something. Why, one time, if Eddie Fislinger had smiled at me, damn him, think of him daring to smile at me!—if he'd said he was coming to my room, I'd of told him, 'Like hell you will!' and I'd of kicked him in the shins."
Dr. Lefferts purred in his beard. His eyes were bright.
"I'll give your friend Fislinger a run for his money. And for the inconsequential sake of the non-existent Heaven, Jim, try not to look surprised when you find your respectable father being pious."
When Eddie arrived, he was introduced to a silkily cordial Dr. Lefferts, who shook his hand with that lengthiness and painfulness common to politicians, salesmen, and the godly. The doctor rejoiced:
"Brother Fislinger, my boy here and Elmer tell me that you've been trying to help them see the true Bible religion."
"I've been seeking to."
"It warms my soul to hear you say that, Brother Fislinger! You can't know what a grief it is to an old man tottering to the grave, to one whose only solace now is prayer and Bible-reading"— Dr. Lefferts had sat up till four a. m., three nights ago, playing poker and discussing biology with his cronies, the probate judge and the English stock-breeder—"what a grief it is to him that his only son, James Blaine Lefferts, is not a believer. But perhaps you can do more than I can, Brother Fislinger. They think I'm a fanatical old fogy. Now let me see— You're a real Bible believer?"
"Oh, yes!" Eddie looked triumphantly at Jim, who was leaning against the table, his hands in his pockets, as expressionless as wood. Elmer was curiously hunched up in the Morris chair, his hands over his mouth.
The doctor said approvingly:
"That's splendid. You believe every word of it, I hope, from cover to cover?"
"Oh, yes. What I always say is, 'It's better to have the whole Bible than a Bible full of holes.'"
"Why, that's a real thought, Brother Fislinger. I must remember that, to tell any of these alleged higher critics, if I ever meet any! 'Bible whole—not Bible full of holes.' Oh, that's a fine thought, and cleverly expressed. You made it up?"
"Well, not exactly."
