Blair Collection > Rhys Lewis, minister of Bethel

RHYS LEWIS. 425
woman, Modlen. How your father used to laugh while telling
me of the jolly nights they spent at Garth Ddu after a big
catch ! But it is all over now ! You probably know Nic'las
has left Garth Ddu. 0, yes ; he has sold the place these three
months. He's living here now, looking the same as when I
first saw him. It is he who supports your father. When your
father dies, no one knows where Nic'las'll be next day. You
must remember what I have told you is strictly confidential."
By now I had finished ray business at B . I had got more
light on what had been dark to me previously than I expected,
and was in a hurry to return. The Sergeant and. Will came with
me to the railway station, the latter, with perfect frankness, say-
ing : " If I had known you were going to leave us on such short
notice, you'd have had no drag through the sheets last night, for
I haven't told you the thousandth part of what I want to. It is
just like a preacher shutting up directly he has got into the
swing. A thing of this sort is not true to nature. By the time
I reach myself and go home, you won't be there, for you'll be
minister at Llangogor or somewhere, and I shall be without a
chum."
" You are not certain of that. Will," I remarked. " What do
you think ? (the train was about to start), I've had a call to
the pastorate of Bethel church, and I do not now see there is
anything to prevent my accepting it."
Will, smiling joyously at the news, said, "Pact? (the train
was moving). Well, bye bye, and remember to be true to "
I did not catch the other word, but I guessed what it was,
for I had heard the phrase hundreds of times before. Had I
known at the moment that that was the last time I should hear
the voice and see the face of my friend, my heart would have
been sadder than it was, for, in spite of all his failings, his wit,
honesty and naturalness, combined with his great fidelity to me
when I was a boy, had made him a place in my heart from
which I could never oust him, if I wished to. And I miss him
sadly still.
Speeding my way back, I made a strong effort to forget the
past, and to think only of the future. My whole being had
received such a shock, and my mind was so sore disturbed, that
I dreaded seeing examination day come round. I knew J