Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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66e Stowaway By LOt?S TRACY. Author of the'T?W <A Light," "The ?tags of the MornftSf/* sod "The Csstslo of the CeeyHftfcU 1999. hf ??I J Clsste '?Portion out ell the soda water Id tbe lockers an* whack It on the table every meal till It fires oat See that no bud j puts sway more'd 'Is proper allowaoee too. I'm not roln' to cry hush baby Wen the Andromeda gets this sort of kid's dodge worked off on br." If you're alloodUV to me." put Id the racensed "chief." whose temper rose on this direct provocation, "I want to tail yon now" *T>oes the cap fltT" sneered Coke "No, it doesn't 1 oever 'eard oi that kind of potssh Id me life D'ye tats see for a chemist's sbopr" ?*Never 'eard of It!" cried the lncent ed skipper, who had obviously made 9 bis mind as to the person responsl for the outrage. "There's 'srf i >n eases of It lo the after bold?or there was w'eo we put the 'etches on " "Kvso if some of tbs cases were bro? ken, sir. the contents could not reach the tanks." said Hosier. But the com? mander's wrath could oot be ap? peased. "Get this stuff pumped out an' 'are tbs tanks scoured. We'll put Into Fernando Noronha an' refill there. It's on'y a day lost an' 1 guess the other liquor on board '11 last till we make tbe island." Coke lurched away In the direc? tion of the chart room. Hosier found him there later poring over -does nw car rrrr h f F ananasD coke. * " ' . nando Noronha. Iris on bearing tbe steward's version of the sffalr csme to *he bridge for further en Ughteomeat but Coke mere? ly told her thst the Island was a Lloyd's signal station, so she could ca? ble to her uncle "Can I go sshorer* she aaked. "I dunno. Wem see. It's a convict settlement for tbe Brasils, an' they're mlgbty particular about lettln* people land, but they'll 'ardly object to a nice young lady like you 'avb:' a peep at 'em " Aa his tone waa uousually gruff. :o say jeering, she resolved to sn opportunity of seekiDg Ho? sier's advice oo the cablegram prob? lem. Bat the portent of the blood red water wss oot to be disregarded. Nev? er was Delphic oracle better served by nature. Tbe Andromeda began to roll ominously. Mssses of black cloud ?Hashed over the southern horizon At midday tbe ship was drivlug through a heavy sea. As tbe day esere the weather became even more Cbreeteolng A sky snd ocean that striven during three weeks to lore to spleodld rivalry blends of sapphire blue snd emerald greeo sod tendered pink wer?? now draped In a shroud of gray mist With Increasing frequency and venom vaulting sess over the bows sod sent stinging k>wsrs of sprsy sgslnst the csnvss lie Id of the bridge. Instead of tbe itty whits drill uniform snd csnvas of tbe tropics the ship's officers sssnned oilskins, sou'westers and sea ?note Torrents swept the decks, and aa occasional giant among waves sasote the hull with a thunderous blow seeder which every rivet rattled and every plsnk cresked. Deeplte these drawbacks the Andromeda wormed bar way south. She behaved like the stanch old sea prowler that she was. Iris, of course, thought that she was eaperleoclng tbe storm of a century ?nelly scared st first, she regained ?ease stock of coursgs when Hozler came twice to her cabin, pounded on tbe door snd shouted to her such news ss be thought would take her mind off the outer furies. Tbe first he announced that they were "crossing the line." and the girl smiled st the thought that Neptune's eboeeo lair waa uncommonly like the Bzigltsh channel st Its worst On the second occasion her visitor brought tbe cheering news that they would be under tb?? lee of Fernando Nomntin sarty ncit morning. She had sufficient ssa lore to understand that this lm plied shelter from wind snd wave, but Homer ssattted to ten her that tne only pra< tflhble roadstead In tbe Is? land. b*?l(ig on the weather sld?, would be rendered unsafe by the present ad verse combination of the elements. In fact Coke bsd already called Watts snd Hozler Into council, and they had agreed with him that the wiser plan would is? to ?