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Even Rector himself was prey to this spirit of competition and he knew it, not for a more exalted office in the hierarchy of the church -- his ambitions for the bishopry had died very early in his career -- but for the one clear victory he had talked about to the colonel.

He was not sure how much of this desire was due to his devotion to the church and how much was his own ego, demanding to be satisfied, for the two were intertwined and could not be separated.

He wanted desperately to see Kayabashi defeated, the Communists in the village rooted out, the mission standing triumphant, for in the triumph of the Lord he himself would be triumphant, too.

But perhaps this was a part of the eternal plan, that man's ambition when linked with God would be a driving, indefatigable force for good in the world.