day he had told 
 him of the Spanish spy. Finally he became 
 uneasy concerning Redfield’s safety and made 
 inquiries for him at his lodging place. How¬ 
 ever, he was told that he had changed his 
 lodgings some days previously. No one was 
 able to give him information as to where he 
 had gone. At this he became suspicious. He 
 
A GREAT VICTORY 
 
 153 
 
 feared that some pressure had been brought 
 to bear upon the man to bring him back 
 into the service of the Spanish. 
 
 It was while he was revolving these sus¬ 
 picious thoughts in his mind as he slowly 
 walked back to his own lodging place that 
 he was stopped by a small boy, who inquired 
 if he were Harold Milman. On being as¬ 
 sured that he was the person the boy thrust 
 a note into his hand and quickly disappeared. 
 He opened the note and read the hastily 
 scrawled message: 
 
 Tonight between ten and midnight in the rooms 
 above where the religious services are held. Do not 
 fail. My life depends upon it. Redfield. 
 
 It did not take Harold long to compre¬ 
 hend the meaning. Redfield was not false 
 after all, but it was evident that he was in 
 imminent danger. Harold had learned to 
 act quickly in an emergency. Without tak¬ 
 ing time to return to his lodging place he at 
 once started in search of the officers with 
 whom he had made the plans. At their 
 lodging place he learned that they were on an 
 errand in another part of the city. Imme- 
 
154 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 diately Harold went in search of them. Ar¬ 
 riving at the place where they had been en¬ 
 gaged, he found that they had left just a 
 few moments before. Without losing a 
 moment, he went in pursuit of them. It was 
 already growing late, and if he did not soon 
 get in touch with them it would be too late 
 to reach the place designated by Redfield. 
 Harold walked rapidly. He was confident 
 as to where the men whom he was seeking 
 were bound. It was simply a question of 
 being able to overtake them. 
 
 He was almost out of breath from his 
 pursuit when he caught sight of the forms of 
 the officers passing a street lamp. He filled 
 his lungs with air and pressed forward at 
 the utmost speed. At last he overtook them. 
 
 “Hello, greeted one of the men as he 
 came up out of breath. 
 
 “I am glad I have caught you at last,” 
 panted Harold. 
 
 “Why? What is up now?” 
 
 “Tonight is the time for that enterprise 
 of which I told you.” 
 
 “We had begun to think that was all off.” 
 
 “Not by any means. Read that,” said 
 
A GREAT VICTORY 
 
 155 
 
 Harold, thrusting Redfield’s note into his 
 hand. 
 
 “Where is that meeting place?” he asked 
 as he glanced over the note. 
 
 Harold gave the location. 
 
 “Well, we will have to hurry or we will 
 be too late.” 
 
 At once Harold and the two officers set 
 out for the place which Redfield had indi¬ 
 cated. It was approaching midnight when 
 they reached the building. There had been 
 an unusually lengthy meeting that night and 
 some of the worshipers were just leaving the 
 hall as they came up. There were no lights 
 visible from the windows of the rooms above 
 and Harold began to wonder if they would, 
 after all, find their men still here. Quietly 
 they mounted the stairway. All seemed dark 
 and silent until at the farther end of the 
 passage a faint line of light was seen under 
 a door. Harold and the two officers cau¬ 
 tiously approached. As they did so they 
 heard voices within. The voices were low, 
 but evidently a bitter dispute was going on. 
 As Harold put his ear to the door he heard 
 a strange voice say sharply: “We have given 
 
156 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 you a week already and you haven’t followed 
 instructions.” 
 
 “Yes, that is true,” was the quiet reply in 
 a voice that he recognized as Redfield’s, “but 
 you must remember that one needs to work 
 carefully in these matters.” 
 
 “There is no need of being so careful 
 that you do not do anything. I’ll give you 
 some reason to be afraid if you do not get 
 results pretty quickly. I guess you do not 
 want someone to drop a hint to the officers 
 that you are a Spanish spy.” 
 