>ear In toward the Island from tli1 SJssl and UsSbOff In smooth water as close to g/^jth pHtTit as tho lend would permit As for lrh' wild forelnxllng that the Ship wss Intended to be lost. IMdllp did n??t glv#? It other fhaii a passing thought (' ke was navl^iit\g the An Slroinedii w Ith rare and no little skill He was a first rate pfnc tlral sailor, and It was mi education to the younger man to wafeh his hau dllng of sbt vessel throughout i he worst part ?>f the blow About mid night the weather BJSaWfatsX] It lm proved steadily until a troubled | heralded some fitful gleams of the sjuu Pj IbSt tl> maguli peak of Fernaiulo Norouna was plain? ly visible. Coke came to the bridge and set a new course, almost due eat. Boon It was possible to distinguish the full extent of the coast line. Houses appeared and trees and green oases of cultivation. There was a strong current setting from the southeast, and the dying gale left ita aftermath In a long swell, but the Andromeda rolled on with ever increasing comfort Even Iris was tempted forth by the sunshine. Coke waa not on the bridge at the moment. Mr. Watts was taking the watch. Hozier was on deck forward. Suddenly the captain appeared. He greeted Iris with a genial nod. "Ah. there you are!" he cried. "Not seen you since this time yesterday. Sorry, but there'll be no goin' ashore today. We're on the wrong side of the island, an' It 'ud toss you a bit if you was to try an'?land in eether o* the boats. Take 'er In easy now, Mr Watts. That's our anchorage?over there." And he pointed to the mouth of a narrow channel between South point and the Isle dee Fregates, the lat? ter a tiny Islet that almost blocks the entrance to a shallow bay Into which runs a rivulet of good but slightly brackish water. The ship slowed perceptibly, ami Hozier busied himself with the lead which a sailor was swinging on the starboard side from the small plat? form of the accommodation ladder. Iris did not know what was said, but the queer figures repeated to Coke seemed to be satisfactory. Headlands and hills crept nearer. The rocky arms of the Island closed In on them. A faint scent as of sweet grasses reached them from the shore. Iris could see several people, nearly all of them men lu uniform, hurrying about with an air of excitement that betok? ened the unusual. I'erbaps a steamer's adveut on the south side of the Island waa a novelty. Now they were In a fairly smooth roadstead. The remnants of the gale were shouldered away from the ship by the towering cliff that Jutted out on the left of the bay. The crew were mostly occupied In clearing blocks and tackle and swinging two lifeboats out? ward on their davits. j "All ready forrard?" roared Coke. Hosier ran to the forecastle. He found the carpenter there, standing by the windlass b^ake. "All ready, sir!" he cried. Coke nodded to him. "Give her thirty-five," he said, mean? ing thereby that the anchor should J?e allowed thirty-five fathoms of chain. The turbulent current was surging across the bows with the speed of n mill race, so Coke brought the vessel round until she lay broadside with the land and headed straight against the set of the stream. It was his intent to drop anchor while In that position and help any undue strain on the cable by an occasional turn of the propeller. j "Keep her there!" he said, half turn lug to the man at the wheel. He changed the Indicator from "full speed" to "slow ahead." In a few sec? onds the anchor chain would have rat tied through the hawse hole when something happened that was Incom? prehensible, stupefying?something ut? terly remote ajd strange from the ways of civilized men. The Andromeda quivered under a tremendous bntTet. There came a crash of rending irou and an Instant stop? page of the engines. Almost merging Into the noise of the blow came a loud report from the land, but that in Its turn was drowned by the hiss of steam from the exhaust. Coke appeared to be dumfounded'for an instant. Recovering himself, ho ran to toe starboard side, leaned over, looked down at a torn plate that showed Its jagged edges Just abovp 1 the water line and then lifted a blaz? ing face toward a point halfway up the neighboring cliff, where a haze lay like a veil of gauze ou the weather scarred rock; -Treu m?sten pirates!" he yelled, rah* Ing both clinched fists at the hidden "YOU ItliAHTKD I'lKATESl" Hi! YKLliBD battery Which had fired a twelve pound Shell Into the doomed ship. The Andromeda herself seemed to recognise thai she was stricken unto death. Bhe fell