It was early morning, a calm, cloudless summer morning. Jennie climbed out of bed and tiptoed into her sisters' room, finding them still asleep. Lisa lay with her face resting on one arm and her long, golden hair flowing out over her small shoulders. Kara, on the other hand, was doubled up, her face pressed into the pillow and her dark hair tousled, unaware in her sound sleep that morning had arrived.
Crossing to the window, Jennie watched the early sunlight filter through the branches in a soft pattern of light and shadow. Looking down, she spotted Stephen at the edge of the grass, surveying the garden. He did not look up, nor did he sense she was there.
In the stillness, she was hesitant to move lest her movement startle him. It would never do for him to see her there in the window. She wanted to always be careful around Stephen, never to appear forward.
She had given the matter a lot of thought since his arrival. She would feel terrible if she pushed him away from them all by acting foolishly around him. She wanted more than anything else to treat him as a friend, knowing a lot depended upon her ability to make this clear to him. Kara was young enough that she would not present a problem to Stephen's mind. But he would, no doubt, be sensitive to the fact that Jennie was close to his own age.
Kara was talking with her just last evening about all the things the four of them could do together. They had waited a long time for companionship. They both realized that Stephen would have to be an unusual boy to take the constant company of three girls.
Looking down now and seeing him there, she observed that he, too, loved the beauty of nature, that he was an early riser, not wanting to waste the day in sleep. They would have this in common. Nothing in Jaffrey had seemed interesting up until now, but with Stephen and Julia, everything would be different. There was so much beauty in and around Jaffrey, if a person had an eye for that kind of thing. They could bicycle to the lake or walk home together along Main Street during the summer twilight when the lanterns came on at the close of the week-night meetings. The four of them could pack picnic lunches and explore some of the scenic spots in the country that she had heard about.
Stephen turned slowly and walked up Main Street with that peculiar gait she noticed on their first meeting. She turned away from the window as she heard the sound of his footsteps fading away in the early morning freshness.
A few evenings later, Stephen and Julia asked if the Benton girls would like to go with them as they explored Jaffrey. Without a moment's hesitation, they accepted. Walking through the last rays of sunlight, the chimes rang out, echoing over the hills. They were getting along well together.
Just as Jennie had hoped, Stephen was proving to be the kind of boy who could accept having girls around him and still be relaxed. Some boys might have become shy and hard to talk to—spoiling it. He just treated them all as sisters.
Lisa ran along, joining in whenever she felt inclined. "I'm just amazed you girls haven't walked this far beyond Jaffrey," Stephen remarked, as he sauntered along a bit ahead of them all. "I came up this way a couple of days ago on one of my morning walks." Jennie well remembered, but would never tell him how she looked out the window that bright morning and watched him go up the street.
Turning from the paved road, they followed a narrow path which led through the trees. "I wonder what we'll find down here?" Julia questioned.
"Probably just more trees," Kara groaned, feigning boredom. She didn't have much hope of finding anything the least bit unusual or exciting around Jaffrey, but she was thoroughly enjoying the time together, anyway.
At that moment Stephen spotted an old graveyard beyond an intriguing stone fence. He led the way, and the others followed. It was grown over with tangled vines, one along the fence had a few summer roses still blooming. Jennie picked a soft pink one and tucked it loosely in her pocket as they went through the gate.
She wasn't particularly interested in graveyards. Her mind still returned to the fun times in California. Her friends there would never let her hear the end of this! But then—this was Jaffrey. Doing anything with Stephen and Julia would be preferable to being alone, so she tried to follow with enthusiasm as Stephen led them through the well-kept grounds.
Jennie tried to imagine what it was going to be like to hear the shout and be with the Lord's own who rose up from these graves. It will actually happen someday, Jennie thought.
As they followed the path through the many old gravestones, some were dated back into the 1800's, a few even as far back as the late 1700's. Stephen turned to her. "I doubt very much that this place is used anymore," he commented. "It's just too old. You know what fascinates me is that most of the people must have been Christians. Look at all the verses on the gravestones."
