Beryl was so surprised to meet with the word thus; so full of the sense that she had made a great discovery, though a mysterious one to her, that she felt obliged to draw her father's attention to the verse. Moving nearer to him, she touched his sleeve to attract his attention, and then pointed to the place in the Bible. Mr. Hollys bent towards the child, and read the words which had so surprised her. His face changed for a moment, then he nodded and smiled, as if to intimate that he understood what, in fact, he was very far from understanding, and turning away, looked steadfastly at the preacher, as though he were much interested in his discourse. But, in truth, he heard scarce a word of the brief sermon, for his mind was wholly occupied by a strange train of thought to which Beryl's action had given rise.
Beryl was very quiet as they walked home from church. On reaching home she hastily threw off her hat and jacket, and then went to the sick-room, where Coral was keeping her mother company. The invalid welcomed her with a smile. The milder weather had helped her to rally a little, though no permanent recovery was possible.
"So you have been to church, my dear," she said, looking at Beryl. "I wish you would tell me about it. It is long since I entered a church; though I can well remember how I use to go every Sunday with my mother when I was a girl. Did you have a nice sermon this morning? What was the text?"
"'Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life,"'" repeated Beryl.
"Why, Miss Beryl, it was nothing of the kind; how can you say such a thing!" exclaimed Lucy, who had just come in, having also attended church that morning. "The sermon was about being subject unto the higher powers."
"Oh, was it!" said Beryl. "Well, I thought that was the text; but I remember now that papa showed me another first, and I found that one for myself."
"'I am the resurrection and the life,'" repeated Mrs. Despard slowly. "What made you think of those words child?"
"They are like what is written on the cross at mamma's grave," said Beryl softly. "'I believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.' I wish I could understand them. What is the resurrection?"
"I think it means that the dead will be raised; that they will live again at some future time," said Mrs. Despard; "but I do not rightly understand these things. I wish I did; for then, perhaps, I should not be so afraid of death." She shivered as she spoke. Alas, she knew that death was drawing near to her, and dark and terrible was the thought of meeting that "last enemy."
"But Jesus said that He was the resurrection," said Beryl; "and Jesus was a man, was He not?"