sway vefote the cur? rent with the aimless drift of I log, "Let gol" bellowed Ooke, with fren? zied pantomime of action to Hosier. It was too late, lie fore the lever eon trolling the stenin windlass that re least d the anchor could be shored <?n si amdher shell plunged through the thin iron plates In lbs bows, imashlni a steam pipe and Jamming the hawser gear by Its Impact. The missile hurst vrim i terrUk report, a sailor was knocked overboard, Iba carpenter wai killed outright, two other men were seriously wounded, and Hozier reeeiv ed I Mow on the forehead from I tly lng scrap of metal that stretched him on the deck. The gunners on shore had not allow? ed for the drifting of the ship. That l second shell was meant to demolish | the charthouse and clear the bridge of I Its occupants. Striking high and for- 1 ward, it had robbed the Andromeda of her last chance. | ,_ CHAPTER V. SHOWING WHAT BECAME OF THE AN DROMEDA. THE island artillery did not suc? ceed in hitting the crippled ship again. Three more shells vere tired, hut each projectile screamed harmlessly far out at sea. A trained gunner, noting these facts, would reason that the shore battery made good practice in the first In? stance solely because its ordnance was trained at t known range. Indeed, be might even hazard a guess that the Andromeda's warm reception was ar? ranged long before her masts and fun? nel rose over the horizon. That the islanders intended nothing less than her complete destruction was self evi? dent. Without the slightest warning they had tried to sink her, and now that she was escaping the further at? tentions of the fleldpieces a number of troops stationed on South point and the Isle des Fregates began to pelt her with bullets. Iris, when the first paralysis of fear had passed, when her stricken senses resumed their sway and her limbs lost their palsy, flinched from this new danger and sank sobbing to her knees behind the canvas shield of the bridge Somehow this flimsy shelter, which sailors call the "dodger," gave some sense of safety. Her throbbing brain was incapable of lucid thought, but it was borne in on her mistily that the world and its occupants had suddenly gone mad. The omen of the blood red water had Justified Itself most horri? bly. The dead carpenter was sprawl? ing over the forecastle windlass. His hand still clutched the brake. The sailor at the wheel had been shot i through the throat and had fallen limply through the open doorway of the chart room. He lay there, cough- ' lng up blood and froth and gasping his life out The two men wounded by the j second shell were creeping dpwn the J forward companion In the effort to avoid the hall of 1< ad that was beating on the ship. Hozier was raising him- j self on hands and knees, bis attitude that of a man who is dazed, almost in sensible. Watts had gone from the bridge. He might have been whirled to death over : the side like the unfortunate foremast i hand she had seen tossed from off the forecastle. But Coke, whose charmed life apparently entitled him to act like | a lunatic, was actually balancing him Ma on top of the starboard rails of ! the bridge by clinging to a stay, hav- ! lng climbed to that exposed position In order to hurl oaths at the soldiers on shore. He had gone frantic with rage. His cap had either fallen off or been torn from his head by a bullet His squat powerful figure was shak? ing with frenzv. tie empna?!?e<i ea.-h curse wun a passionate gesture of the free hand and arm. He said, among Dther things and with no lack of force? ful adjectives, that if he could only ^ome to close quarters with some of 'the Portygee assassins on the island he would tear their sanguinary livers out. The Androin^p., uncontrollable as destiny and quite as heedless of her human freight, swung around with the current until her bows pointed to the Islet occupied by the marksmen. All at once Coke suspended his flow of in? vectives and rushed into the chart room, where Iris heard him tearing lockers open and throwing their con? tents on the deck. To enter he was obliged to leap over the body of the dying man. The action was gro? tesque, callous, almost inhuman. It Jarred the girl's agonized transports back Into a species of spiritual calm, a mental state akin to the fatalism often exhibited by Asiatics when