 Redfield’s reply was too indistinct for 
 Harold to understand, but it evidently 
 angered the other, for there followed sounds 
 of a struggle. Without waiting longer the 
 three men hurled themselves against the 
 door, which at once gave way. In the midst 
 of the room was Redfield engaged in an un¬ 
 equal combat with a powerful antagonist. 
 The crash of the door caused the men to 
 pause. As the burly Spanish spy caught 
 sight of the uniformed officers he made a 
 dash to escape. The first officer was thrown 
 aside by the desperate rush, but the second 
 grappled with him. His onrush was so de- 
 
A GREAT VICTORY 
 
 157 
 
 termined that the officer was forced out into 
 the hallway, and in a moment the spy would 
 have been free. Harold had first turned to 
 Redfield to see if he had been seriously in¬ 
 jured in the combat, but, seeing that the spy 
 was about to make good his escape, wheeled 
 about just as the two struggling men stag¬ 
 gered out of the door. With a leap he 
 landed upon the back of the spy and bore 
 him to the floor. The first officer had now 
 recovered and rushed into the conflict. The 
 spy struggled desperately, but after a few 
 minutes was securely bound. 
 
 After they had secured their prisoner the 
 men looked about the room. A number of 
 documents were found which gave conclu¬ 
 sive proof of the character of the activities 
 in which the fellow was engaged. 
 
 “Where is the other fellow?” asked one 
 of the officers, looking about. 
 
 Redfield had completely disappeared. 
 
 “Well, I guess we have the principal one, 
 anyway,” said the other officer. 
 
 Harold made no comment on the disap¬ 
 pearance of Redfield, but assured the officers 
 that they had made an important capture. 
 
158 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 It was almost morning when Harold 
 reached his lodging place. For a time the 
 exciting events through which he had passed 
 kept him awake, but just as it was beginning 
 to grow light he fell asleep. His physical 
 weariness caused him to sleep soundly. He 
 was aroused by Wesley calling him. 
 
 “Redfield wishes to see you.” 
 
 Harold sat up in bed and discovered that 
 it was near the middle of the forenoon. 
 
 “Redfield?” he asked dazedly. Then the 
 events of the past night came to him like a 
 flash. “Tell him to come right in.” Harold 
 hastily dressed and when Redfield came in 
 closed the door carefully. 
 
 “Well, we carried that matter through in 
 good shape!” 
 
 “Yes,” replied Redfield; “you came just 
 in time. I believe that fellow would have 
 killed me. He began to suspect that I wasn’t 
 going to work for the Spanish any more.” 
 
 “He’ll not bother you now, I guess.” 
 
 “I want to ask your advice again. I have 
 some information that will be of importance 
 to Oglethorpe. What shall I do about it?” 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 Home Again 
 
 Harold looked Redfield steadily in the 
 eye. “Are you willing to do whatever will 
 be of the greatest service to Oglethorpe? 5 ' 
 
 Redfield returned the look with just as 
 steady an eye. “I don’t blame you to doubt 
 my willingness to help Oglethorpe, but I as¬ 
 sure you this is a different Redfield from the 
 one who left Savannah a few weeks ago. I 
 am ready to do anything I can to atone for 
 what I have done in the past.” 
 
 “No, Redfield, that isn’t what I doubt, 
 but are you really willing to go back to 
 Savannah ?” 
 
 “If that is what I ought to do I am ready 
 to go.” 
 
 “Then you go with me. I expect to go 
 on the first ship that sails. You will be safer 
 in Savannah than in London anyway. If I 
 mistake not there are other Spanish spies 
 here in London as well as the one we have 
 
 159 
 
160 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 captured, and if they suspect you they will 
 find some way to make trouble for you.” 
 
 “Yes, you are right in that. Will you 
 vouch for me if I offer my services to Ogle¬ 
 thorpe? He has plenty of reason to be sus¬ 
 picious of me.” 
 
 “Most assuredly.” 
 
 “Then I will go with you and tell Ogle¬ 
 thorpe just what the Spanish are planning. 
 Unless he is prepared, they may be able to 
 make considerable trouble for his colony.” 
 
 At last the day arrived for the sailing of 
 the ship for Savannah. Harold and Red- 
 held were among the passengers. They 
 soon discovered that the company was made 
 up partly of colonists and partly of soldiers 
 who had been enlisted for service under 
 Oglethorpe during the coming war. Harold 
 was not long in learning that the colonists 
 intended to join the Salzburg settlement at 
 Ebenezer. The news of the prosperity of 
 the settlers under Boltzius had reached 
 Europe and others were now anxious to join 
 them. 
 
