CHAPTER SEVEN
The next day found Lane wandering through the streets of a new city; to be honest, it was the first and only city he had ever seen.
Lane pushed a two-wheeled cart, much like the one he had pushed the night before, and he was on his way to deliver blankets at their mission building.
It was suppose to be down near the waterfront and easy to find. So far, the directions he had been given were perfect. This was his fifth delivery today.
Joppa presented him with a lot of interesting things to look at, but he was really checking out the people. Because they came from every harbor city around the Mediterranean Sea.
“May the Lord show me favor today.” Lane prayed.
Just then, a rather squat looking man stepped out of a building; it was only three doors away. The man was dressed in black clothing, which was odd. And his skin was pale too.
Lane could have caught and passed by the man, but he decided to follow him for a ways to study the behavior and customs of this foreigner.
It was difficult to stay behind him, for the guy moved so slowly. Even with the cart, Lane strained to move slowly enough to stay behind the man.
The experiment just wasn’t worth his time, or so it seemed to Lane. He gave up on the idea and went on by.
“Good day!” Lane at least greeted the man, as he passed him. There was no response from the foreigner.
Half an hour later, Lane came to the place he sought. It was a grey building. And, it was large.
He called from the gate. “Delivery for Pedro Taylor.”
A noise or two could be heard inside the building, enough for Lane to know somebody was moving around in there. And, a young man came outside.
Lane took him to be a servant of some sort; he had met a few of them today.
“Delivery?” The approaching man questioned.
Lane was used to this question, too. He responded. “There are blankets here for a Pedro Taylor.”
“Blankets?” The servant had puzzlement written on his face, but he recovered. “Oh, yes. Come with me!”
Lane pushed his cart through the gate, after the other man had unlatched it from the inside.
“Simon sent you?” The servant asked, and directed Lane around to the side of the building.
Lane nodded, though the other man’s back was facing him. It was an automatic action. “Yes, he gave me a job today.”
“Where are you from?” The servant inquired.
“I live about a day’s journey from here, on the way towards Shiloh.” It couldn’t do Lane any harm to be friendly with the man.
Two other came out of the building’s back entrance. And, they took the blankets from the cart. Lane also guessed them to be house servants.
He was soon left talking to the first man. “I came looking for work. And, the Lord was good to me.”
The other man stared at Lane. It was though he was trying to remember something.
“What’s your name?” The man asked. He was speaking softly now, as though he didn’t want to be overheard.
“Lane.” Lane informed the man, but he also went to softer tones.
At that, the man took him by the arm and guided Lane into a more secluded area.
“SHHHHH!” The servant motioned with his finger for quiet. “I thought I recognized your face.”
“My face?” Lane was at a loss, for this man had never crossed his path.
In the same soft tones, the man informed Lane. “I don’t mean you, but I knew your father. He came through here some three years ago.”
Lane’s heartbeat quickened. He couldn’t believe he was talking to somebody who had spoken to his father. “You know where my father is?”
The other man took the time to school him. “Listen! There are times when it’s a good idea that people don’t know all the details.”
The other man then switched the conversation.
“Don’t let Pedro Taylor know who you are. He thinks I’m a slave, that I work for him, and that I’m stupid. But, I’m just going to let him think that.”
Lane noticed the same man he had seen on the street, the pale man in black clothing. He was coming in through the gate to this property. And he also saw a change in the behavior of the man he spoke to.
“That’s Pedro Taylor now.” The man informed him. “He doesn’t speak our language, but he understands some of our words. Don’t let him know that you’re Lane’s son.
Lane studied the man in black, this Pedro Taylor, as the other man went around the corner and disappeared.
“My friends call me Nathan.” Nathan informed Lane.
They offered each other a right hand in friendship.
“Who is this Pedro Taylor?” Lane wanted to know, so he asked about it. But, he spoke softly.
Nathan answered in a voice that matched. “He runs this place. They call it a mission, but I think he’s involved in something a whole lot less honest.”
“Less honest?” Lane wanted more of the details.
Nathan nodded. “Yes. I think he’s got something to do with the people, our people, the ones who have gone missing in this city.” Now, he got angry. “Men and women like your father.”
“You think he knows what happened to my father?” Lane had already gone beyond the conclusion that Nathan was right. And, there wasn’t yet any evidence to support the opinion against Pedro Taylor.
Nathan took Lane further into his confidence. “You can bet on it. But, there’s something else I need you to understand.”
Lane gave him his full attention. “ What’s that?”
“Pedro Taylor doesn’t understand much about our language, so he’s not likely to understand what I’m telling you, nor will there be much thought given to what you say to me.” Nathan told him. “He looks at you as just another servant.”
“Just another servant?” Lane was talking more to himself than to the other man; he was trying to get used to the idea.
But, Nathan continued. “You got to understand this. So, pay attention.”
“I’m listening.” Lane assured him.
“Romanists get all bent out of shape, if yours happens to be a different point of view than theirs.” Nathan waited for some kind of response to his message.
And, Lane did not hold back. “How could I not have a view point that differs from someone who’s probably behind the fact that my father didn’t come home?”
Nathan nodded toward the building which Pedro Taylor had disappeared in. “They differ in their views about the Lord, too.”
“What do you mean?” Lane questioned Nathan.
Nathan told him more. “They use his name to frighten people into doing what they want, but they do not speak the truth about our Lord. They control people by fear, and they seek power.”
“What I hear you saying is that they lack mercy.” Lane tried to supply the missing pieces.
Nathan seemed to fight himself for the right words. His face took on several new expressions. “There is a lack of mercy, but I want to say there’s more to it than that. These guys are evil in my opinion.”
“If they’re so evil, why are you working here?” Lane asked this obvious question.
Nathan was shaking his head, as he responded. “First, I’m here for the same reasons you are. I want to know what’s going on with these northerners. And, I cannot tell you that I’m here by choice.
“If you’re not here by choice;” Lane was putting things together, “then why are you working for Pedro Taylor?”
There was pain on Nathan’s face, but he answered truthfully. “I am a servant in his house, Lane. I lost my freedom to go anywhere else.”
Lane looked at his new friend. “Are you saying you’re some kind of slave?”
Nathan nodded, and he confirmed it. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m working off a debt.”
“A large debt?” It seemed like a reasonable question to Lane. He wanted to help if he could.
Nathan drew in some air before responding. “Let’s just say I took a gamble and lost. I may actually pay it off someday, but the chances are that I’ll die as a servant, in this house, or some other.”