The Cane Ridge Meeting House
317
alcove, and scarcely discernible except in barest outlines. Everything was lonely and depressing, the silence unbroken. A clock, run down, stared at me from the further end, and I recognized a big Bible, lying open on the gaunt pulpit stand. A book of some kind, dog's-eared and coverless, lay on the floor at my feet, and I bent to pick it up. As I came upright again, a man stepped out from the shadow of a corner, and the steel barrel of a revolver flashed before my eyes. I felt Noreen cringe against me, uttering a muffled cry.
"Stand as yer are, Yank," said a rather pleasant voice. "Pardon me, lady."