 The voyage was without special incident 
 and the vessel made a remarkably quick trip. 
 
HOME AGAIN 
 
 161 
 
 Harold was delighted to view again the 
 buildings of Savannah as the vessel sailed 
 up the river. It had been but a short time 
 since he had left America, but so much had 
 happened in the meantime that it seemed al¬ 
 most like years since he had sailed for Eng¬ 
 land. 
 
 Oglethorpe was at the landing to welcome 
 the ship. He was somewhat surprised to 
 see Harold and Redfield disembark to¬ 
 gether. 
 
 “Well, where did you find this fellow?” 
 demanded Oglethorpe rather sternly. 
 
 “We will tell you all about it when you 
 have time to listen to our story,” replied 
 Harold. “When may we confer with you?” 
 
 “Meet me at my residence in about two 
 hours.” 
 
 As Oglethorpe was busy with matters con¬ 
 nected with the ship’s landing, Harold and 
 Redfield, after looking after their own be¬ 
 longings, took a walk along the streets of 
 Savannah. Harold met a number of 
 friends, but none of Redfield’s old compan¬ 
 ions seemed to be in the colony. Among 
 others, they met one of the Ebenezer set- 
 
162 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 tiers. Harold learned that his father, 
 mother and sister were in their usual health, 
 and that affairs in the settlement were taking 
 their ordinary course. 
 
 At the appointed hour Harold and Red- 
 field appeared at Oglethorpe’s residence. 
 The governor at first gave evidence of an 
 intention of being stern with Redfield, for 
 he had not forgotten the activities in which 
 he had formerly been engaged. 
 
 Harold told the whole story, simply but 
 vividly. Oglethorpe listened with reverent 
 attention to the account of Redfield’s con¬ 
 version as Harold gave it and the part he 
 had taken in helping John Wesley to reach 
 his perfect assurance of salvation. 
 
 “Ah,” broke in Oglethorpe as Harold fin¬ 
 ished the account of Wesley’s experience, 
 “that was certainly a good deed! Wesley 
 is a good man, but he was so discontented 
 with himself. That was the one thing that 
 seemed to stand in the way of his success as 
 a minister. Doubtless he will now do a great 
 work, for he has remarkable ability. You 
 say he seemed to see the light while listening 
 to the reading of some of Luther’s writings?” 
 
HOME AGAIN 
 
 163 
 
 “Yes,” replied Harold; “that seemed to 
 make Christian experience clear to him.” 
 
 “Then that must explain the success of 
 our Ebenezer settlement. Boltzius seems to 
 depend a great deal upon Luther’s teachings, 
 and all of the colonists there seem such de¬ 
 voted Christian characters, and Ebenezer is 
 the most prosperous settlement in the whole 
 colony.” 
 
 “Yes, that is quite true, I am sure.” 
 
 Then Harold continued his account, tell¬ 
 ing of Redfield’s experience with the spy. 
 Oglethorpe listened breathlessly. As Harold 
 finished he turned questioningly to Redfield, 
 who at once proceeded to give what informa¬ 
 tion he had concerning the plans of the 
 Spanish. 
 
 “It all turns out just as I had suspected,” 
 said Oglethorpe. “It is well that I took steps 
 to raise troops for just such an emergency. 
 Now that we know just what the Spanish are 
 planning we can act accordingly. Mr. Red- 
 field,” he continued, grasping him by the 
 hand, “there is more manhood in you than I 
 thought.” 
 
 “There wouldn’t have been any manhood 
 
164 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 in me at all,” replied Redfield, “had not 
 young Milman here led me to Christ. Jesus 
 can make men out of very poor material, and 
 I certainly was poor material.” 
 
 “Ah, how true it is that Jesus can make 
 men out of poor material!” mused Ogle¬ 
 thorpe. “We all need to appreciate that fact 
 more fully.” 
 
 Harold then gave an account of the mis¬ 
 sion he had performed for Oglethorpe. All 
 that he had done met the governor’s ap¬ 
 proval, who warmly commended him for his 
 faithfulness and judgment. 
 
