"See here, fivepence to go on with; sevenpence spent; fish threepence, coffee twopence, bread (it's stale) twopence. Who says I don't know how to go to market? Now, Mr. Jasper, you lend us a knife, and we'll begin. But first we'll thank Jesus for giving us this;" and in a moment the two boys had bared their heads, while Phil, in simple words, asked a blessing on their meal.
Jonas sat watching them with a strange expression on his face; he had seen them do the same many times before, for they would never eat a meal without giving thanks. But somehow those boys seemed the only link between him and God. He was no infidel; there was a God, for certain, but he never thought of Him, except when, as now, the lads spoke to or of Him. And it was a strange sensation, there, in that dark shed, to be, as it were, suddenly brought to think about Him, by a few simple words like that.
"You don't suppose the Almighty is any the wiser for what you've said in this hole, do you?" he asked one day. And never had he forgotten the astonished look on Phil's face.
"Why, Mr. Jasper, God is here, close by; and we needn't have spoken out loud for Him to hear."
"God is here," and Jonas looked round the shed with its dirt and disorder, as though the thought was not altogether pleasant. A God far off was on the whole preferable to a God so very near; for it was only in His power Jasper thought of Him. God in Christ, a pitying, present, loving Saviour, was altogether unknown, and so, undesired.
A merry party were the three over their dinner. Jasper had to share the fish, and then his pudding came as second course, after which they all adjourned to the far end of the shed, in search of the Mellors' furniture, which he was obliging enough to store for them during their absence. And indeed it did not take up much room—an old mattress, two or three pieces of bedding, a couple of chairs, one or two stools, some crockery, a kettle, and an old box which did duty for a table; these comprised the whole of the family possessions.
The boys were not long in carrying the lot across to the attic, which happened to be untenanted again just when they wanted it. And so, in a settled resting-place once more (and that place Helmstone), the boys were in the highest spirits; forgetful of the past, fearless for the future, living in the present joy of Jasper's friendship, and full of simple trust in a loving Saviour who always cared for them.