"There, dear heart!" exclaimed Nanna, "there's the answer straightway."
"What answer?" forgetting for the moment to what she referred.
"Don't you remember what I asked the Lord for last night? A special bit of comfort to come to you to-day, and there it is straightway in the offer of these loving young hearts!"
It struck Reynolds as a rather new idea that anything he did should be described as an answer to prayer. If that were so, God must often be very near to him, influencing him. The thought made him feel very quiet.
CHAPTER XVII
THE GOING FORTH OF DEBORAH
Nanna lost no time in sending Jim Coates a verbal message as to Mrs. Waring's promise. This was followed later on by a note from that individual herself, asking Jim to see her friend the ganger, and ascertain if the use of one of the sheds would be granted for a Bible meeting on Sunday afternoons.
The very next evening Jim paid another visit to Mrs. Waring's establishment, this time to give report number two. He little thought the night he came with some of his drinking companions to have a look at the woman whose religion "cost her summat," that he would ever be a welcome guest in her parlour, or even wish to be.
Jim had already enlisted the sympathies of his three Christian mates in his scheme. Dick was especially taken up with it, and the two had lost no time in making all the arrangements they could.