Robbie Taggart

by Michael Phillips

  What a thrill it would be for him to take Ruth to meet Jamie. That alone would be fulfillment enough in God’s leading him back to his homeland. Shan-fei and Miss Trumbull were wonderful influences for his daughter. Yet he realized now, without having thought of it before, that he longed for Ruth to also experience a portion at least of his own Highland heritage, a heritage she could not help but experience in Jamie’s presence. What a thrill, too, it would be to see little Andrew again, and Aberdeen, and the mountains!

  Suddenly excited, Robbie jumped up from his resting place, wincing when his leg reminded him of his limitations. He then strode as quickly as he was able to the hospital to share with his family the news of their prospects.

  ———

  The next afternoon Robbie again walked along beside the slowly moving river toward a small grassy knoll where he could spend some quiet moments of prayer. Today as he made his way, however, he was not alone. Four Chinese men were with him: two young, two old.

  When they had reached their destination, Robbie asked his friends to sit beside him.

  “I have asked each of you to come share these moments with me because in a special way each of you is bound up in all this mission means to me, and all it stands for. And also because I know that Isaiah, were he here, would choose the four of you for me to share my deepest thoughts with. I need to talk with you, then pray with you, about the future of the mission.”

  Robbie paused, drew in a deep breath, then continued.

  “As you know, times are not pleasant for missionaries throughout China. Much of the unrest is directed at the foreign influence. Making that situation all the more dangerous here is the continued threat of Wang, who might attack Wukiang again just to get at me.

  “As we learned from the missionary efforts of Paul, for a new church to thrive, it must ultimately be led by its local members. Thus, in God’s economy, these recent trials may in fact prove to be our greatest opportunity both to solidify the work of the mission and to reach out into the surrounding villages. I sense that because of Dr. Wallace’s death the local villagers might be more receptive than ever to hear the gospel. Especially if that gospel comes to them from the lips of their own people—from men such as yourselves. I believe the Lord has shown me that for a time the mission will thrive if it becomes a mission run by Chinese, for Chinese. I believe my absence will not only strengthen your leadership, but also multiply the opportunities for ministry.

  “It is for these reasons, I believe, that the Lord is telling me to return to Scotland.”

  At the unsettling news, each of Robbie’s friends and co-workers began to protest.

  “Please,” said Robbie, “hear what I have to say. I feel I must get my daughter and mother-in-law to safety. Protecting them must be my first responsibility in God. And in the Lord’s wisdom, removing them from this tumultuous situation will at the same time further Christ’s work here. You, Nien, have been fully capable of administrating the affairs of the mission for some time. You will preach and conduct services and coordinate the overall work.”

  Robbie took Ying Nien’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “God will be with you, my friend,” he said. “This is His calling upon you.”

  “Chang,” Robbie continued, “you have been a faithful servant and friend of the mission and of Dr. Wallace and myself for more years than I have even been here. We are deeply indebted to you. You truly are a scriptural elder in the work here. Nien will need your support and prayer and help now more than ever. The younger men will look to you for wisdom and guidance.”

  In like manner, Robbie reached across from where he sat and placed a firm hand on Chang’s shoulder. “Thank you for all you have been to this work.”

  “Li,” said Robbie, turning now to his left, “you are not even yet a believer. But you have been a true friend. Dr. Wallace owed you a great deal, as I do myself—even more than you know. For your early hostilities with the doctor played a significant role in the Lord’s work in my own heart. And in recent days you have proved yourself a true man whose character we have all learned to depend upon. I know all these other men will look to the wisdom of your years to help sustain them while I am gone. And I will not cease praying that the Lord will open your heart fully to Him, as you have to His people.”

  Robbie turned his face toward the old man and bowed his head respectfully.

  “And you, my dear friend Kuo-hwa,” said Robbie at last, “there are no words to express my love for you and my gratitude for accepting me as you have, though I was a stranger to your culture. I will be praying for a special measure of God’s grace to fill you that you may help the others carry on in my absence. I know God will use you mightily to minister His love and goodness to your fellow countrymen.”

