The Hidden Hand

It was a Saturday and my son said, "Dad, take a look at this book."� The spine was missing its stitched binding, and the six-hundred-plus pages were enveloped within an old worn leather cover. "There must be pages missing," I thought. But upon closer inspection, they were all there. I probably wouldn't ever read this voluminous story, but the leather cover was inviting. It would certainly make a nice mantle piece.

The bidding began. "Who will give me fifty cents? A dollar? Two? Sold! For two dollars."� I don't know why, but my heart was pounding.

The book set on my bookshelf for two years. The lengthiest book I had ever read was three hundred pages at most. Six hundred? Not a chance. But for some reason, that Christmas vacation the book beckoned me, and I picked it up. I read the preface, and what I read so captured my attention that I knew I had to begin. What was in the preface that so drew me in? It said that this was the best book to have been written in the nineteenth century! What a claim! I was hooked.

As I nestled down to read the first chapter, cradled in my favorite leather chair, with the fire roaring in the fireplace, I knew I had stumbled upon something that may indeed have been the best crafted story in all of the 19th century. I simply could not put it down. I read until 3:00 a.m. the first night, and then took three days off of work to finish the story. It has now been seven years later, and I must say that it still holds as my all-time favorite story. But, that is not the reason I am writing to you.

The reason for this letter is to tell you what happened after I read The Hidden Hand. After completing this on-the-edge-of-your-seat story, I began searching for other stories by the same author, and I found one -Ishmael. As soon as it was in my possession, I began reading and found that this story, though very different than The Hidden Hand, was every bit as captivating. In fact, the day I finished it, I was so inspired that I contacted the county prison and asked if they would like someone to come and share stories that would inspire, instruct, and encourage the prisoners in regard to the cultivation of moral character and a life of excellence. There must have been a "hidden hand"� working behind the scenes because they invited me to start at 7 that evening. It often takes years for this kind of door to open. Inmates still write about how deeply they were moved by the stories they heard. Lives continue to be changed and it is all because of a life lived well through the true story of Ishmael Worth.