第9章

“Hum！Queerweatherforawalk，Icallit。Won’tbemanyoutto-

night，exceptCome-Outersgoin’tohollertheirlungslooseatprayermeetin’。He，he！Youain’tturnedCome-Outer，haveyou，Mr。Ellery？You’veheadedrightforthechapel。“

Ellery’sreplywashurriedandabitconfused。Hesaidgoodnightandwenton。

“Laviny，“whisperedtheshockedKyan，“doyouthinkthatwasa——er——

politethingtosaytoaparson？Thatabouthisturnin’Come-

Outer？Hedidn’tmakemuchanswer，seemedtome。Youdon’tthinkhewasmad，doye？“

“Idon’tcareifhewas，“snortedMissPepper。“Hecouldtellabodywherehewasgoin’then。Nobodycansnubme，ministerornot。

Ithinkhe’skindofstuck-up，ifyouwanttoknow，andifheis，he’llgettookdowninahurry。Comealong，don’tstandtherewithyourmouthopenlikeaflytrap。I’dliketoknowwhathewasupto。I’veapreciousgoodmindtofollowhim；wouldif’twa’n’tsomuchtrouble。“

Shedidn’t。Yet，ifshehad，shewouldhavedeemedthetroubleworthwhile。ForJohnEllerystumbledonthroughthemisttillhereachedthe“Corners“wherethestorewaslocatedandtheroadsforked。There，heturnedtotheright，intothewaycalledlocally“Hammond’sTurn-off。“Ashortdistancedownthe“Turn-off“stoodasmall，brown-shingledbuilding，itswindowsalight。Oppositeitsdoor，ontheothersideoftheroad，grewaspreadinghornbeamtreesurroundedbyaclusterofswampblackberrybushes。IntheblackshadowofthehornbeamMr。Ellerystoodstill。Hewasdebatinginhismindaquestion：shouldheorshouldhenotenterthatbuilding？

Ashestoodthere，groupsofpeopleemergedfromthefoganddarknessandpassedinatthedoor。SomeofthemhehadseenduringhisfortnightinTrumet。Otherswerestrangerstohim。A

lanterndancedandwabbledupthe“Turn-off“fromthedirectionofthebayshoreandthepacketwharf。Itdrewnear，andhesawthatitwascarriedbyanoldmanwithlongwhitehairandchinbeard，whowalkedwithaslightlimp。Besidehimwasathinwomanwearingablackpokebonnetandashawl。Intherearofthepaircameanotherwoman，ayoungwoman，judgingbythewayshewasdressedandherlithe，vigorousstep。Thetriohaltedontheplatformofthebuilding。Theoldmanblewoutthelantern。Thenhethrewthedooropenandastreamofyellowlightpouredoverthegroup。

TheyoungwomanwasGraceVanHorne。Theministerrecognizedheratonce。Undoubtedly，theoldmanwiththelimpwasherguardian，CaptainEbenHammond，who，bycommonreport，hadspokenofhim，Ellery，asa“hiredpriest。“

Thedoorclosed。Afewmomentsthereafterthesoundofasqueakymelodeoncamefromwithinthebuilding。Itwailedandquaveredandgroaned。Then，withasuddennessthatwasstartling，camethefirstverseofahymn，sungwithtremendousenthusiasm：

“Oh，whoshallanswerwhentheLordshallcallHisransomedsinnershome？“

Thehallelujahchoruswasstillringingwhenthewatcheracrossthestreetsteppedoutfromtheshadowofthehornbeam。Withoutapausehestrodeovertotheplatform。Anothermomentandthedoorhadshutbehindhim。

TheministeroftheTrumetRegularchurchhadenteredtheCome-

OuterchapeltoattendaCome-Outerprayermeeting！

CHAPTERV

INWHICHTHEPARSONCRUISESINSTRANGEWATERS

TheCome-Outerchapelwasasbareinside，almost，asitwaswithout。Barewoodenwalls，abeamedceiling，araisedplatformatoneendwithatableandchairsandthemelodeonuponit，rowsofwoodensetteesforthecongregation——thatwasall。Astheministerentered，theworshiperswerestandinguptosing。Threeorfoursputteringoillampsbutdimlyilluminedtheplaceandmaderecognitionuncertain。

ThesecondverseofthehymnwasjustbeginningasEllerycamein。

Mostofthefortyormoregrownpeopleinthechapelweretoobusywrestlingwiththetunetoturnandlookathim。Achildhereandthereinthebackrowtwistedacuriousneckbuttwistedbackagainasparentalfingerstuggedatitsear。Theministertiptoedtoadarkcornerandtookhisstandinfrontofavacantsettee。

