never gave me credit for a single virtue. I ought to have remembered
father's position, but whatever I was or whatever I did, you had no
right to pray for me openly for full five minutes at a public meeting.
That galled me worse than anything!"

"Now, Isaac," interrupted Mrs. Todd. "I hope you'll believe me! I've
told you once a week, on an average, these last three years, that you
might have chastened Dick some other way besides prayin' for him in
meetin'!"

The Deacon smiled grimly. "You both talk as if prayin' was one of the
seven deadly sins," he said.

"I'm not objecting to your prayers," agreed Dick, "but there were
plenty of closets in your house where you might have gone and told the
Lord your opinion of me; only that wasn't good enough for you; you
must needs tell the whole village!"

"There, father, that's what I always said," agreed Mrs. Todd.

"Well, I ain't one that can't yield when the majority's against me,"
said the Deacon, "particularly when I'm treatin' John Trimble for the
colic. If you'll stop actin' so you threaten to split the church, Dick
Larrabee, I'll stop prayin' for you. The Lord knows how I feel about
it now, so I needn't keep on remindin' Him."




[Illustration]