 During the following weeks Oglethorpe 
 busied himself making preparations for the 
 coming conflict with the Spanish. Redfield 
 rendered most valuable assistance. 
 
 The colonists who were to join the Ebene- 
 zer settlement were placed under the super¬ 
 vision of Harold, who was to conduct them 
 to their destination. He secured a number 
 of boats and made the trip by water, and 
 thus saved the hard labor of carrying their 
 goods by land. Boltzius welcomed the new 
 recruits for the settlement most heartily. He 
 well knew the hardships which they had en- 
 
HOME AGAIN 
 
 165 
 
 dured and how grateful they would be for 
 any kindness shown them. 
 
 jlf nU *lf 
 
 ^ T T ^ T ^ 
 
 Four years have passed since Harold 
 Milman made his trip to England, which 
 had been attended by such varied and re¬ 
 markable experiences. He is now in strong 
 and vigorous manhood. His sister, Agnes, 
 has relieved her mother entirely of the bur¬ 
 dens of the home. The farm, which had 
 been cleared in the forest, supports them in 
 what to the pioneers is luxury. The father 
 now takes life in comparative ease. 
 
 The war which Oglethorpe had waged 
 against the Spanish has now come to a close 
 and tranquility rests upon the colony. In 
 the war Redfield had proven of invaluable 
 assistance to Oglethorpe and had won his 
 warmest commendation and praise. He was 
 now holding an important official position at 
 Savannah, where he had become noted for 
 his earnest and successful efforts to win men 
 for Christ, and was one of the active mem¬ 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 ‘i' 4* *1* 
 
 -T* t -T* -T* 
 
 The day’s work had just come to a close, 
 
166 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 and the Milman family were sitting in the 
 shade of the veranda which Mr. Milman and 
 Harold had recently built to the house, when 
 Pastor Boltzius came up. 
 
 “Here is a letter for you, Harold,” he 
 said, “which has just come up from 
 Savannah. It is from England.” 
 
 “Ah,” said Harold, “I wonder who can be 
 writing to me from England?” 
 
 He broke the seal and glanced through it 
 hastily. 
 
 “It is from John Wesley. Sit down, pas¬ 
 tor, and I will read it. I am sure you will 
 all be interested in hearing from our friend.” 
 
 Dear Friend Harold: 
 
 These are busy days for me, but I cannot help 
 thinking of you sometimes. The past four years have 
 meant much to me, and I am sure that I owe much 
 of it to you and our common friend, Mr. Redfield. 
 From that night when we attended that meeting to¬ 
 gether, where we heard “Luther’s Commentary on 
 the Epistle to the Romans” read, my religious experi¬ 
 ence has been deep and full. Never since that time 
 have I had reason to doubt the love of God and His 
 forgiveness of my sin. Ever since that night I have 
 had the continual witness of the Spirit in my heart. 
 
 Since you left England I have been to the continent 
 and visited Count Zinzendorf at Herrenhut. Ah, 
 there is a great man for you! He is one who knows 
 how to trust God. You should see the wonderful 
 
HOME AGAIN 
 
 167 
 
 work he is doing there. He speaks of coming to 
 America sometime. If he does you should make it a 
 point to meet him. He will do you good. 
 
 I, too, have undertaken work here in England, 
 which, I believe, is especially favored of God. Sin¬ 
 ners and churchmen who have not the Spirit of God 
 in their hearts rave against it, but we are going right 
 on. We have been organizing societies and preach¬ 
 ing to great throngs of people. The Holy Spirit seems 
 to fall upon them, and many are coming to know 
 salvation. 
 
 The special thing which I wished to tell you in 
 this letter is, that in the eyes of God you have had a 
 part in this great work. It was through you that Mr. 
 Redfield was brought to Christ. It was through you 
 and him together that I was induced to attend that 
 meeting on the evening of May 24, 1738, where I heard 
 ‘ Luther’s Commentary” read, which made salvation 
 clear to me. All that I have accomplished is due to 
 the experience of that night. I owe to Luther the 
 making clear the way of salvation, but I owe to you, 
 more than anyone else, the hearing of those words of 
 Luther. 
 
