And then she remembered where it was. She had slipped it under Estelle’s pillow on her hospital bed, the first day she visited her, when Estelle had to go to the washroom. Now, both Estelle and the Bible were gone. “I gotta find a blasted Bible, I gotta find a Bible.” Grumbling going down the stairs, she ended up in the living room, to see if Mrs. Burrmann had one there. There wasn’t a Bible in sight. She bounded back upstairs into Mrs. Burrmann’s bedroom, and there was only a large bottle of Benedictine & Brandy liqueur on the table beside the bed. There were also two liqueur glasses. Bernice helped herself to two glassfuls of the strong drink. They did not give her any more strength. She saw some rubber things, like white balloons, small, wrapped and rolled carefully in paper cases, smelling like that part of the hospital where Estelle was. She took up one, smelled it, and saw written on it: Ramses one genuine transparent TRADE MARK REG Rolled rubber prophylactic. Bernice held it close to her eyes, examining it and smelling it and puzzling over it; and then she put it to her nostril, closer, and really smelled it; and for no reason, she started laughing, “Heh-heh-ho-ho-ho-ho-hoheh!” And she turned it on the other side, and saw: sold only in drugstores for protection against disease. Printed in Canada. Distributed by Julius Schmid (Canada) Ltd. “That is a German name, ain’t it? Be-Christ, a German man like Brigitte made this thing, yuh!” Toronto Canada, Always buy “Ramses” by the dozen and SAVE “Shit!” She read this side again: … for protection against disease … “But wait, who in this house got the disease? Mister Burrmann? Or the mistress? But look at these two sinful bitches, though, eh? … Ramses, Ramses … heh-heh-haaaaaah!” And laughing with herself, and anticipating the amount of screaming this discovery was going to throw Dots into when she told her, Bernice went into Mr. Burrmann’s bedroom next.
Her first impulse was to search his bedside table for more Ramses. But she felt that that was wrong. She was looking for a Bible. “These people want God in their hearts! Not a blasted Bible in this palace! Five television sets, four in colour, and not one blasted Bible?” But she found one, soon after. It was not the Bible Bernice called a Bible. It was green and red, like a school text, marked The New English Bible, New Testament. She didn’t like it. It was presumptuousness on the part of somebody. “But wait, how many Bibles they have nowadays? I only know ’bout one. And this one in my hand ain’ like the Bible in truth. This is a book.” It was the only one available. And rather than go without a Bible at all, she condescended to read the passage she had already chosen in her mind, the only passage which she felt would give her the strength to carry on. She knew it had something to do with Saul, who used to be called Paul also; that bad bad brute who went ’bout persecuting those blessed disciples and getting-on like a real sinner with all his rascality. But be-Christ, God stepped in though, and put a finish to Paul’s doings. She found the passage: Acts 8, verse 9; and she began to read: Meanwhile Saul was still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and applied for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, authorizing him to arrest anyone he found, men or women who followed the new way … “But this thing ain’ reading like a Bible, in truth! This isn’t Bible-talk, this isn’t the way the Bible does say things, man!” She was furious. “And what the hell this book mean by saying who followed the new way. Which way that is? Are they telling me something ’bout a road or a street, or something like that?” Someone had tampered with the golden words in her Bible, the one with which she grew up, and which she read every night before she went to bed. “This is rudeness on this man’s part, whoever he is that write this book and calling it a Bible!” But she still perused the passage and then found out that she didn’t even understand how the verses and the chapters were arranged in this strange book. For she had seen Acts 8, 9, and had mistaken it for chapter 8 verse 9; whereas it meant, that on that page, chapter 8 was concluded and chapter 9 started — on the same page. What she had read was therefore Act 9, verses 1, onwards. While he was still on the road and nearing Damascus, suddenly a light flashed from the sky all round him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Tell me, Lord, he said, who are you. The voice answered, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and go into the city and you will be told what you have to do. Meanwhile the men who were travelling with him stood speechless; and they heard the voice but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. He was blind for three days, and took no