death is imminent and not to be denied. The apparent madness of the captain was now more distressing to her than the certain loss of the ship or the invisi? ble missiles that clanged into white patches ou the iron plates, cut sudden holes and sears in the woodwork or whirred through the air w1th a buzzing whistle of singularly menacing sound. She began to be ufraid of remaining on the bridge. Her fear was not due to the really vital fact that It was so exposed. It arose from the purely feminine consideration that she was sure Coke had become a raviug ma? niac, and she dreaded meeting him when, if ever, he reappeared. A bullet struck the front frame of the chart room, and several panes of glass were shattered with a fearful din. That decided her. Coke, if he were not killed, would surely be driv? en out She sprang to her feet and literally ran down the steep ladder to the saloon deck. Through the open door of the officers' mess she witnessed another bizarre act an act quite as extraordinary in Its way as "Coke's Jump over the steersman's body. In the midst of this drama of death and destruction Watts was standing there, with head thrown back and uplifted arm. gulping down a tumberful of some dark colored liquid, draining it to the dregs, while he held a black bottle in the other h md. Then from Somewhere she heard a gruff voice: MHsv' ft shut off steam. Blacfar lane?" "On ay. It's si' snug below till the water reaches the furnaces." came the answer. So some i f the men were doing their duty ThAIlk Cod for that! I'mle terred by the fact that a live shell had burst among the engines, the oil stain? ed, grim looking englueers had not quitted their post until they had taken such precaution! as lay in their power to Insure the ship's safety. A light broke in on the fog in the sari's mind. Bven now. at the very gate of eternity, one might try to help others. The thought brought a ray of comfort. She was about to look for the speakers when a bullet drilled a hole in a panel close to her side. She began to run again, for a terrified glance through the forward gangway showed that the ship was quite close to the land. I where men In blue uniforms, wearing ' curiously shaped hats and white gait I era, were scattered among the rocks, some standing, some kneeling, some prone, but all taking steady aim. But It showed something more. Ho? lder was now lying sideways on the raised deck of the forecastle. He part? ly supported himself on his right arm. rlls left hand was pressed to his fore? head. He was trying to rise. With an intuition that was phenomenal under the circumstances Iris realized that he was screened from observation for the moment by the windlass and the corpse that lay across It. But the ship's ever Increasing speed and the curving course of her drifting would toon bring him Into sight, and then those merciless riflemen would shoot him down. "Oh, not that, not that!" she wailed aloud. i An impulse stronger than the in? stinct of self preservation caused the blood to tingle in her veins. She had waited to take that one look, and now, I bent double so as to avoid being seen by the soldiers, she sped back through the gangway, gained the open deck, crouched close to the bulwarks on the port side and thus reached unscathed i the foot of the companion down which the wounded men had crawled. The eine plates on the steps were slippery with their blood, but she did not falter at the sight Up she went, stooped "QUICK!" BHB PAHTKI). "LET MB BKLP Y OU 1" over Kozier and ulfleed ner stroafi young arms round bis Doay. "Quick!" she panted. "Let me help you! You will be killed if you remain here!" Her voice seemed to rouse him as from troubled sleep. "I was hit." he muttered. "What is it? What is wrong?" "Oh, come, come!" she Fcrenmed. for some unseen agency tore a transverse gash In the planking not a foot in front of them. He yielded with broken expostula? tions. She dragged him to the top of the stairs. Clinging to him, she half walked, half fell, down the few steps. But she did not quite fall. Hozler's weight was almost more than she could manage, but she clung to him desperately, saved him from a head? long plunge to tbe deck and literally carried him Into the forecastle, where she found some of the crew who had scurried there like rabbits to their