"Welcome to the Eagle's Nest," cried the chief; "welcome in the name of the Lord!"
"Will you question the candidates?" suggested Walter. "I will translate for you sentence by sentence."
Mr. Coldstream's questions were few, and entirely confined to the men—save, when turning towards Sultána, he asked simply, "Do you love the Lord Jesus? Do you look for salvation only through Him?" The beaming look on the lovely countenance of the chieftain's wife, as she gave her brief reply, was, as the Chaplain afterwards said, like the smile on an angel's face.
With varied expressions on their swarthy features, the yet unconverted Afghans looked on as the holy service of baptism was performed before them. Curiosity was perhaps the most prevalent feeling; but here and there a Moslem was seen scowling with undisguised displeasure. Once or twice the Chaplain's ear caught an angry murmur of "Kafir!" but there was no open opposition. The missionary thought of the lion-tamer in his cage of wild beasts, and wondered at the power by which a single unarmed man had been able to subdue or overawe such savage natures.
The simple rite was now over; Ali Khan and his companions were now welcomed as members of Christ's visible Church upon earth. The Chaplain's heart was warm within him, but his pleasure was small compared to that of Walter. In the scene of former sufferings and perils, the young evangelist tasted what is perhaps the most exquisite draught of joy which is given to man on earth, for it is a foretaste of heaven itself. Who can tell the bliss expressed in the words,—"Lo, I and the children whom Thou hast given me." That hour gave to Walter for all his past difficulties, trials, and dangers "an overpayment of delight."
Mr. Coldstream, seated on a charpai overspread with a leopard's skin, partook of some refreshment prepared and brought by Sultána herself, Walter, Ali Khan, and the two Christian men sharing the meal. Mr. Coldstream admired the simple modest grace of the chieftain's wife, but remarked to Walter that she looked dejected.
"She feels—we all feel—the coming parting," was Walter's reply; "needful it is, but painful. I have had considerable difficulty in obtaining the chief's consent to my departure."
The hospitable meal was soon concluded. Mr. Coldstream could not linger long in the Eagle's Nest; the road being so difficult, he wished to retrace his steps before night.
"I must not, however, leave the fort," said the clergyman, "without seeing the prison from which poor Dermot Denis tried to make his escape."
Walter led the way up the ladder-staircase so often mentioned, into what had been his former prison.