CHAPTER NINETEEN
More than a day had passed by the time negotiations were over, and the British authorities finally departed. It was really kind of funny.
One of the three ships, the British ships that is, had not left the area. They had participated in the repairs to the Fabien’s rudder.
Lane had learned that is was a law of the sea to not leave another sailor in need.
The Captain had invited Captain Clay over to his cabin to talk about Bermuda. They spoke of business on the water, but mostly in the local area.
At a certain point, Captain Clay offered gold in exchange for Tiger’s work on the Fabien’s rudder. This offer had been refused.
The two Captains agreed to sail together on their course to Bermuda. It would be safe, or there would be less danger from pirates.
Something changed the mood. And, it began with the return of one more of the British vessels.
The word was that they had caught the pirates and there had been fighting. Most of the pirates were dead, but some survived.
The British authorities learned that Captain Clay was actually a criminal from some place called London. They considered him a pirate. His name was actually Douglas.
Douglas was taken into custody.
Another round of negotiations took place. This time there was a question about the Fabien. To whom did she belong?
It was Captain Matthew and his letter of introduction from the Governor of the Canary Islands, and both Tiger’s and Lane’s knowledge of Tunis that finally convinced the British authorities to allow the Fabien and her cargo to be entrusted to Captain Matthew.
Some of the officers from the Princess were to transfer to the Fabien and pilot her to Bermuda. Tiger was one of them, but David was going to stay on with Captain Matthew.
Lane was chosen to stay onboard the Princess, too as was Stephan. They would be needed from here on.
And, the Captain seemed pretty certain that there would be no more trouble from pirates.
“Make ready the sails!!!!” Captain Matthew gave the order, but it wasn’t the first time.
Lane stood his post at the ship’s bow. He didn’t need the telescopic lens to see the Fabien, for she wasn’t very far away. It would be easy to throw a rock twice the distance.
Lane wanted to go aboard the Fabien. He wanted to see what was going on with Nathan and to do whatever he could to free him from his present situation, but the Captain had been clear about this.
They were going to let the British authorities disappear from view before taking control of the Fabien. It would probably be easily done without a struggle.
Having Tiger on that ship made the job so more relaxing, that’s for sure. Without the promise of being able to trust somebody on the Fabien, it would have been impossible to stand against the rail and act as though business were the same.
“Lord. I thank you for this day.” Lane began to pray. “I still don’t know where it’s going to take me, but I trust that you are still with us. The Fabien’s been given to the trust of Captain Matthew. We’re going to see this Bermuda. You did not let us down. Thank you.”
“Were you praying?” The question came from Stephan.
Lane affirmed it. “I’m going to acknowledge the Lord. He delivered this time, too.”
Stephan smiles. “You said this time, too, as if it’s not the first time.”
Lane nodded. “I mean, it’s not the first time the Lord’s been good to me. I can’t remember a time when He has not helped me out.”
Stephan looks across the waves at the Fabien, for she’s about to set sail for Bermuda. “You are certainly good for me, Lane. I mean as an example. Can you tell me more about the Lord and this indwelling sin you spoke of earlier?”
Lane’s now watching the Fabien, too. “Sure. I was telling you about Adam’s blood.”
Stephan wants to know whether he remembers it right. “You said our blood has changed, too.”
The two men spoke, but they were not facing each other. They watched the Fabien move through the water.
“My father said people will understand more about the process some day, maybe even all people would. He said it’s passed from one generation to the next by then blood of the father being mixed with the blood of the child during development.” Lane gave his friend some hand gestures to add weight to his words, but there wasn’t any real meaning to them.
Stephan wanted more information. “What happens, then?”
Lane found this part easier. “It changes the person, but you got to understand something.”
“What’s that?” Stephan wasn’t anywhere near ready to give this up. “The change to the person was from the beginning. Adam changed and so did every child coming from him. We all fell.” Lane found the explaining more difficult than he had thought.
Stephan was tired of waiting for something more direct. “Okay. Just tell me then. How does a person experience this change?”
Now, Lane is smiling, for the question allowed him to see the answer, or how to tell his friend. “It’s like voices in the ear, but they’re voices only heard by the person. The things they say suggest very stupid and ugly behavior, things that would get you into trouble with others.”
“But, you said this was an indwelling thing. You call it sin. Why does it sound like voices in the ear?” Stephan was on the verge of understanding.
Lane tried to make this point clearer. “That might have been a wrong way to say it. I mean it’s a message to the person, as though outside voice were coming to them. But, the voice is coming from within. That’s why nobody else can hear it.”
Stephan nodded his understanding. “That’s why you told me about this the other night, because I wanted to go aboard the Fabien. You think I was hearing one of those inside voices, right?”
“It’s not just the voice. It’s what would have been done to you on that ship. You were being tempted, and the voice was leading to some sort of punishment.” Lane’s explaining still lacked something.
“I don’t get you. What punishment?” Stephan asked.
Lane looked at his friend now. “Think about it! You were a slave on that ship. They put you over the railing and think you are dead. Any reaction would be violent. They would probably kill you.”
Stephan nodded.
“And, there’s something more.” Lane began. “The voice was punishing you with the suggestion to go over there, because you were also thinking about doing violence to Captain Clay, or as it turns out, to Captain Douglas.”