bur? row when the first shell crashed into the engine room. Iris' fine eyes darted lightning at them. "You call yourselves men," she cried shrilly, "yet you leave one of your officers lying on deck to be shot at by those fiends!" "We didn't know he was there, miss." said one. The firing now appeared to increase in volume and accuracy. Several bul? lets clanged against the funnel or broke huge splinters off the boats. "Great heavens, listen to that!" growled I voice. "An' we cooped up here, blazed at by a lot of rotten da? goes, with not a gun to our name!" Iris was still supporting Hozler, whose head and shoulders were pil? lowed against her breast as she knelt behind him. "Can nothing be done?" she asked. "I believe Captain Coke has been kill? ed. Mr. Hosier is badly injured, I fear. Bring some water, if possible." "Yes. yes: water. Only a knock on the head. How did It happen? And w^hat Is that noise of firing?" Hozler's scattered wits were return? ing, chough neither he nor Iris remem? bered that the Andromeda was water? less. He looked up at her, then at the men. and he smiled as his eyes met hers again. "Funny thing!" he said, with a nat? ural tone that was reassuring. "I though! the windlass smashed Itself Into smithereens. But it couldn't. What was it that banged?" "A shell tired from the island," said the girl. Hosier straightened himself a little. He was bearing marvels, though far fnun understanding them as yet "A shell'" be repeatedly vacantly. Had she said "a comet' it could not have sounded more Incredible. "Yes. it might have killed you. Be\ oral of the nu n are dead. I myself saw three < i them killed outright, and two others are badly wounded.*' "Here von are. sir drink this." said a fireman, offering a pannikin of beer. It was unpalatable stun", but it tasted like the nectar ?>f the gods to one who had sustained a blow thai would have felled an ox Hozler had almost emp tied tli VIT when an exclamation from j an Iris^adker drew ell eyes to the i after part of tne shlP PiHoly war- Will ye look at that!" houted the man. "Sure the skipper isn't dead ar nil ? all!" * Iris had bailed to grasp the mean? ing of Coke s antics in the chart room, but they Vore now *ully explained. The bulldog breed of this self confessed rascal had taken the upper hard of him. Thou"11 he had not scrupled to j plot the de fruction of the ship and thus rob a marine Insurance company of a considerable sum of money, though at that very instant there was actual proof of his scheme in the preparations he had made to jam the steering gear j when the anchor was raised after the | tanks were replenished, it was not in the man's nature to skulk Into com? parative safety because a foreigner, a I pirate, a not-to-be-mentioned-in-polite- | society Portygee, opened tire on him In I this murderous fashion. Moreover, Coke's villainy would have sacrificed I no lives. The .Andromeda might be I converted into scrap iron and thereby give back, by perverted arithmetic, the money invested in her, but her white decks would not be stained with blood. Whatever risk was incurred would be his, the responsible captain's, his only. It was a vastly different thing that shot and shell should be rained on an unarmed ship by the troops of a civi? lized power when she was seeking the lowest form of hospitality. No won? der If the bull necked skipper foamed at the mouth and used words forbid? den by the catechism, no wonder if he tried to express his helpless fury in one last act of defiance. He rummaged the lockers for a union Jaek and the four flags that showed the ship's name In signal let? ters. He determined that she would go down with colors flying If he were not put out of action by a bullet be? fore he could reach the main halyard. The swerve In the ship's course as she passed the island gave him an op? portunity. In justice to Coke it should I be said that he recked naught of this, but It would have been humanly lm poenlble otherwise for the soldiers to have missed him. And now, while the vessel lay with straight keel in the set of the current, the national emblem of Britain, with the Andromeda's code flags beneath, fluttered up the main? mast I There are many imaginable condl i tions under which Coke's deed would ? be regarded ns sublime; there are none which could deny his splendid