savin' nohow. About that time this same tramp preacher come along, an'
I heard 'im talk. I listened close, but I couldn't make out whether he
stood for sprinklin', pourin', or sousin' clean under. So after he
finished I went up an' axed 'im about it. I never shall forget how the
feller grinned--I reckon I remember it because it made me feel better.
He ketched hold o' my hand, he did, an' while he was rubbin' it good
an' kind-like, he said: 'Brother, don't let that bother you. I'm
floatin' on top myself. In fact, my aim is to stay out o' the jangle
so I kin jine all factions together in brotherly bonds.' As he put it,
the light o' God was shinin' on every earthly path that had any sort
o' upward slope to it."

At this moment there was a vigorous blowing of the horn of an
automobile in the road behind them, and in a cloud of dust a gleaming
new car bore down toward them. To the banker's surprise, Webb paused
in the center of the road and made no effort to move.

"Look out!" Mostyn cried, warningly. "Here, quick!"

"Humph!" Webb grunted, still refusing to move, his eyes flashing
sullenly. "I'm goin' to pick up a rock some o' these days an' knock
one o' them fellers off his perch."

Still immovable he stood while the honking car, with brakes on, slid
to a stop a few feet away.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" the man at the wheel, in a
jaunty cap and goggles, cried out, angrily. "You heard me blowin',
didn't you?"