“How is that punishment?” Stephan questioned this last part.
Lane holds up his hands, as if to stop his friend. “It’s punishment to you for two reasons. The first is that you could not get onto that ship, so you would feel powerless. But, the second is more important.”
“Don’t stop now!” Stephan invites more information.
“God would hold you guilty for violence to another human being. He requires us to show mercy to each other. That’s the kind of message you can expect from indwelling sin. It’s there to suggest the wrong thing.” Lane believed his friend understood.
Stephan is looking again to the sea. “I would like to believe that about the Lord.”
“I’m going to assume that you mean you would like a closer relationship with the Lord.” Lane is wondering about his friend’s last statement.
Stephan looks at his companion again. “What I’m talking about is that bit you said. You said the Lord had never let you down, but there’s m ore to it. You talk about Him like He is right here in the conversation.”
Lane is nodding understanding now. “That’s the thing about this inbred sin. It’s a traitor. It’ll try to get you thinking about something other than the Lord and your duty to him. And, it’ll tell you you’re not good enough, or you don’t have what it takes to walk with the Lord. This is more punishment.”
“I’ve had those same kind of thoughts.” Stephan admitted this to Lane.
Lane took one glance at the Fabien, as she cut through the water now. “We’ve all had those same kinds of thoughts. It’s the way sin works on us from the inside. And, there’s only one defense.”
Stephan is also watching the other ship, but he’s not finished with their conversation. “You mean a defense for this inbred sin?”
Nodding again, Lane looks back to his friend. “It’s a defense against this inbred sin, and it’s also a defense against about anything else you’ll face as you try walking with the Lord.”
“So, what is it?” Stephan’s question is to the point.
Smiling, Lane looks to Stephan again. “You simply got to speak to the Lord. You want to speak about Him, too. Include Him in what you’re doing.”
“That’s why you do it?” Stephan asked the question.
“It’s the reason I began doing it, because my father told me about indwelling sin and how a person is driven by it.” Lane explained. “It’s not the only reason I do it today.”
Stephan could not control his desire to understand, so he put one more question forward on the topic. “What’s your other reason?”
Lane points to a sea animal he was now familiar with. “It’s because the Lord made dolphins and other beautiful life forms. He’s real. And, He has shown me He’s paying attention.”
Stephan’s smiling, too, as he looks at the dolphins playing in the waters beside the Princess. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Lane isn’t finished. “The Lord gave us life. He watches what we do, and He wants us to understand this fact. Inbred sin wants to interfere with this relationship with God.”
“So, here comes the suggestion you spoke of.” Stephan is remembering what Lane said.
“That’s right. Here they come. Indwelling sin will do everything it can to pull you off the topic of what God wants. It will attempt to bring your thoughts to the Earth and the self.” Lane went on explaining. “Heaven is your only safe haven, and the Lord is what you ought to be thinking about.”
Stephan is amazed by this revelation, and he takes the time to look to Heaven. It’s possible for him to get some idea in his mind of the Lord there, but he can’t really see a person there.
Lane notices this action in Stephan and, because he can’t see anything there in the sky, he asks his friend. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m just trying to see God. What does he look like?” Stephan answers honestly.
The question brings a laugh from Lane. “That’s a question I’ve tried to answer, too. I don’t really know. My father he says He looks just like our neighbors.”
This answer doesn’t really solve anything for Stephan, and he says so. “How can God look like our neighbors? That’s silly.”
“For you, maybe.” Lane takes some time in responding to Stephan’s last statement. “It makes sense to me. First, I’m Jewish, too. The Lord was born into a Jewish family, so he look something like me.”
Stephan is just looking at Lane. His eyes say enough. He thinks Lane’s words are extremely bold.
“My father told me there’s another reason to think of the Lord as our neighbor.” Lane invites more dialogue on the subject.
Stephan is still interested in knowing about the Lord. “What’s this second reason?”
Lane explains. “It has to do with love. The Lord said we are to love each other as ourselves. And, we are to love the Lord first, love him with all we have, and all we’re able to.”
“How does that equal God looking like our neighbors?” Stephan wants to know.
Lane takes a quick look at the Fabien moving alongside them, as both vessels guide through the water. “The Lord wants us to be kind to each other. If we see Him in our neighbors, and He is there, it’s so much easier to be kind to them.”
“So, it’s not just a Jewish thing?” Stephan asks this question, but he already knows the answer. He wants to hear Lane say so.
“It’s not just a Jewish thing. No.” Lane’s thoughts go to the slave vessel alongside them. “The Lord says we ought to love our enemies, too.”
That last statement caused Stephan to look at the Fabien, too. “God wants me to be kind to slavers?”
Lane corrects. Being kind doesn’t mean to agree with their actions. The Lord never said we’re to offer ourselves to live as slaves to evil men. He means we can’t pursue them with evil intentions of our own. The two evils don’t make anything right.”
“If you ask my opinion, God’s a difficult man.” Stephan simply puts this out there. The thought came to his mind.
Lane is slow to speak. “He’s not really difficult. He’s more like a father.
The Lord wants us to learn to be like Him. He knows that anything outside what’s right is a trap. That’s what he’s attempting to save us from, the traps set by sin.”