"No, no," testily replied the defender of the faith. "Only somebody
that ought to be."
"But where does the lying come in, that you were talking about?"
"I tell you just what I believe," said Deacon Quickset, dropping his
voice and drawing closer to his associate; "I believe Dr. Guide
believes just what he says,--of course nobody's going to doubt that
he's sincere,--but when it's come to the pinch he's felt a little
shaky. What does any other man do when he finds himself shaky about an
important matter of opinion? Why, he consults a lawyer, and gets
himself pulled through."
"But you don't mean to say that you think Dr. Guide would go to a rank,
persistent disbeliever in anything--but himself--like Ray Bartram, do
you, in a matter of this kind?"
"Why not? Ministers have often got lawyers to help them when they've
been muddled on points of orthodoxy. What the lawyer believes or don't
believe hasn't got anything to do with it: it's his business to believe
as his client does, and make other folks believe so, too. Ray Bartram
is just the sort of a fellow a man would want in such a case. He's got
that way of looking as if he knew everything, just like his father had
before him, that makes folks give in to him in spite of themselves.
Besides, he'll say or do anything to carry his point.
Pages:
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131