Locked Door Open

 

     He added, "I seldom tell the marvelous way in which it was fulfilled, but I shall do so on this occasion." He went to the publishing house to see what would happen. By Wednesday noon he was still waiting, and after lunch he called Salisbury, the manager, and Faulkhead, the treasurer, together and reminded them that the next morning he must deliver L300 to the church member calling for her money. The publishing house just did not have that much money in the treasury, but Faulkhead thought of a man who some months before offered the publishing house a loan. They went into the country to see the man, but found he had invested the money elsewhere.

 

The Locked Bank Door Found Open

 

     It was four o'clock when they returned. Faulkhead suggested they might possibly get a loan from the bank with which the Echo Publishing Company did business. Inasmuch as it was closed, Faulkhead suggested they call on the banker at his home. Daniells did not see much light in that, but what else could they do? It seemed their only hope. The two men started down the street. As they passed the bank, they saw that the door was open enough to allow a man to enter. The two men slipped in and found the banker and his assistant with the contents of the vault spread out on the counters. The bank inspector from London was expected the next day, and they were checking their cash holdings.

 

     "Faulkhead!" the banker exclaimed in startled surprise. "How did you get into this bank?"

 

     "We walked in," he replied.

 

     "Yes, I know, but how did you get the door open?" queried the trembling banker. "I shut, bolted, locked, and chained that door myself. How did you get it open?"

 

     "We did not touch it, it was open" was all they could say.

 

     Pale, and almost in a state of shock, the banker hurriedly relocked the door. Returning, he asked, "What is it that you want?"

 

     "We want to see you in your private office. We want L300 to meet an obligation in the morning.

 

     "What security can you give?" the banker asked.

 

     "Only our word tonight," they replied, "but we will give you something more later."

 

     Faulkhead and Daniells were certain that an angel had opened the bank door. The banker was profoundly impressed, and the two men left the bank carrying "three hundred shining sovereigns." The next morning Daniells met the woman who was demanding her money, and placed them in her hands. Continuing his reminiscence, Daniells declared:

 

        These experiences, I can assure you, made a deep impression on my mind--that assurance under the tree at Cooranbong, the assurance in Brother Salisbury's room that morning, the open door at the bank, and the money in my hands that evening—and that is why I wrote "Fulfilled" in the margin of my Bible.

Volume 4 The Australian Years 1891-1900  P 415