As he watched Janie, Mary took him by the arm and dragged him to the little girl. She put his strong black arms around her little shoulders. At last the man took the little girl on his lap and played and talked with her. After this he came often to visit his little girl and brought her food and presents. At last the time came when word reached Calabar that the Mission Board had decided that the Gospel should be preached in Okoyong and that Mary could go. Mary was very happy. At last G.o.d had answered her prayer. She was going into a wild country. She was going to go ahead of the other missionaries to find a place where they could build a mission house and church.
When King Eyo Honesty VII heard of it, he came to see Mary.
"So you are going into the wild country, to Okoyong," he said.
"Yes, and I am so happy. Those people need to have their hearts and lives changed. I am happy that I shall be able to tell them about the Saviour."
"Aren"t you afraid to go among these wicked men? What if they should go on the warpath when you arrive?"
"I am not worried. G.o.d is on my side. If it is His will, He can keep me from all harm. If it is His will that I should die, then His will be done. If giving my life will help open Okoyong to the Gospel, I will gladly give it."
"G.o.d bless you, Ma. I am going to let you use the king"s canoe for this trip. My rowers can take you there swiftly. They will do anything you ask, because they love you."
"Thank you, King Eyo; that will help me very much."
King Eyo fixed up his canoe for Mary, as though she were a queen. He put a carpet in it, and many cushions. He put a sort of tent on it so that Mary could be alone when she wanted to be. The boat was loaded with homemade bread, canned meat, rice, and tea.
At last everything was ready for the trip into the wild country. Mary said good-by to her friends, the missionaries, and to her native friends. Then the thirty-five rowers pushed out from the sh.o.r.e and headed upstream toward the wild country. On both sides of the river were banana and palm trees. There were beautiful plants and flowers of many colors. The light shimmered on the flowing river as the rowers pulled the oars and sang their songs.
"What will happen if the Okoyongs are on the warpath?" Mary asked herself. "What will I do then?" Mary knew the answer. "I will put my trust in G.o.d and not in man."
She lay back on the cushions and prayed to G.o.d to protect her in the wild country and to lead her in His way. The rowers rowed swiftly and sent the canoe shooting up the river toward the wild country.
"There is the landing place," said the chief rower. "Now we must walk the rest of the way to Ekenge."
Mary got out of the boat. The rowers followed her. They carried the packages Mary had brought with her. They began to walk through the jungle. It was four miles to Ekenge where Chief Edem lived. As they came near to the little village of mud huts, the chief rower whispered to Mary,
"There is Chief Edem. Praise G.o.d, he is at home and sober."
Mary, too, thanked G.o.d that the Okoyongs were not on the warpath and she asked G.o.d"s blessing on her visit with them.
When the people of Ekenge saw Mary they began to jump up and down and shout,
"Welcome, Ma. Welcome to Ekenge."
Chief Edem bowed to her and said, "You are welcome Ma Mary. It is an honor to have you come to us. We are happy because you did not come with soldiers. We know now that you trust us. I have set aside a house for you as long as you stay with us."
"Thank you, Chief Edem. I am happy to be here."
"This is my sister, Ma Eme," said the chief. Mary liked Ma Eme at once and Ma Eme liked Mary. They were friends as long as they lived.
"I want to go to visit the next village now," said Mary. "I want to go to Ifako."
"Oh, no, Ma," said Chief Edem. "The chief is a very bad man. He is not fit for you to meet. Besides he is drunk now and he doesn"t know what is going on. You must stay at Ekenge."
"Very well," said Mary, "I will stay, but call the people together so that I can have a Jesus-talk."
When the people had all come together, Mary told about G.o.d"s great love for them. She told them about Jesus who died that they might be saved. She told them about the happiness Jesus would bring to their village by changing their lives when they came to Him.
That night Mary did not sleep very much. The chief had given her one of the best houses in the village, but we would not think it was much of a house. Her bed was made of a few sticks with some corn shucks thrown over them. In the room all night were plenty of rats and insects. But Mary"s heart was happy.
Later Mary went to Ifako. The chief there liked Mary very much. He and Chief Edem agreed to let her start a mission in their villages. Each one promised to give her ground for a schoolhouse and a mission house. Mary chose the places for the buildings. They were a half-hour"s walk apart.
"Now I must go back to Creek Town," said Mary. "When I come back again, it will be to stay."
"Come soon, Ma," said Chief Edem. "It will make us very happy to have you stay with us."
As they rode down the river, Mary could not sleep at first because the rowers kept whispering,
"Don"t shake the canoe or you will wake Ma," or "Don"t talk so loud so Ma can sleep." At last, however, tired from her days of work in Ekenge and Ifako, she fell asleep and did not wake up until she came back to Creek Town.
Now she was very busy getting ready to move to Ekenge. One of the traders heard about her going to Ekenge.
"Do you trust those wild people?" he asked. "Do you think you can change them? What they need more than a missionary is a gun-boat to tame them down."
"No, my friend," answered Mary, "they need the same thing that every person in the world needs and that is the Saviour Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can change the hearts of sinful people."
At last Mary was packed up. She was taking with her the five children she had saved from death. Another missionary, Mr. Bishop, was going along with her. Now at last Mary was going to work in the jungles as she had wanted to do. She had been in Africa for twelve years. She was now forty years old.
When Mary was ready to leave, all the people of Creek Town gathered around her. They told her good-by and wished her G.o.d"s blessing.
"We will pray for you," they said.
One of the young men she had taught in school said, "I will pray for you, but remember you are asking for death when you go to that wild country."
It was getting dark when Mary"s boat landed near Ekenge. The rain was pouring down. It was a four-mile walk to Ekenge. Mary and the five children started out. Mr. Bishop and the men who carried the baggage were to follow.
An eleven-year-old boy was in the lead. He was the oldest of the five children. He carried on his head a box filled with tea, sugar, and bread. An eight-year-old child followed him carrying a teakettle and cooking pots. Next came a three-year-old who held tight to little Janie"s hand. Then came Mary carrying a baby girl and a bundle of food.
The children slipped in the mud. They became soaked by the rain. The jungle was dark around them and strange noises came from all sides. The children began to cry. They were hungry and scared.
"Don"t cry children," said Mary. "Remember Jesus is watching over us. He will take care of us. Soon we will be in the village and then we can have something to eat and we can put on dry clothes."
They marched on. At last they came to the village. The village was dark and still. "h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo," called Mary. "Is anyone here?"
No one answered. Mary called again. At last two slaves came.
"Ma," said the oldest slave, "the chief did not know you were coming today. The mother of the chief at Ifako died and all the people have gone to Ifako for the burying."
"All right," said Mary. "We will wait here then for Mr. Bishop and the baggage carriers."
"I will send a messenger to Chief Edem," said the slave, "to tell him that you have come."
Mary took some of her food and cooked it over an open fire in the pouring rain. She fed the children and put them to bed.
At last Mr. Bishop came to the village.
"I am sorry, Miss Slessor," he said. "The carriers will not bring anything until tomorrow. They are tired. They are afraid of the jungle trail."