Surprisingly, the searing flames did not come.  Instead, Patrick’s eyes were drawn toward hundreds of flames marching toward them in the darkness of the nearby grove of trees.  These flaming torches, along with the crunching of twigs and dry grasses, drew steadily onward until they reached the clearing and stopped.  Suddenly, there was a shout, “Run, boys!  GO!!!”

            That was just what the boys needed to bring them back to their senses.  With the dragon still slightly mesmerized by the hundreds of flaming torches, Patrick and his friends sprinted off toward the grove of trees.  Once they were in the safety of the trees and their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Patrick could finally see all of the men who were holding the torches.  Manchu and Shing quickly spotted their fathers and ran into their waiting arms.

            At that point, Patrick glanced back toward the Great Wall to get a good look at the dragon.  It was just as scary-looking as the other boys had described it.  The fire-breathing dragon was now partially hanging over the side of the wall, his head weaving back and forth, looking for his lost prey who had disappeared into the darkness with the flaming torches.   While Patrick kept an eye on the dragon, he also tuned his ear in to what the men were saying.

            “We can’t lose the silver mines.  It’s our only way of making a living.”

            “But, we can’t stay here any longer, either.  Everyone is frightened and we can’t leave our womenfolk and children behind while we’re working in the mines.  It’s just too dangerous!”

            “Yes, I say that we pack up and move far away from here while we still can!”

            At that point, an elderly man stepped forward and said, “Gentlemen!  Gentlemen!  Do you not trust our gods?  We have just come back from making our petition to them.  They will send down fire and destroy this wicked beast.  Wait and see.”

            This silenced the other men.  Some bowed their heads in shame, while others turned to gaze upon the dragon, half expecting it to turn to charcoal right before their very eyes.  But, still, it thrashed about angrily and spewed forth its blaze of fire.

            Patrick turned to Shing, who was standing nearby and whispered, “Do you really believe in these gods?”

            “Well, sure… I guess,” answered Shing.  “That’s all I’ve ever been taught.  What else is there?”

            “Well… there’s the God that made the world and all things therein,” Patrick answered, a little amazed at himself for remembering a passage that he had memorized quite awhile ago.  Continuing on, he quoted, “seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things…” 

            By then, Patrick’s voice had increased in volume as he gained confidence… and an audience.  He continued on, “… And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:  For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”

            Everyone was silent as the old man made his way over to Patrick.  “What are you blathering on about, boy?” he asked.

            “It’s a quote from the Bible, sir, telling us about the One True God,” Patrick answered.

            The elderly man gave a sharp laugh and then demanded, “What is this Bible that you speak of?”

            A timid voice from behind Patrick answered, “Sir, I have seen one of those books.”  Manchu stepped forward in the faint light of the torches and continued, “A man traveling through our village showed me one.  He told me of wonderful stories that were in it, of a God who is very powerful and can deliver us from evil.  When I kept asking him questions, he… he… gave it to me… and said that I could keep it.  I was afraid and hid it.”

            “Manchu is right, sir,” Patrick said, defending him.  “The Bible is filled with wonderful stories!  But they are not just stories… they really did happen!”  He was surprised at his own boldness, but for the first time in his life, he was beginning to realize that he wasn’t alone.  Like the verses he just quoted, he truly believed that the Lord was real and that He was right there with him.  With that realization and newfound strength, he continued on, “My God is real!  And, I believe that He can deliver you from this dragon!”

            The elderly man laughed again and demanded, “Then let your God send fire down from heaven to destroy this dragon!”

“Oh, He has done things like that before,” Patrick quickly answered.  “But, sometimes He works through people.  Sometimes He uses us to show His mighty strength and power.  He has even given us different talents to be used for His glory… no matter how small these talents may seem sometimes.”  He had to smile at this remark that came unexpectedly out of his own mouth.

The elderly man was about to speak again when he was interrupted by a shout, “The dragon just climbed over the wall and is headed this way!”

            As Patrick turned to run with the rest of the men further into the darkness of the trees, a gnarly old hand grabbed his arm and stopped him in his tracks.  Twirling around, he was forced to look up into the elderly man’s eyes.  This time, however, he didn’t see the anger and mockery from a few seconds ago.  Instead, he saw fear and desperation.

            “Can you help us, lad?  Can your God really save us?  I am so tired and weary anymore and don’t know what to believe.  Our gods do not answer.  Our time is up.  If your God is real, please… I beg of you… call upon him!”  The elderly man then fell down upon his knees and began to weep.

            Patrick knew that he couldn’t leave this man alone.  He was also very aware that the other men had stopped and fixed their eyes upon him.  He knew that he had to make a quick decision… and make the right one.

            Patrick prayed.

            It wasn’t a half-hearted, silent prayer either.  It was spoken out loud and with meaning as he petitioned the throne of God, asking for strength and courage to fight the dragon and that God would get the praise and glory from the victory.

            Just as Patrick finished his prayer, he saw the dragon charging directly toward him.  Remembering his baseball, he pulled it from his pocket and with a quick, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!”, he threw the ball at the dragon.

            With a loud crraaack! the ball hit its mark… right between the dragon’s eyes.  The great monster fell with a THUD to the ground.