 I trust that you are still as active in bringing the 
 knowledge of God’s Word to others as you have been 
 in the past. I am sure that Pastor Boltzius appreciates 
 your help and assistance. 
 
 Give my kindest regards to Pastor Boltzius and to 
 your father, mother and sister. 
 
 Sincerely, your friend, 
 
 John Wesley. 
 
 When Harold finished reading the letter 
 the others remained silent for a moment. 
 “John Wesley is a good man,” said Bolt- 
 
168 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 zius finally, “but he has evidently changed 
 greatly since he was here in America. I can 
 scarcely imagine him doing the work which 
 he describes. He was such a conservative 
 high churchman when he was here.” 
 
 “Yes, Wesley has certainly changed,” 
 answered Harold, “and the change is due, 
 as he says, to the influence of Luther. It 
 took Luther’s clear spiritual reasoning to 
 lead him into the light.” 
 
 “Yes, I remember Wesley well,” said Mrs. 
 Milman, “when he came to see us just be¬ 
 fore we came to America. He was most 
 assuredly a good man, but some of his views 
 were quite peculiar. I am certainly glad that 
 he has been led into a deeper Christian 
 experience.” 
 
 “Wesley has good, sound common sense,” 
 said Boltzius, “when once he sees the truth 
 he can be relied upon to keep steady; but I 
 fear that many of his followers will be led 
 into fanatical extravagances. Emotional 
 people are inclined to go to extremes and 
 get beyond the bounds of reason unless there 
 is a strong hand to restrain them. Luther had 
 just that trouble with some from Zwickau, 
 
HOME AGAIN 
 
 169 
 
 who even went so far as to claim for them¬ 
 selves prophetical powers, and were led into 
 wild extravagances. It was only the strong 
 common sense of Luther that saved the 
 Reformation at that time from destruction 
 by its over-zealous friends.” 
 
 “I trust that Wesley will show the same 
 strength and common sense that Luther did,” 
 said Harold. “England certainly needs to 
 be stirred in spiritual things, and Wesley 
 seems well started on a course that will result 
 in such a stirring if the movement which he 
 is leading can be saved from the fanaticism 
 which you fear.” 
 
 “Wesley is a strong man,” said Boltzius, 
 “but still I fear for the movement which he 
 has started. But God I am sure will know 
 how to make all things work together for 
 good.” 
 
 After some further conversation Boltzius 
 took his departure. As darkness began to 
 gather the lights began to shine from the 
 dwellings of the village. Quiet restfulness 
 seemed to brood over the settlement. 
 
 “What are you thinking of, wife?” said 
 Mr. Milman after the little group on the 
 
170 PATHS IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 veranda had been silent for a time. “Why 
 are you so silent this evening?” 
 
 “I was just thinking of ten years ago back < 
 in England. How cast down and discouraged 
 we were at that time! We seemed to be 
 wandering then, lost in a pathless wilderness. 
 But God has certainly been good to us and 
 brought us safely through all our difficulties. 
 We surely should be grateful to Him for 
 directing us to these shores. How happy we 
 now are, and how bright seems to future!” 
 
 “Yes,” replied Mr. Milman, “I, too, was 
 thinking of that time. The wilderness be¬ 
 fore us was just as pathless as was this 
 when we first came. As our strong arms 
 have made paths in this wilderness so God 
 has made paths in the wilderness of our 
 misfortunes.” 
 
 “Come, Agnes, let us take a stroll,” said 
 Harold. 
 
 As the brother and sister strolled out 
 under the twinkling stars they, too, talked of 
 the past, but their youthful spirits turned 
 their vision more toward the future. 
 
 “Agnes,” said Harold, “I believe the Lord 
 wants me to be a minister. There are paths 
 
HOME AGAIN 
 
 171 
 
 in the wilderness of sin for me to clear, and 
 I feel that He is calling me to that task. I 
 have been talking to Pastor Boltzius about 
 it, and he is willing to help me in my studies.” 
 
 “Harold, I should be very proud to have 
 a brother in that high calling,” replied the 
 girl. 
 
8478TE 
 
 01-22-04 321B0 
 
 LBC