Who could fail to be touched by Susie Plummer’s unself-conscious goodness? Christina felt abashed that she had laughed at her, never really looked past the brusque manner.

“You must miss it,” Christina said.

“Well, I do. Those children were eager to learn, and they had so little. Here in the village I have to cajole the mothers to bring them in. Then when they do come, they have little respect for books. Why, out there in Manila a book was a treasure. We never could afford many, and most had to be textbooks. Crayons were scarce as hens’ teeth. It was a treat to be allowed to draw. Still, there are exceptions—that little Buddy Townsend has taken out Peter Rabbit three weeks in a row.”

Miss Plummer beamed, and they were all three smiling with the pleasure of a small boy who had fallen in love for the first time with a book.

“Just offhand,” Cornelius asked, “could you name a few countries where missionaries have gone from here in the last hundred years?” And Christina was grateful for Cornelius’s businesslike mind. He was going to see to it that they stuck to the subject.

Miss Plummer thought while accepting a second cup of tea and a piece of chocolate cake. She screwed up her eyes and meditated as she sipped and absorbed a large piece of cake.

“Well, some, of course, went south after the war. There was great need of teachers for the Negroes. Some of the best teachers went south—female, I mean. Miss Price went to Burma. Then the Ruddocks. Remember them? Their son lived here for ages, then settled in Ohio finally, an M.D. The Ruddocks went to Ceylon, I think. In one of those books you can see how many went to China. And our Mrs. Simmons, who died last year, went to Turkey, of course; learned Turkish and Arabic, lived through the massacre of the Armenians, and sheltered children all that terrible time. Ever hear her describe a plague of locusts?”

“We hardly knew her, I’m afraid.”

“She married out there. Some did. There was a woman truly inspired by Christ. Yes, Edna Simmons was a deeply religious woman. They pop up now and then. She was given to spontaneous prayer on almost every occasion.”