I THOUGHT, ElmerGantry, you werent supposed to
smoke in Terwillinger!
No, gee, Judson, I guess you got me
trimmed!
He threw the last of his emotional reserve into a
ringing, You betI will, Ma!
Gee whillikins,that must have been a great game you
played against ThorvilsenCollege!
He was shakily sittingup in bed, his eyes
imploring. For a second he snickered, but:Not nice to talk that way. Trouble withhim
is, he thinks he knows it all.
I really did repent all thesedarn fool sins. Think
of the joy of being rid of all those nasty little sinsthat youve felt so ashamed of!
For a second he snickered, but:Not nice to talk that way. Stay converted, no
matterhow hard it was.
Above was a large andenlightening motto: Be not
overcome of evil, but overcome evilwith good.
Five minutes later Elmer would not have had a seat
down front.
I suppose probly youre bigger than Moses,bigger
than St. He had walkedmiles through the slush, worrying. He eased the door open,
holding it with a restraining hand. And youhavent got that kind of courage,
Elmer.
None of his business if I come out and dothe fair
square thing! He piled them and repiledthem and tapped them with his
fountain-pen.
Wont hurthim to cut out some of his bad habits for
a while, anyway. He looked down, something of his panic returning. Certainly it
compared well withthe average mystical rhapsody of the pulpit.
Jim spoke abruptly:You son of a sea-cook! It was an
echoing andgaping church, and presently it was packed, the aisles full.
Mighty few fellows everve pulled offa conversion as
soon after their own conversion as I did!
Roberts turned to Elmer again, and gloated:Well,
old son, Ive been hearing a lot about you. Wouldnt you want to be able to look emin
the eye, and shame em?
Judson Roberts swaggered across from the bed, stood
with his handon Elmers shoulder. Now thats what I wanted to explain about Love, and
heres how itapplies. Oh, praise God, from the multitude, and Praise his holy name!
Buttheres one thing you might do if taint too much trouble, Elmy.
How hed saved a tough kid,just as good as Judson
Roberts could do.
It comforted him but little as he fretted on:There
WASNT any fake about it! But Im kneeling now, and,oh, the blessedness of humility!
Next thing to do is to get a lot ofexercise.
I guess I can take care of myself after all these
years!
For a second he snickered, but:Not nice to talk
that way.