, but these fellows are business men
enough to know that it may be ours tomorrow. We'll offer them a
business solution. We'll propose a merger."

"I've been thinking of it," said Mr. Furlong senior, "I suppose it's
feasible?"

"Feasible!" exclaimed Mr. Fyshe. "Why look what's being done every day
everywhere, from the Standard Oil Company downwards."

"You would hardly, I think," said Mr. Furlong, with a quiet smile,
"compare the Standard Oil Company to a church?" "Well, no, I suppose
not," said Mr. Fyshe, and he too smiled--in fact he almost laughed. The
notion was too ridiculous. One could hardly compare a mere church to a
thing of the magnitude and importance of the Standard Oil Company.

"But on a lesser scale," continued Mr. Fyshe, "it's the same sort of
thing. As for the difficulties of it, I needn't remind you of the much
greater difficulties we had to grapple with in the rum merger. There,
you remember, a number of the women held out as a matter of principle.
It was not mere business with them. Church union is different. In fact
it is one of the ideas of the day and everyone admits that what is
needed is the application of the ordinary business principles of
harmonious combination, with a proper--er--restriction of output and
general economy of operation."

"Very good," said Mr. Furlong, "I'm sure if you're willing to try, the
rest of us are."

"All right," said Mr. Fyshe. "I thought of setting Skinyer, of Skinyer
and Beatem, to work on the form of the organization. As you know he is
not only a deeply religious man but he has already handled the Tin Pot
Combination and the United Hardware and the Associated Tanneries. He
ought to find this quite simple."

* * * * *

Within a day or two Mr. Skinyer had already commenced his labours. "I
must first," he said, "get an accurate idea of the existing legal
organization of the two churches."

For which purpose he approached the rector of St. Asaph's. "I just want
to ask you, Mr. Furlong," said the lawyer, "a question or two as to the
exact constitution, the form so to speak, of your church. What is it?
Is it a single corporate body?"

"I suppose," said the rector thoughtfully, "one would define it as an
indivisible spiritual unit manifesting itself on earth." "Quite so,"
interrupted Mr. Skinyer, "but I don't mean what it is in the religious
sense: I mean, in the real sense." "I fail to understand," said Mr.
Furlong.

"Let me put it very