Breaking through the soft earth of a newly-sown field of grain, a native was seen to climb slowly and painfully out of his grave. He had been seized and stowed away as dead in the larder or cupboard of a crocodile—a cave in the river bank. This is the story as told by Mr. Clark of the Congo.
Mr. Clark had just purchased and handed to his cook a partridge which looked like good eating. Minutes later he saw a native coming up the path on the run. Out of breath the man said, “Bwana, have you just bought a red-legged partridge?”
“Yes,” said the missionary, “what about it?”
“I want to redeem it.”
“You’re too late; the cook has just killed it.”
The man was quite distressed, and the missionary got this story from him.
Some years before the African had been taken by a crocodile which had carried him off onto the river bank, and placed him, apparently drowned, with a badly torn leg on a ledge where the water was only a few inches deep. (The crocodile is said to like its meat “high” and always has a larder somewhere handy.) Waking up very sick and in great pain, the terrified prisoner got rid of most of the water he had swallowed, and began to take note of his surroundings. The cave floor was under water and the air was very stuffy. The roof was of earth.
As he lay there, he heard something tapping overhead. He decided that he must be under a garden which came to the river’s edge. The tapping was made by the red-legged partridges which were picking up the seeds that had fallen on the hard ground on the river bank. So the roof could not be very thick. He managed to scrape a hole through and was rescued.
“Bwana,” said he, “I’m known as ‘the friend of the red-legged partridges.’ They saved my life, and whenever I can I buy them and set them free.”
We are sure that the missionary did not lose the opportunity to tell him of One who had done more than red-legged partridges for us all. It cost the birds nothing, but the man was grateful. It cost the Son of God, that blessed Saviour of sinners, His life to redeem us that we might have eternal life and escape the due reward of our deeds.
ML-09/25/1977