  Robbie extended his right hand. Kuo-hwa did likewise, and the two shook hands meaningfully.

  “Now, my friends, let me leave you with these thoughts. I do not leave out of fear—Isaiah taught me better than that! Nor does a part of my heart want to leave at all, for this is my home. Had I no one but myself to consider, I do not know how the Lord might lead. But we are told not to tempt the Lord by placing ourselves unnecessarily in danger. Thus, I must obey that injunction in doing my part to protect my daughter and mother-in-law.

  “It is my intention to return, as soon as the Lord wills it. Pray for me as I will for each of you. I will contact the home office of Christ’s China Mission, but I am certain they will agree with my recommendation that you coordinate the work here until my return. I will also contact Dr. Taylor at the Inland Mission. I will ask him or Thomas to check upon you periodically and to offer their encouragement. But the Lord will be with you and will bless your work!

  “Ruth, Shan-fei, Miss Trumbull, and I will be on our way back to England as soon as I can arrange it. Miss Trumbull has relatives to visit, but I am certain she will return with me, too. Hopefully you will see us all again as soon as the Lord directs and it is safe.

  “Now, I would be honored if you would join with me in prayer, not only for each of the five of us that we can faithfully live out these new directions of God’s call upon us, but also for His blessing on the work of His Spirit here in Wukiang.”

  The five men reached around to one another, making a circle of spiritual unity, closed their eyes, and lifted their hearts and voices to the God in whose service they were knit together.

  68

  Reunions

  Of all the familiar places Robbie had touched since leaving China a month and a half ago on the steamer Prince of Wales, Aberdeen struck by far the richest memories.

  Here was the home he had always returned to in his travels. Here was the port he had dreamed of sailing into during his lonely moments in China. Therefore, it was only fitting that the docks of the mouth of the River Dee should offer his feet their first steps onto Scottish soil after this, his longest sojourn away from the land of his birth.

  Robbie was anxious to reach Aviemere. But he knew he must delay this last leg of his journey a day or two more so he could renew some very special old acquaintances. Taking Ruth with him, while Shan-fei remained behind to rest in the hotel, Robbie struck out up Union Street. They would walk past the train station, then turn down Market Street and to the dock area where they had landed yesterday. As they left the hotel Robbie could not help but think of his mother-in-law remaining behind in her room. He was still sorry to have wrenched her from her home. To be torn from her country amid her grief over the loss of her husband had been heart-rending indeed, and the inward pain revealed itself on her gracefully aging face. Yet she trusted Robbie’s judgment, and wanted only to accompany her son-in-law and granddaughter, whom she loved more than any nation.

  As Robbie glanced at Ruth walking at his side, he was reminded again how strange this must be to the two of them. Her eyes were wide with awe, and her tiny hand clutched tightly at his arm. This might be home to Robbie, but to Ruth everything that greeted her eyes was foreign; though half the blood that pulsed through her veins
was Scottish, she was truly a foreigner in a strange land. Robbie had not fully considered this aspect of their move until now when he noted the curious glances from passers-by at the peculiar pair—Robbie in his brown broadcloth suit, Ruth dressed in Oriental style with a long linen skirt and jacket embroidered by Shan-fei for their travels. On the ship, even Shan-fei had not been an oddity in her customary, full-length Chinese dress, for world travelers on such an international vessel were well-accustomed to such things. But walking down the plank into Aberdeen instantly changed all that. Suddenly they were the object of every eye on the street.

  “Ruth, look . . . over there,” he said, pointing to their left. “There are the shipyards again. Let’s see what they’re about today.”

  They had spent the morning visiting the Gilchrists in Aberdeen’s west side, and were now walking along the Inches toward their next destination. It was a clear summer afternoon, but a fog hung on the horizon and would reach the Aberdeen coastline with its thick moisture by the following morning. There’s nothing like an early-dawn Aberdeen fog, thought Robbie. And if he had smelled salty, pungent sea air in dozens of other ports, none contained quite the pleasant satisfaction of what surrounded them just now.