audac? ity. The soldiers, who seemed to be actuated by the utmost malevolence, redoubled their efforts to hit the squat Hercules who had bellowed at them and th*lr fellow artillerists from the bridge. Bullets struck the deck, lodged in the masts, splintered the roof and panels of the upper structure, but not one touched Coke. He coolly made fast each flair in its turn and hauled away tin the union jack bad reached the truck; then, drawn forward by a hoarse cheer that came from the fore? castle, he turned his back on the ene? my and swung himself down to the fore deck. As he lumbered along the deck he mopped his face vigorously with a pocket handkerchief, and this homely action helped to convince Iris that she was mlstal cn in thinking him mad. Iiis words, too, when he caught sight of her were not those of a maniac. "Well, missy," he cried, "wot'll they sny in Liverpool now? I s'pose they'll 'ear of this some day," and he Jerked a thumb backward to Indicate the un? ceasing hail of bullets that poured into the after part of the ship. The girl looked at him with an air of surprise that would have been com? ical under less grievous conditions. She knew with a vague deflniteness that death was near, perhaps unavoid? able, and it had never occurred to her that she or any other person on board need feel any concern about the view entertained by Liverpool as to their fate. Hefore she could frame a reply, however. Hozier seemed to recover his faculties. He stood up, walked unaided to the side of the ship and glanced ahead. "Shouldn't we try to lower a boat, sir?" he asked Instantly. "Wot's the use?" growled Coke. "Oo's goln* to lower boats while them blighters on the island are pumpin' lead into us? And wot good are the boats w'en they're lowered? They've been drilled full of holes. You might as well try to float a sieve." "Are none of the I) o a 18 sea? worthy?" "Not one. They are knocked to pieces. Sorry for you, Miss Yorke. But we're all booked for king? dom come. In 'arf a minuit or less we'll be on the reef, an' the ship must begin to break up." Coke was tell? ing the plain truth, but Hozier ran aft to make sure that ho -as right m assuming the extent of the boats' damages. It was common knowledge that the vessel must be lost and that those who still lived when she struck would have the alternative ef being drowned or beaten to pleceg against the frowning rocks or shot from the mainland like so many strand? ed seals If some alliance of luck ami strength secured a momentary foot? hold one of the tiny Islets that barred the way. [TO BS CONTINUED.I Infantile Depravity. Elsie (aged seven)?Ma, I want a penny. Mother?What for, dear? Bl? eie?1 asked Ilertle .Tone* to pretend we're getting married, and ho says h'^ won't do It unless I have a dowry! The fortifying of Judah. JEHOSMAPHAT'S ONE MISTAKE II Chronicles 17:1-13?January 29 "Berk yt f\r>>t the Kingdom of God, and hit righteousness; and ail ttgef thing* thall be added unto you."~-Matt. 6:SS. HILL Ahab was king of Israel. Je \JH hoshaphat succeeded to the throne of Judah. He had the advantage that his parents were godly people?a great advantage. As suggested in our last study, the iniquity and idolatry of Is? rael reacted favorably upon Judah, just as the drunkenness and profligacy of a parent sometimes reacts upon his chil? dren, who perceive his folly and learn by his mistakes. Moreover the idolatry of Israel, which drove its most saintly char? acters of all the tribes to Judah. enriched the latter nation in moral tone and char? acter. This included all of the priests and Levites who were still loyal to God and to the worship which he had established. Encouraged thus, the young king began a general crusade against every idola? trous place and custom in his kingdom. As Ahab exceeded his father Omrl as an evildoer, so Jehoshaphat exceeded his fa? ther Asa as an upholder of the Divine Law. Indeed we remember that in Asa's later years he became proud and self-con? scious and in a measure for a time rebel? lious against the Divine arrangements. Prosperity In Divine Favor Jehoshaphat's kingdom prospered. He fortified its various boundaries, especially I toward the land of Israel, Judah's nearest neighbor. Neighboring smaller nations sought Judah's fa? vor and for it paid tribute and pres? ents until