ThemanwhomElleryhaddecidedmustbeCaptainEbenHammondwasstandingonthelowplatformbesidethetable。Aquaintfigure，patriarchalwithitsflowingwhitehairandbeard，puritanicalwithitsset，smooth-shavenlipsandtuftedbrows。CaptainEbenheldanopenhymnbookbackinonehandandbeattimewiththeother。Heworebrass-bowedspectacleswelldowntowardthetipofhisnose。

Swingingaheavy，stubbyfingerandsinginginahigh，quaveringvoiceofnoparticularregister，heledoffthethirdverse：

“Oh，whoshallweepwhentherolliscalledAndwhoshallshoutforjoy？“

Themelodeonandthehymnbookwereinaccordastothetune，butCaptainEbenandthevariousmembersofthecongregationseemedtohaveadesiretoimprovise。Theysangwithspirit，however，andtherhythmicpatoffeetgrewlouderandlouder。Hereandtheremenandwomenwereswayingandrockingtheirbodiesintimetothemusic。Thechorusforeachversewaslouderthantheoneprecedingit。

Anotherhymnwasgivenoutandsung。Andanotherandstillanother。Thewindowsrattled。Thepattinggrewtoasteady“thump！thump！“Momentarypausesbetweenlineswerepunctuatedbyhallelujahsandamens。Standingdirectlyinfrontoftheministerwasasix-foot，raw-bonedindividualwhoseclothessmelledstronglyoffish，andwhosehands，eachswungattheendofanexposedfiveinchesofhairyredwrist，lookedlikeflippers。Attheendofthethirdhymnthispersonagesprangstraightupintotheair，crackedtheheelsofapairofredcowhidebootstogether，andwhooped：

“Glorybe！SendthePAOWER！“inavoicelikethescreechofanortheastgale。Mr。Ellery，whomthisgymnasticfeathadtakenbysurprise，jumpedinsympathy，althoughnotashigh。

Thesingingover，theworshiperssatdown。CaptainEbentookafiguredhandkerchieffromhispocketandwipedhisforehead。Thethin，nearsightedyoungwomanwhohadbeenhumpedoverthekeyboardofthemelodeon，straightenedup。Theworshipersrelaxedalittleandbegantolookabout。

ThenthecaptainadjustedhisspectaclesandopenedaBible，whichhetookfromthetablebesidehim。Clearinghisthroat，heannouncedthathewouldreadfromtheWord，tenthchapterofJeremiah：

“’ThussaiththeLord。Learnnotthewayoftheheathen，andbenotdismayedatthesignsofheaven；fortheheathenaredismayedatthem。

“’Forthecustomsofthepeoplearevain：foronecuttethatreeoutoftheforest，theworkofthehandsoftheworkmen，withtheax。’“

Hereadinameasuredsingsong，stoppingoccasionallytoholdthebookinabetterlightandpeeringatthefineprintthroughhisspectacles。Andasheread，therewasasuddenrustleononeofthebackbenches。Achildhadturned，stared，andpulledatitsmother’ssleeve。Therustlegrewandspread。

CaptainEbendrawledontothetwentiethverse：

“’Mytabernacleisspoiledandallmycordsarebroken：mychildrenaregoneforthfromme，andtheyarenot：thereisnonetostretchforthmytentanymore，andtosetupmycurtains！

“’ForthepastorsarebecomebrutishandhavenotsoughttheLord：

thereforetheyshallnotprosper，and——’“

“A-MEN！“

Theshoutcamefromthesecondbenchfromthefront，whereEzekielBassett，clamdiggerandferventreligionist，wasalwaystobefoundonmeetingnights。EzekielwasthefatherofSusannahB。

Bassett，“SukeyB。“forshort，whoplayedthemelodeon。Hehadbeen，bysuccessiveseizures，aSeventhDayBaptist，aSecondAdventist，aMillerite，aRegular，andwasnowthemostenergeticofCome-Outers。LaterhewastobecomeaSpiritualistandpresideattable-tippingseances。

Ezekiel’samenwassosuddenandemphaticthatitstartledthereaderintolookingup。Insteadofthefacesofhiscongregation，hefoundhimselftreatedtoaviewoftheirbackhair。Nearlyeveryheadwasturnedtowardtherearcorneroftheroom，therewasabuzzofwhisperingand，infront，manymenandwomenwerestandinguptolook。CaptainEbenwasscandalized。

“Well！“heexclaimed。“Isthisaprayermeetin’or——or——what？

Brethrenandsisters，Imustsay——“

EzekielBassettsteppedforwardandwhisperedinhisear。Thecaptain’sexpressionofrighteousindignationchangedtooneofblankastonishment。He，too，gazedatthedarkcorner。Thenhislipstightenedandherappedsmartlyonthetable。

“Brethrenandsisters，“hethundered，inthevoicewhich，ofold，hadenforcedobedienceaboardhiscoastingschooner，“rememberthisisthehouseoftheLord。Bereverent！“

