there. Crane was a harmless half-wit who lived alone in a shanty at the
back of Deacon Gramps' field. He always made it a point to attend every
religious service far and near, of whatever faith, and he had the
capacity for adjusting himself to his surroundings to such an extent
that he joined every religious movement with which he came in contact.
Roguish boys found great amusement in giving him pennies to sing for
them. Jim Peabody was there. But that was to be taken only as a matter
of course, for Jim always went to church. He went, not because he was
religious, but because he was otherwise. He made loud boast of his
infidelity. He had given himself extensively to the reading of Bob
Ingersoll and other authors notorious for things other than goodness, so
in his own vain imaginations he was a masterful scholar. He said there
was no God, and that any man who prayed was a fool. But the cause of
infidelity had suffered a terrific blow when one time Nolan Gray, as he
was going to Dobbinsville, saw a huge wagon-box turned bottom side up,
with the wagon on top, in a ditch by the side of the road. As he drew
near he heard coming from under the box the low muttering tones of a
man's voice. As he stood near the box and listened he heard a most
eloquent prayer. He took a long pole from a fence near by and pried one
edge of the box up, and who should emerge from beneath but Jim Peabody.

When the hour of service arrived, Jake Benton and the evangelistic party
did not arrive with it. Owing to the lateness of the train, Jake had
been unable to get around at the appointed hour. Finally the familiar
rattle of Jake's wagon was heard, and now all was breathless expectancy.
When the party arrived at the arbor, all eyes were fastened upon the
Evangelist. If he had been a ghost moving about in the twilight of that
summer evening, he would have been regarded with no more superstition by
that rustic people. There was nothing whatsoever extraordinary in the
physical appearance of Evangelist Blank. He was a man of average height