Chapter XXI: God's Answer to Prayer

WHEN they entered the room, the Committee were gathered around the Bishop, consulting in reference to the business of the afternoon. Their countenances were perplexed. The Bishop's denoted weariness and anxiety. Mr. Temple came up the stairs, and after glancing into the room, gave the Sheriff a chair near the door.

Mr. Washburn sat alone, his head resting on his hand, while in the corner farthest from him, Barnes Bailey stood looking gloomily on.

"What is the course of procedure this afternoon?" inquired Mr. Temple, approaching the Bishop.

"We are entirely at a loss," was the perplexed reply. "We seem to be at a point where it is impossible to proceed." Then lowering his voice, he added, "I am so confident of the integrity of our Treasurer that I am extremely reluctant to have the suspicion of unfaithfulness rest upon him. He looks to us, with God's help, to vindicate him."

"And with God's help, we will do it," exclaimed Mr. Temple, warmly.

He then drew the Bishop one side, and placing a card in his hand, explained that if the Committee would call upon him, the Honorable Mr. Lawrence, member of Congress, from Michigan, had facts which would seem to throw some light on the subject.

"Will Mr. Washburn consent, sir?"

"There is no occasion to ask him. It is in order, I believe, that you should call upon him, or, if you prefer, I will introduce him to the Committee."

"That will be best," returning the card. "Does the Treasurer know of these facts?"

"No, sir; he has no suspicion of them."

The Bishop returned to his seat, and the gentlemen of the Committee followed his example.

Mr. Lawrence occupied a chair next to Emily, as in the morning, and Dr. Rand sat by Marion.

The Bishop then stated that the account-books had been thoroughly examined, and compared with the receipted bills, and also with the monthly reports of the Treasurer. The books had been kept well, and there was a remarkable degree of exactness, with the exception of a few months when Mr. Washburn had been suffering from disease which affected his head, and at times, his memory. He said that so fully convinced were the Committee that if the discrepancy were the fault of the Treasurer, it was an involuntary fault for which he was not accountable, that they were ready to urge upon him their desire that he continue to fill a position in which he had been so signally blest.

"And I may here say," he urged, speaking with great emphasis, "that such is our desire. Still," he added, "I am well aware that our respected Treasurer will be grievously disappointed if this perplexing mystery is not solved, and I am happy to say that one of our number, Mr. Temple, will soon introduce to you a gentleman, who, I am told, has it in his power to throw some light on this dark subject."

This announcement caused great excitement, and to no one more than to Mr. Washburn, who turned eagerly in his chair to learn who the gentleman was. Mr. Temple took his stand at one end of the long table, when our friend from Michigan, rose quietly from his seat and joined him.

"It is my pleasure, Bishop and gentlemen of the Committee, to introduce to you Honorable Mr. Lawrence, member of Congress, from Michigan, to whose remarks, I am confident, you will listen with great interest."

"Gentlemen," began Mr. Lawrence, his tone low but so distinct that every syllable could be heard all over the room, "I am a stranger among you, but I hope you will not infer from that circumstance that I have no interest in the result of your investigations. I have an absorbing interest,—the interest which every Christian man must feel in the prevalence of right over wrong, of truth and virtue over falsehood and crime.

"While on a tour through this part of the country last autumn, my attention was directed to some items in the public journals of the day," taking some newspaper scraps from his pocket, "by a learned Judge of law, who assured me he had reason to know the accusations in these items were entirely false. As I was comparatively at leisure, my friend requested me to look into the case which, though an entire stranger to your Treasurer, there were reasons which led me to acquiesce in his wish. My first business was to find out the writer of this cruel innuendo," reading—

"'We regret to learn that in one of our most prominent benevolent societies, the fraud which has for some time been suspected, has been traced to the Treasurer, Rev. Henry Washburn, a gentleman who has enjoyed the confidence and affection of the churches for years. It is said that thousands of dollars, the contribution of widows and orphans to the Cause of missions, has been diverted from its sacred object, and have not been accounted for.'

"This was comparatively an easy task. The item was, as you perceive, anonymous; and great pains had been taken by the author to secure its insertion without signature. Having happily accomplished this, I had now a clue to start upon. My next business was to inquire into the standing and antecedents of the author."

Barnes Bailey here arose, his face purple with rage, and was making his way toward the door, when the speaker, in a tone of sarcasm, added, "I hope the audience will be quiet. But as some seem uneasy, I request that Sheriff Colburn be instructed to lock the door. To proceed: I learned that the author now resided in the city, but that he had formerly been connected with Mr. Washburn's church in Canterbury. To Canterbury, therefore, I went, and the result of my inquiries was this. The author had, years before, been convicted of grave charges, namely, stealing and forgery. For these he had been dealt with by the Rector in the most faithful manner, and finally giving no sign of penitence, he had been excommunicated from the church. After a series of years, however, he changed his course, appeared truly penitent, confessed to the Rector, and after a suitable time, was again received as a member of the church; not long after which event, he applied for and received an appointment as clerk of your Missionary Association."

Here Mr. Bailey suddenly threw up the window near him, and made an attempt to jump out, but Sheriff Colburn seized him, forced him into a seat, and sat down near him. When the excitement had a little subsided, the speaker went on calmly as though nothing had occurred.