Hewaiteduntileveryeyehadswungabouttomeethis。Thenheregardedhisabashedbutexcitedhearerswithasteadyandprolongedstare。

“Myfriends，“hesaid，“letusbowinprayer。“

JohnEllerycouldhaverepeatedthatprayer，almostwordforword，yearsafterthatnight。Thecaptainprayedforthefewheregatheredtogether：Letthembesteadfast。Letthembeconstantintheway。Thepaththeyweretreadingmightbenarrowandbesetwiththorns，butitwasthepathleadingtoglory。

“Scoffersmaysneer，“hedeclared，hisvoicerising；“theymaymakeamockofus，theymayevencomeintoThypresencetolaughatus，buttheirsisthelaughthatturnstogroanin’。OLord，strengthenusto-nighttospeakwhat’sinourhearts，withoutfear。“(“A-

men！“)“ToprophesyinThyname！Tobidthemockersandthemthatdare——daretoprofanethissanctuarybecareful。Hiredsingersandtrumpetsandvainshowswehavenot“(“ThanktheLord！Amen！“)，“butthetruefaithandthejoyofitwedohave。“(“Hallelujah！

Hallelujah！Glory！“)

Andsoon，hisremarksbecomingmorepersonalandeverpointinglikeacompassneedletotheoccupantofthatseatinthecorner。

Theminister’sdeterminationtoattendaCome-Outermeeting，thoughithadreachedthestickingpointonlyahalfhourbefore，wastheresultofconsiderabledeliberation。Hehadarguedwithhimselfandhadmadeuphismindtofindoutforhimselfjustwhatthesepeopledid。Hewasfindingout，certainly。Hismotivesweregoodandhehadcomewithnodesiretoscoff，but，forthelifeofhim，hecouldnothelpfeelinglikeacriminal。Incidentally，itprovokedhimtofeelthatway。

“OLord，“prayedCaptainHammond，theperspirationinbeadsonhisforehead，“ThouhastsaidthatthepastorsbecomebrutishandhavenotsoughtTheeandthattheyshan’tprosper。Helpustonighttolaborwiththisonethathemayseehiserrorandrepentinsackclothandashes。“

Theysangoncemore，ahymnthatprophesiedwoetotheunbeliever。

ThenEzekielBassettroseto“testify。“Thetestimonywasmainlytotheeffectthathewashappybecausehehadfledtothearkofsafetywhiletherewasyettime。

“Ifoundout，“heshouted，“thatfancymusicand——ah——and——ah——sotsermonsandfinedudsandsuchlikewa’n’tgoin’todoMEnogood。

Ineededsomethin’else。Ineededgoodtimesinmyreligion“

(“Hallelujah！“)“andI’vefound’emrighthere。Yes，sir！righthere。AndIsaythisoutloud，“turningtoglareattheintruder，“andIdon’tcarewhocomestopokefunatmeforsayin’it。“

(“Amen！“)

Asharp-nosedfemalefollowedMr。Bassett。Shespokewithevidentfeelingandinavoicethattrembledandshookwhenheremotioncarrieditaloft。SHE’Dhadenoughofhigh-tonedreligion。Yes，andofthemthatupheldit。WhenherbrotherSimeonwastookbadwithphthisic，“wheezin’likeabustedbellerses“and’twas“upanddown，trot，trot，trot，“tofetchandcarryforhimdayinandnightout，didthefolksfromtheReg’larchurchhelpher？SheguessedNOT。TheonlyonethatcamenighherwasLavinyPepper，andshecameonlytogasandgabbleandfindoutthingsthatwa’n’tnoneofherbusiness。WhathelpshegotwasfromaCome-Outer，fromEbenHammond，blesshisgoodsoul！(“Amen！“)ThatphthisicsettledherforReg’larism。Yes，andforthemthatpreachedit，too。Sothere！

CaptainEbencalledformoretestimony。Butthetestifierswere，tousetheoldminstreljoke，backwardincomingforwardthatevening。Atanordinarymeeting，bythistime，theshoutsandenthusiasmwouldhavebeenattheirheightandhalfadozenCome-

Outersontheirfeetatonce，relatingtheirexperiencesandproclaimingtheirhappiness。Buttonighttherewasadamper；thepresenceoftheleaderoftheoppositioncastashadowoverthegathering。Onlythebravestattemptedspeech。Theotherssatsilent，showingtheirresentmentandcontemptbyfrowningglancesovertheirshouldersandportentousnodsonetotheother。

“Come，brethren，“commandedthecaptainsharply；“wearewaitin’tohearyou。Areyouafraid？Ifyourfaithisreal，nothin’nornobodyshouldkeepyoufromcryin’itoutloud。Now，ifever，istheacceptedtime。Speakupforthespiritthat’sinyou。“