In the afternoon, Timothy prayed and read the Book of Daniel. These words seemed to speak to his heart. "Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand."
He felt that his entire young life had been one of purification. His solitude brought him closer to God daily.
Timothy could not share how alone he felt with his animal family. They loved him and called him Master. The bear and the turtle knew the Scriptures and could give Timothy advice, but they were not his kin in the matters of the soul. Timothy yearned for those with whom he could share and live out his life with God. The story of his ancestor who lived as hermit for a while burned in his heart. He was almost sixteen and he wanted to be among humans. His parents were buried on the mainland, as no persons had ever been buried in Eden. In fact, early in the morning, Timothy and the badgers, who accompanied him in the row boat, took the bodies of the two men and went the two hours to the mainland to bury them. Timothy said some prayers from the Psalms as the badgers dug and the young man hoped that in some way these men had done one thing good in their lives to merit heaven. He then rowed back to the island and waited for the next event.
He was surprised at what followed. The deer watched Hywel from a small hill as they ate grass. Hywel moved down the beach and was surprised to see the row boat in another place. Timothy decided to leave it where the last two men could find it to facilitate a departure on their part. He had been instructed by Ringsend not to confront the men unless absolutely there was no other alternative. That situation had not arisen, yet.
Hywel saw the boat and was looking at it intently. He was trying to decide whether to leave or try and find the treasure. His greedy heart overcame common sense, and he was not even thinking of Hugh at all, when Hugh came up behind him.
"So, you are thinking of leaving. I think that is a great idea. I hate this place."
The goodness in the air of Eden annoyed Hugh's lazy heart. He could sense calls to prayer and reflection, but his old habits of turning down good ideas from his guardian angel or from the last, tiny part of his hardening heart made him decide that he could not stand the rarefied air of the island.
"No, I am not leaving, and now that I know there is a man on this island who can row and boat and carry two bodies somewhere, I know what I have to overcome. No spooks here." Hywel encouraged himself with his words.
"And, if there is a treasure, then we must find it." Hywel showed Hugh Roger's gun, which he had taken after the accident. "And, we have means to get this treasure."
Hugh said, "Well, I am not too sure I want to be part of any violence or fighting. You know I am not a fighting man." Hywel grimaced. He was never sure why Hugh, "The Sloth" had been chosen by Roger to be part of this group, anyway. Hywel saw Hugh as "dead wood".
"Well, I cannot see how we can fight unseen animals and a man who disappears at will. Maybe he is a ghost." Hugh remarked, strongly.
"A ghost does not row a boat," replied Hywel.
One of the deer removed itself from the small herd and found Timothy in the woodland hiding place. The bear slept in the back of the small cave. Belsay stood by the opening.
Timothy thanked the deer and asked her to check out all the guardians on the shores. Then, it leaped into the undergrowth and was gone.
Hugh thought about this entire adventure. The leader upon whom all depended was gone. The youngest and strongest member was gone. His laziness inclined him to another plan, which was to find the man on the island and give himself up, thinking that this person would reward him for turning in Hywel. His treacherous plan grew from a lack of conviction about anything. Such was the slothful mind. Inconstancy and narcissism marked his soul, perhaps more black than the others', as his soul was always seeking the husks rather than striving for meat and potatoes. His attitude, formed by years of taking the easy way out, always feeling sorry for himself when things went wrong. Indeed, why Roger, so quick to judgment and anger decided on Hugh as part of the "team" seemed a great mystery.
But, what Hywel missed in his thoughts was that Greed, his main fault, and Sloth have much in common, beginning with selfishness. The last two evil men, although they may not have been able to discern these traits, shared in a narcissism which pushed their ideas and decisions.
Basically, Hugh said to himself, "This adventure is not worth the trouble." However, Hywel said to himself, "I need to get the treasure, now."
Hugh told Hywel that he agreed with him on continuing. The two men then decided to try and follow trails to find the lone man on the island. Again, a fox in the brush ran to Timothy, and related that these men wanted to find him and Alba's chest.
Timothy consulted with his heart and the bear. He did not know where the great turtle swam and trusted that if Ringsend needed to tell Timothy something, the animal of the sea would find a way.
In the meantime, Hugh was trying to find a way to split from Hywel in order to make his way to Timothy and turn himself in....he had to come up with a plan, something he simply was not disciplined to do. So, he thought he would "go with the flow" until an opportunity for betrayal occurred.
Timothy's surprise came from the reports from his "spies" of the odd conversation between Hywel and Hugh. Timothy began to see into the hearts of the evil ones, a new experience for him, which caused him pain. He realized that he had been preserved from the temptations and bad company which could have led him astray. In his heart and mind and soul, Timothy, again, dedicated his life to God in deep gratitude.
To be continued...............