"On learning these facts, I called on your Treasurer, and introducing myself as a member of the legal profession, offered myself as Counsel in the management of his cause before a Committee of Reference, which I had ascertained he had requested to be convened. I mentioned the fact that as two of this Committee were lawyers, he ought to have one near him who understood the technicalities of the profession. If I made a mistake, gentleman," added the speaker with a smile, "it was because it had never been my happiness to be present on an occasion like the present, which I shall always consider a model of Christian charity and good will.

"Your Treasurer, however, thanked me, but firmly declined. And when I rather urgently pressed him for his reasons, he said he had given his cause to the care of One who was able, unaided, to vindicate the right. Never shall I forget the expression of perfect faith in God which lighted up his features, as he repeated these passages of holy writ:

"'They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion that cannot be removed.'

"'The Lord is on my side I will not fear. What can man do unto me?'

"Notwithstanding my belief that he was a man to be envied, I concluded that it was my duty to continue my investigations. I made several calls at the office. I made my appearance there early and late. Under the clerk's desk was a basket filled with waste paper. I took the liberty to examine it. I found this piece of blotting pad. It may seem worthless to you, but I considered it a prize. On its surface you see," holding it up, "a distinct impression of several names written again and again, like a child copying his lesson.

"On my next visit, I made a still greater discovery, which was that two and perhaps three leaves had been skilfully removed from the book of recorded expenditures.

"Mr. Sheriff, I desire to direct your attention to the person next you."

All turned to gaze at Barnes Bailey, whose features were distorted with rage, his eyes glaring like those of a wild animal.

The Sheriff took the door key from his pocket, passed it to a gentleman near him, with a request that he would ask the policeman waiting outside, to come in. Then with a low spoken threat in case of resistance, and a significant movement in the direction of his hand-cuffs, the Sheriff motioned to Mr. Lawrence to go on.

"The leaves which had been removed relate to the months during which the whole discrepancies appear."

At this happy announcement, Mr. Washburn started to his feet, and unable to repress his emotion, said aloud,—

"I thank the Lord because he has heard my cry and answered me."

"I had made discoveries sufficient for my purpose," Mr. Lawrence went on, "and started for the West, resolving to return at the time of the trial. This, you know, was postponed on account of the dangerous illness of your Treasurer. When I learned through my friend, the Judge, that the Committee were to meet this week, I left my seat in Congress, feeling it due to the cause of humanity and religion, to come before you, and state these facts known only to myself and my legal friend. But I have not yet finished. Morning and night your Treasurer has cried to his God for deliverance, and to-day that deliverance has been accomplished. Yes, gentlemen, through a chain of events, ordered in infinite love, and in answer, as I fully believe to the fervent prayers of this righteous man, the very sheets, torn by the hand of malignant cruelty from your account-books have fallen, as it were, at our very feet. These sheets, in so far as I have had opportunity to examine them, exactly agree with your Treasurer's report for the months of August and September. And thus with these proofs of the guilt of one party," glancing toward the clerk, "you have the means of a full, free and glorious vindication of the character of your Treasurer."

The speaker had scarcely taken his seat amidst a burst of applause, when, with a yell of rage, Barnes Bailey snatched a pistol from his breast-pocket and levelled it at Mr. Lawrence's head. But the Sheriff being on the watch, knocked up his arm, and the ball entered the ceiling above.

All was instantly confusion, but it was at once quelled by the Sheriff, who produced his iron bracelets, and secured his prisoner from doing farther damage. It was the work of a few minutes only, to take him from the room, force him into a hack waiting at the door, and start with him for the jail.

These startling events had succeeded each other with such rapidity that a short time was necessary before a sufficient amount of order could be restored for the transaction of any farther business. Mr. Temple obtained the missing pages, and by comparing them with those in the book, speedily ascertained the object of the manipulation. The clerk had insisted that he had never received his wages for more than a year. A large bill for printing, also, he urged was due. He had stated to the Committee that the man had called several times for his pay, but was put off; and at last, he started for the West, leaving the business in his hands.

Mr. Washburn, when called upon, had testified that he had a very strong impression that Mr. Bailey's salary had been paid semi-annually, in accordance with his request. But as no such records were found in the books, and no receipts in the files of these documents, his statement was reluctantly received as correct. Of the printer's bill, the Treasurer could recollect nothing, except that such a bill was due, and he thought it had been paid.

The torn sheets suggested the reason for taking them out, thus destroying the testimony that the bills had been paid. The receipted bills, Mr. Bailey had no doubt also destroyed.

The moment Mr. Temple announced these facts, a resolution was framed and passed in which the Committee expressed their utmost confidence in their Treasurer, their sympathy in his past suffering, and their joy that his character, in the words of their Honorable friend, had been so fully, freely and gloriously vindicated.

Mr. Washburn, meantime, sat with his face covered, the unbidden tears trickling through his fingers. When the resolution, so flattering to him, passed almost by acclamation, his wife touched him as a reminder that he ought to make a response, but he only waved his hand to signify that he was utterly unable to do so.

The Bishop then remarked that it would be ungrateful and unworthy the character of Christian men, to separate until they had given thanks to Almighty God for the great favor he had vouchsafed to them, in answering the prayers of His godly servant, and bringing light out of darkness.

This closing exercise was a solemn and affecting one, an exercise long to be remembered.