MR. EFIOM EKPE ESUK. 
99 
had to be built, he led the way. No trouble was 
considered too great to secure the best workers and 
materials, so that when the new church was com- 
pleted it far surpassed the old. When, some time 
later, this second church suffered the same fate as 
the first, Efiom was unfortunately laid aside with a 
very serious illness. When I went to see him I 
found him suffering from dysentery. I told him on 
no account must be get up or walk about or try to 
work, and specially warned him of the danger of 
these things because I knew he hankered after 
*^ doing his bit in church building. The very 
next day I found him sitting near the site of the 
new church making palm-mats for the roof ! His 
excuse was that he feared no risks if only he could 
take a hand in building a house to the glory of 
God, for He had done everything for him. A 
summons came one day calling him to Calabar as 
a witness in a court case. Ikani dreaded the 
separation that call involved. She knew how slowly 
law cases moved to a conclusion, and was disconso- 
late. Efiom, however, fixed a day upon which he 
felt he w^ould be sure to be back. He took the 
precaution to allow a big margin for law's delays. 
And with that Ikani seemed much more re- 
signed. I hoped with a very strong hope that 
Efiom would be back before the time limit expired, 
but I had my doubts and fears. These proved 
only too well founded, and when Ikani was with- 
out her husband, after the fixed day had passed, 
she refused to be comforted. All the hours of 
daylight each succeeding day she haunted the 
landing-place at the mission beach in her eager- 
ness to be the first to hail her husband's canoe 
