He stopped, and began to fumble in his pockets. His eyes became wilder as he searched.
“Where is it?” he cried, turning fiercely upon the girl. “Did you take it from me? Give it to me––quick!” He caught her wrist and twisted it painfully. His voice became a scream.
“God is everywhere!” flashed through the girl’s thought. “I am not afraid to see evil seem to have power!” Then aloud: “I know what you are searching for, Sidney. Yes, I have it. Listen, and I will give it to you. You are searching for help. No, it isn’t in morphine tablets. It is in love––right here––the Christ-principle, that is bigger far than the demons that seem to tear you! I have all power from God, and you, evil, can not touch me!”
The boy started at the ringing voice, and loosened his grasp. Then he sank back into his chair, shaking as with palsy.
“Sidney!” she cried, seizing his hand. “Rise, and stand with me! We don’t have to struggle––we don’t have to fight––we only have to know. All that you are wrestling with is the world-wide belief that there is a power apart from God! There is none! Any claim that there is such a power is a lie! I have proved it! You and I will prove it again! There is no power or intelligence in whiskey or morphine! I have been sent to help you! The Christ-principle will save you! There is nothing beyond its reach, not even your problem!
“It is a problem, that’s all, Sidney,” she went on, as he became calmer. “And I have the solution. Will you put yourself in my charge, in my care, and let me meet it for you?” She bent over him and looked eagerly into his drawn face.
“We are not going to fight,” she continued. “We are not going to resist evil as the world does, and so make it real. I know, dear, just how pressing your need is. I know, and I understand. I know how awfully real it seems to you. But trust me, as I trust the Christ. For victory is inevitable!”
For a few moments they sat together, hand in hand. The boy seemed to have been stunned. Then Carmen rose. “Come,” she said. “I am going to take you home with me. I am going to keep you right with me, right under my thought. I’m going to be the mirror, constantly with you, that reflects infinite love to you every moment. Come; your problem is mine now. The burden of proof rests upon me. Don’t think of anything else now, excepting that God has your hand and is leading you.”
She took his arm and drew him, unresisting, yet uncomprehending, to the door. As she opened it, she looked up into his face and smiled. The boy choked, and turned back.