The Second Appearance: Was the Boy Really Jesus Christ?

William and Beatrice Hampston gladly welcome nine-year-old Russell Hendrix into their home in Nelson, British Columbia, in December of 1945. This older, childless couple enjoys the company of this orphaned boy who had been hiding in their barn. The Hampstons and the townspeople soon realize that Russell is an extraordinary child.

He intimately knows the details of the Bible and of the life of Jesus Christ. Russell is popular with both the students at school and the adults in the community as they believe in his mission as a young preacher of the good word. When Russell resurrects his friend Lawrence from death, people suspect that he is Jesus Christ returned to earth as a small child.

But Russell doesn't think he is Jesus, and he doesn't want to be Jesus. As he grows older, he faces enormous problems because many continue to pray to him despite Russell's insistence that he isn't Jesus Christ. The matter is laid to rest when fifteen-year-old Russell goes missing. Years later, the Vatican investigates whether or not the boy really was Jesus Christ.

Dahn Batchelor began his career in 1957 as a copy editor with the Winnipeg Tribune. He was also the associate editor of Canadian Police News, editor of Ontario Police News, a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, and the host of a television show. Batchelor is working on his third novel.