            “Quick!  Does anyone have a sword?”  Patrick shouted back toward the men, who were slowly creeping out of their hiding places.  One of the men ran to Patrick and handed him a sword.

            Patrick grabbed the sword, ran to where the dragon was and slew it.

            Cheers rang out as the men, along with Patrick’s two friends, came and crowded around him.  The elderly man broke through the crowd and fell down at Patrick’s feet. 

            “Thank you!  You are a brave warrior,” the man said.  Taking Patrick’s hand, he continued, “You have saved our people and we are greatly indebted to you.  Whatever you ask shall be yours.”

            Taken aback, Patrick humbly answered, “Oh, but it was God Who saved you and your people!  I couldn’t have done it without Him!  He gave me the strength and courage to slay the dragon.”

            “I… I want to know more about your God,” the elderly man confessed.  “You must come to my house and teach us… maybe stay for a few days.”

            “Oh, I would love to, sir,” Patrick admitted, “but I really need to be getting back.  I’m sure everyone is wondering what happened to me by now.”  And then, remembering Manchu’s hidden Bible, he continued, “You know, you’ve got all you need to learn about God.”

            Turning toward Manchu, he asked, “Would you be willing to share your Bible?”

            “Oh, yes!”  Manchu exclaimed with a bright smile on his face.

            “Manchu’s Bible will tell you all you need to know about God and His Son, the True Savior,” Patrick instructed.  “I will be praying for you all!  Now, I must find my way back to the mine.”

            “We’ll show you the way,” Shing said.  “Follow me!”

“Thanks!”  Patrick said.  He took one last look at the fallen dragon, sighed, and sent up a prayer of thanks to his loving Father.  Then, he turned and followed Shing, Manchu, and the rest of the men. 

As they neared the thicket of trees where the others were still hiding, the group of men stopped to express their gratitude toward Patrick for helping them out, said their good-byes, and then stepped into the shelter to be reunited with their families.  Shing and Manchu led Patrick on to where they had first met him.

“Well, I guess this is where we part,” Patrick said, as they stopped by the silver mine.  “I’ve really enjoyed meeting both of you!  Maybe some day we’ll see each other again.”

“Yes,” Manchu agreed, “we would like that very much!  It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, too!”

“Do you need a light for your journey home?” asked Shing.  “My dad gave me his torch and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I passed it on to you.”

“Oh, no, I’ll be fine,” Patrick answered.  “Thanks!  Good-bye!”  He waved at his friends as they turned around and headed back down the path.  He watched them go until they disappeared from his sight.

Patrick was surprised at how dark it had gotten.

“Maybe I should’ve taken the torch,” he thought to himself.  But he knew that the mine shaft wasn’t too far away.  He’d just have to feel his way around until he found it.

Knowing that the shaft was off the path to his left, Patrick turned and slowly moved his feet as he held his hands out in front of him.  All of a sudden, his foot struck a rock, making him trip and fall… fall… fall…back into the long, twisting tunnel once more.

“Patrick, are you okay?”

“Huh?  What?  What happened?” Patrick mumbled, as he peered up into the familiar faces of the people bending over him.  He couldn’t remember climbing back out of the hole, but here he was… lying on the grass in the warm sunshine.

“You had us scared, Patrick!”  Samuel exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Joshua joined in, “you fell in some kind of an old coal mine.  We had to get Mom and Dad to help pull you back out.  It sure took us awhile, too!  How are you feeling?”

Sitting up and feeling a little dazed, Patrick wondered if he had dreamt the whole thing.  He still had his headache.  And, reaching up, sure enough, there was the bump on his head.  He’d have to sort it all out later, but for now, he had quite the story to tell! 

“I guess I’m okay,” he answered, “but wait until I tell you what happened!”

“You can do that while we’re eating breakfast!” his friends’ mom interjected with a smile.  “The waffles are probably cold by now!”

“WAFFLES!  Yum!  Let’s eat!”  With that, Patrick rose to his feet, staggered a little and then headed for the house.  Waffles were his favorite… warm or cold!

All through breakfast, and in between bites, Patrick told his fantastic story.  The others listened attentively, not knowing exactly how to respond.  They knew that Patrick had injured his head, but he did make it seem so real!

Finally, when Patrick finished, his friends’ dad spoke up, “That is an amazing story, Patrick!  I know that God works in mysterious ways, even through dreams.  I’m just glad that He was able to help you work through your fears.  In fact, when you were telling your story, it reminded me of the phrase, ‘slaying the dragon’.  That is when a person learns to overcome their inner demons of fear, self-doubt, and negativity.  God taught you how to do this… by using His Word and through His power.”

Slaying the dragon,”  Patrick repeated slowly and then exclaimed, “Oh!  I just remembered!  Our baseball team is playing the Dragons tomorrow!  You know, I might just be able to ‘slay’ those Dragons, too!  In a figurative sense, that is,” he added and everyone laughed.

“Yes,” Patrick continued, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  And, my baseball comes in mighty handy, too!”  They all laughed as he reached into his pocket for his baseball.

Out it came… along with a rock that fell and clattered to the floor.  A rock that had a shimmer to it… almost like silver.