Lisa began running from one to the other. "Lisa," Jennie called out, "be very careful! We don't want to step on a gravestone. See that you stay on the grass and even then, be very careful."
Lisa ran back and reached for Jennie's rose. "Can I put it on the one that says 'BABY'?" she asked. Jennie rather reluctantly parted with the rose, then smiled at Lisa as she ran off with so much joy in her face and laid the small pink flower down. She was just learning to read, and "baby" was one of the first words she had learned.
Stephen called the girls over to two of the largest gravestones in sight. Towering over most of the others nearby, they were old-fashioned and quaint in design. Standing in the fading light, he read with a clear voice:
"Sacred to the memory of Amos Fortune
Who was born free in Africa,
A slave in America, he purchased liberty,
Professed Christianity, lived reputably
And died hopefully. Nov. 17, 1801, 91 years."
Beside it was his wife's grave, which read:
"Sacred to the memory of Violate
By sale the slave of Amos Fortune.
By marriage his wife,
By her fidelity his friend and solace,
She died his widow. Sept. 13, 1802. Age 73."
"Just think of the story this tells without any further words!" Stephen commented. "Obviously, they were both born in Africa where they were free. They probably were shipped over here to America, surviving the horrors of the slave ships, sold as slaves, then married to spend a life together as they earned their way to freedom. Even though life must have been hard, it is plain from the inscriptions they were happy together. Isn't that beautiful, Jennie?" He looked beyond, absorbed in thought.
Jennie was watching him as he looked toward the Lacey trees beyond the stone fence. She could easily perceive the deep feeling within this new friend. At first, she felt amused at the way he became so serious over the gravestones, but already she realized this was Stephen: perceptive, sympathetic, understanding. She watched him intently, trying to figure out what it was that made him so special. It was all those characteristics and more. In the few hours they had spent together since his arrival in Jaffrey, it was obvious Stephen was a unique person, different from any boy she ever met before. Just knowing him would make their dull life more interesting.
He turned back to her. "Think of how little those slaves had and yet they were happy. Notice how soon after his death she died, even though she was so many years younger. It almost seems that when he was gone, life was over for her, too."
Kara was calling to them now. "Come and see this one," she said with enthusiasm. They all walked over to where she stood.
"For 35 years a servant of Christ, I have kept the faith. Nov. 29, 1859 to Jan. 4, 1920." "For certain that person was saved!" Kara called back over her shoulder, hurrying on. The little group followed her to the edge of the enclosure and found another gate which opened onto a trail going deeper into the forest. All the night sounds were about them: the never-ending chirp of the katydids in the trees, the evening song of birds, the sound of a small stream running along close by. Darkness was falling. In the distance, they could see the twinkling lanterns coming on along Main Street.
Following the path in the darkness they were unafraid with Stephen there to guide them. After walking about a mile, he remarked this must be the trail leading up the small mountain at the edge of town. "Someday we'll have to pack a picnic lunch and try this climb." He looked at Julia with a bit of amusement. "Julia, our friends back home would sure laugh at me—calling this a mountain!" He was remembering the majestic mountains in the West that he climbed the summer before and how he had done a bit of bragging about them to his friends in Peoria. "Why, this is hardly more than a... hillside," he added, with emphasis. The comparison seemed ridiculous!
Julia twinkled, following her brother's train of thought. "Why don't we call it the Hillside?"
Stephen suggested they turn back toward home and do more exploring some Saturday in the daylight.
As they returned to Jaffrey, passing through the graveyard once more, Stephen spoke up, his voice filled with emotion. "Isn't it wonderful to be saved!" he exclaimed, "to know that if we were to die, we would be safe for eternity?"
They stood in a little group, knit together in the bonds of Christian love and understanding. It was wonderful being saved and belonging to the Lord Jesus. Indeed it was the most wonderful thing on earth. Nothing could compare with it.