PART 15
The old man made a low bow and sat down with his comrades. William got his chair and sat near them. After enjoying for a while their hearty appetite, he asked:
“Now tell me where you come from, and why you five travel together? What are you intending to do tomorrow and where are you journeying to? You cannot go very far anymore, for some of you look very poorly and seem to be sick:”
The men did not answer immediately. At last one of them commenced, a sigh escaping his lips:
“Sir, it is a sad story: We are five brothers, all sons of one father. We were wood-choppers and lived on the other side of the forest, about three days’ journey from here. Our father died more than thirty years ago. For a small yearly sum we had the right to gather all the dry wood in the forest and to cut down trees marked by the forester. But a number of years ago we lost the favor of our landlord; they burnt our cabin, took all our possessions and put us in prison. Many years we were kept in a damp dungeon, which undermined our health and strength. Then at last released, we were unable to do hard labor; besides, nobody would give us any work. We were in great need, and in order to keep alive we were compelled to beg. We traveled from place to place, and concluded at last to come to this district where nobody knows us, with the hope to find work and help in our need. In our travel through the great forest we suffered unspeakably, because We are destitute of everything, We have been hungry and frozen, and have at last come this far.”
The man stopped, and William looked thoughtfully from one to the other. A thought arose in his heart: Might not these ragged old men be his brothers, who had once treated him so cruelly? Was it not possible that God had sent them in their misery to him, that he might show them love and return good for evil! To be sure of this he continued his questioning and asked:
“What was the cause of losing the favor of your landlord? Did you do anything wicked?”
It was quite a while before an answer came. Finally the oldest of the men said with a trembling voice:
“Yes, sir, it is as you have said. We had been poaching for many years and had killed many deer and other game. They had been suspicious of us for a long time, but could not prove it. At last the whole thing came to light through a dealer to whom we had sold venison. We were, as my brother already stated, arrested, and, having carried on the poaching so long a time, we were punished severely. At first we were full of anger, but by and by other feelings arose in our hearts. We remembered our father, who had often admonished us, because of our evil doings, and reminded us of the righteousness of God. This righteousness has overtaken us now, we felt; but at the same time, we saw that instead of being angry and rebellious, we had every reason to condemn ourselves and to confess our sins to God. After our release we desired to live host lives; yes, sir, it was our earnest desire so to do; but nobody would have anything to do with us; not so much as a few hatchets would they loan us, so we had to give up the plan of going back to our old occupation.”
“Well,” said William, in whose heart the conviction was growing stronger that these men before him were his brothers, and being moved by deep pity, “haven’t you any relatives in the neighborhood where you came from? Isn’t there anybody who could take care of you?”
“No,” responded the eider one, “we are all alone. Our father settled in that district years ago, coming from another place. He was a wood-chopper and his name was Robert H.”
“And did you not have another younger brother?” asked William, who was hardly able to control himself.
ML 04/16/1939