  “Where are we going, Papa?” asked Ruth, becoming infused with her father’s excitement.

  “A place I haven’t been to in twelve years!” answered Robbie with mounting anticipation.

  The Golden Doubloon hadn’t changed much, except for perhaps being a bit more worn about the edges. The same sign, displaying the same treasure chest, stood above the door. Though he no longer recognized the faces of the men walking along the street, they were the same sailing types as always kept to this part of town, just as he once had.

  Robbie paused before entering. Suddenly his mind was acutely conscious of all the changes that had been wrought within himself in the time since he had last been here. Back then he had been a jolly, carefree boy.

  Now he was a man. His eyes still shone with merriment, and the mission staff—including Wallace himself—had come to count on his ready laughter to brighten any situation. But there was a solemnity about him now too, a depth to his character that simply could not have existed in the old Robbie Taggart. There was more to him now that went far beyond the physical manifestations of change—a lost hand, graying temples, a lovely half-Chinese daughter. He was, in truth, a new man. In a very real sense, he was complete now, fully the man intended by his Maker.

  Robbie opened the door and stepped across the threshold. Ruth retreated behind him, content for now to let her brave father take the initiative in this newest of adventures.

  There were few customers in the tavern at this time of day, but Robbie scarcely took note of the few who were present. For he immediately saw what he had come to see. Behind the rough old counter stood Sadie Malone, making preparations for the evening’s business.

  Unnoticed, Robbie watched her a moment in silence. The years told on her. The ample, once voluptuous figure was now considerably thickened. Her hair was grayer, and the lines about her eyes and mouth were deeper set. Yet Robbie sensed immediately a contentment about his old friend, as if she had at last accepted her calling as a dockside innkeeper. He recalled, though he had not been as aware of it back then as he should have been, that she had always talked about selling the inn someday and making a respectable living.

  He had the chance to scrutinize her only for a moment before her watchful countenance looked up from her work. Her face paled and her mouth fell open, as she obviously struggled with her senses at sight of this ghost from her distant past. A moment more, however, and she colored and grinned, bustling out from behind the counter. Robbie reached her in two strides, threw his arms around her, lifted her off her feet, and whirled her around in the air.

  “Sadie, my darlin’!” he said, laughing.

  “I thought for a minute you was a figment of my imagination!” she exclaimed as he set her on her feet.

  “I’m real enough, dear Sadie.”

  “Well, you haven’t changed a hair!” She stepped back to appraise him, then her eyes fell on his missing hand. She gasped audibly.

  “Don’t give it a thought, Sadie. I’ve never been better. I hardly miss it now.” Then he added, “I’ve so much to tell you!”

  But even as he spoke, Sadie’s eyes next noted his little companion. “Look at this, will ye!” she said. “Here you are with another waif in tow.” She would not easily forget the day he had brought the grubby shepherdess Jamie MacLeod into her place.

  “This is no waif, Sadie.” He took Ruth’s hand and brought her out into full view from behind him. “This is my daughter, Ruth,” he said proudly.

  Sadie clapped her hands to her face. “Oh, Robbie,” she said, “I ain’t never seen a lovelier little thing. ’Course, I should have known she’d be yours. And do I get the honor of making the acquaintance of Mrs. Taggart, too?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Robbie replied, a momentary cloud passing over his face. “She died shortly after Ruth was born.”

  “Robbie, I’m sorry.”

  Sadie took Ruth’s hands tenderly into her rough, workworn ones. “She must have been a special woman—I can see it in the girl. And I know you’d have no less.”

  Now that the initial greetings were past, the innkeeper in Sadie surfaced and she added, “Let me fix you some tea and a bite to eat. You will bide a wee, won’t you, Robbie? I want to hear everything!”