Jehosh? aphat's kingdom was very prosper? ous. Thus fidelity to the Lord was re? warded with pros? perity. If some from this are try I Ing to draw the lesson that all I prosperous persons and nations are honorable, right? eous and In Divine fellowship, they surely err. Those also err who claim that adversity, poverty, sickness are sure evidences of Divine disfavor and a sinful life. Not only should we remember that the bad kings. Om? rl and Ahab, were prosperous, but we remember also that many wicked nations and inlqu'tous cus? toms have prospered and are prospering today. Prosperity, therefore, 1p not al? ways a sign of Divine favor. To Jehosh? aphat and his kingdom, however, prosper? ity was a sign of favor because Judah still represented God's chosen nation In a special manner. According to God's Cov? enant with them they would be blessed In proportion as they maintained their loyalty to their agreement?their loyalty to God. But this promise or Covenant was not made with mankind in general, but mere? ly with the one nation of Israel, which, at the time of our study, was specially rep? resented by the Kingdom of Judah. If we would see that righteousness does not al? ways bring peace and worldly prosperity, we have only to look at the Master him? self and at his most faithful followers to see the contrary. Moreover this is the Master's assurance to his followers: "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but In me ye shn" have peace." But when Messiah's reign shall begin, all this will be changed and every wrong act and word and thought will receive prompt punishment, and every good ef? fort will be rewarded and encouraged. Thus the Scriptures declare, "When the Judgments (righteous dealings) of the Lord are abroad in the earth, the inhab? itants of the world will learn righteous? ness." The blessed opportunities of that time will belong to all mankind except the Church. The specially called class of thl* Age have the special blessing of hearing* ears and understanding hearts and a call to the heavenly portion?the "High Call? ing." Thus, my dear readers, we see that our trials and difficulties, rightly appreciated and accepted, are blessings *or us. be? cause they thus work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory?than the world will receive. The highest rewards for the world will be rss tltutlonary. earthly?to attain perfect manhood. Thus we see God's provision In Christ to be eternal human life for mankind In general, and eternal life on the spirit plane for the elect Church, and eternal death for those who. after expe? riencing to the full Divine mercy and op? portunity, shall sin wilfully. Jehoshaphat's One Mistake Like others, this king, no doubt, made many mistakes, blunders, but his most important mistake was In affiliating with Ahab, king of Is? rael. There Is a lesson here for all of God's people. "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" ?neither by mar? riage ties nor by business partner? ships and close friendships. "What communion hath light with dark? ness?"?2 Cor. 6:14 18. Ahab made war and Invited Je? hoshaphat to go with him. It was expected to be an easy conquest, but the Lord's Mess? ing was not with it, as Jehoshaphat later learned, es? caping barely with his life. Bat his . still earlier mis The prophet and Ktng taRe m ln ar_ /afmssiHl ranging a mar rlage between his son and the daughter of Ahab and JeseboL No doubt he con? sidered this a wist; method of ultimately re-uniting the two kingdoms-but it was worldly wisdom fOoUshnsSS -contrary to the wisdom from sbOVS. The Lord's dis? approval of Jehoshaphat ? fellowship with Ah.il> was Indicated. The Prophet was sent to him. saying. "Shouldst thou help the ungodly and love th< m that hate the Lord? Therefore wrath Is upon thee from befoi the Lord."-2 Chrott. 13:2. Our Golden Text refers to the Kingdom to which spirltu l Israelites are now in? vited. To seek II means to seek s place with the lit ileomer In the story and pow? er <?f his coming Kingdom. Those who seek it ma} apparently lose In temporal sdvanl iges, but by faith they recognize that all things, seen trials, difficulties anil privations, are working lOgStIii for good to their spiritual advantage, prepar ing th. m for the Kingdom. Without tact you can learn Both ing.?Disraeli.