Two travelers were staying in the inn’s back courtyard. One, Feeble-mind, spoke softly and hid his hands in his sleeves when strangers came. The other could not walk without two crutches. Everyone called him Mr. Ready-to-halt.
On the morning of departure, Feeble-mind stayed behind the window instead of collecting his pack. Great-heart invited him to join them. “I’m slow,” he answered. “I wake easily in the night. Sometimes I cannot even feel happy when everyone is talking about happy things. I’m afraid I would spoil everything.”
Ready-to-halt leaned by the door and smiled. “If they admitted only fast walkers, I would never have got in on the first day.”
Feeble-mind still hesitated. Christiana remembered telling Chris not to frown. She had only wanted an unhappy face removed from the cheerful room as quickly as possible.
“We can agree on some things before we begin,” she said, going over to him. “Tell Great-heart when you need to stop. Tell us when you need quiet at night. I cannot promise that nothing will ever upset you. But you needn’t learn to smile first before you eat at our table.”
Great-heart nodded. “The Lord tells us to support the weak and be patient with everyone. That is my work. You needn’t cancel it for me.”
They rearranged the company, put the things most often needed within easy reach, and agreed to check regularly how everyone was doing. Ready-to-halt explained which slopes he could manage and where he would need a rail. Chris’s father did not lift him onto a wagon without asking. He let him choose what would help.
Once they were walking, the little girl discovered that Ready-to-halt knew many birds by name. Hearing a call, he would point to a tree and let her guess which bird was moving. After a long search, she found a tiny gray bird. She was so pleased she forgot to ask how much farther they had to go.
At noon Feeble-mind offered to set out the cups. He was slow and spilled a little water, but nobody hurried him. He asked Mercy whether the Lord might leave him halfway because his faith was so small.
Mercy thought before answering. “Outside the narrow gate, I hardly dared believe I could enter. Goodwill opened the door, not my courage. Great-heart told us that the Lord Jesus will not break a bruised reed or put out a wick whose flame is nearly gone.”
Feeble-mind looked at the lamp on the table. Although it was daytime, he studied it for a while. When they set out again, he came away from the window at last and took his place in the middle of the company.