  “We have the rest of the day,” answered Robbie. “We must be back this evening. We’re in a hotel up on Union. Ruth’s grandmother is there now.”

  Sadie scurried off to the kitchen to make preparations for her guests. Robbie turned to find a seat, but the moment his eyes fell across the nearly deserted room, he stopped short. Now it was his turn to stare in disbelief at the apparition before him.

  There sat Elliot Drew at one of Sadie’s tables, a half-empty glass of ale in one hand, his chin resting philosophically on his other as he observed the scene. Robbie’s stunned expression seemed to amuse him. At least the cynical side of him had anticipated such a response. With a wink and a nod, he lifted his glass toward Robbie in salute. The smile he let play upon his lips as he watched Robbie’s continued bewilderment showed a genuine warmth, and at length broke the spell. Robbie, still limping on his injured leg, moved toward his table and held out his hand.

  “Old friend!” he said, not without a good deal of emotion. A flood of memories, and feelings of both joy and sorrow, tumbled through Robbie’s consciousness in the second it took Drew to respond. For it was clear that, despite his many prayers for the man over the years, there had been little change in him since their separation.

  “I wasn’t certain I’d still be greeted as such,” replied the Vicar. “But perhaps time dulls the memory.”

  “Time has nothing to do with it, Elliot. Now, return my handshake and let my daughter and me sit down with you.”

  A moment more the Vicar paused. Then he rose and said, “Robbie . . . Robbie, you haven’t changed!” With tears standing in his sad, worn eyes, he moved around his table and went to Robbie with outstretched hand.

  As their hands met, however, both men opened their arms in a poignant embrace. Their friendship had lasted but a few short months, yet the bonds that had formed made them now seem like brothers. Even as they stood back from one another, however, Robbie longed more than ever for a true spiritual brotherhood with his sad and lonely friend. For now that Robbie himself understood what a relationship with God meant, he saw more clearly what Elliot had left behind when he turned his back on the church and his spiritual calling.

  “But, Elliot,” said Robbie as they sat down, “how do you come to be here? Of all the places in Aberdeen—of all the places in the world! How could I run into you like this?”

  “Isn’t Aberdeen as good a port as any to sail from?”

  “Why, yes . . . but—here, in Sadie’s!”

  “I heard you talk about the place a few times. I suppose w
hen I left, something inside me wanted to keep touch with you. This place was the only link I had to my true friend, Robbie Taggart! You know me, Robbie. Ever motivated by sinister emotions like guilt and self-condemnation!”

  “Oh, Elliot!” replied Robbie from his heart. “Are you still torturing yourself that way? It doesn’t have to be like that, you know.”

  The Vicar did not reply for a moment. Then he nodded knowingly, and said, “They got to you, didn’t they?”

  Robbie smiled in reply, fully understanding the meaning of his words even after so long.

  “I could tell,” Drew added. “You’re a different man. You may be missing a hand, but that’s not where the difference is. You’re a whole man now. I could see it in you the moment you walked through that door.”

  “Let me tell you about it,” said Robbie, picking up Ruth and placing her on his lap.

  “I don’t think I want to hear about that.”

  “Are you afraid I might get to you?”

  “I’m too far gone, Robbie.”

  “I saved your life once Elliot,” said Robbie. “I think you at least owe me a polite audience for my story. I know you think you’ve heard all about God there is to hear. But I’m not so sure you’ve ever really heard the whole story. I think all you’ve heard before in your life are the misrepresented notions of people who don’t really know Him at all.”

  The Vicar smiled. “I knew someday I’d have to pay for your good deed.”

  He folded his arms, leaned back in his chair, and nodded for Robbie to have his say.

  ———

  When Elliot Drew left The Golden Doubloon that evening, he had heard things about God and about the man Jesus that he had never heard before. This was no gospel he had heard preached or had preached himself. The line from the Acts of the Apostles worked several times through his mind, “Almost persuaded . . .”