Walter looked at his father for a moment, wondering what could be the
matter, and as he thought of all he had said, it occured to him that
his father must think he had lost his reason; this struck him as so
ridiculous that he burst out laughing, more heartily than he had ever
done in his life, for he felt better and more free than ever before.
But his laughter only made matters worse as it confirmed his father's
opinion in regard to his having lost his reason; and now the good man
sadly shook his head, saying, "It is worse than I thought."

This only made Walter laugh the heartier.

The mother looked from her laughing son to her sorrowing husband,
wondering what it all meant. At last she said, "James, what is worse
than you thought?"

Before the pastor could answer, Walter said, "Mother, father thinks
I have gone crazy, and this seemed so ridiculous to me that I could
not control my laughter."

"Crazy!" ejaculated the mother, "did you think that, James?"

The pastor did not answer. He had supposed that no one but a demented
person would say the things Walter had said, but it certainly was not
the act of a demented person to guess what he had thought.

"Mother," said Walter, and there was still a healthy smile on his face,
"now that I come to think of it, I do not wonder that father thought
I had lost my reason, as it would be impossible for him to grasp this
great truth as readily as you or I. To do so, he would have to unlearn
in these few minutes all that he had ever learned regarding this false