ed disgustedly, "'cause that's a kind of a pipe
you smoke. My father's got one."

For a few moments conflict seemed inevitable. Then the discussion took a
new angle and developed into an argument as to the knowledge of their
respective fathers of the correct meaning of the word "mershum." After
this had waged for a few minutes with honors about equally divided,
Gizzard had a brilliant idea.

"Look here, Sube!" he cried. "We could keep chewin' about this all day
long and not get nowhere. But if I could _show_ it to you, then you'd
have to b'lieve it!"

"I'll b'lieve it jus' soon as I _see_ it," Sube admitted; "and not
before."

"All right!" shouted Gizzard, starting for the stairs. "Come on! I'll
show it to you!"

Sube stirred uneasily. "Yeah, and then when we got there you'd say we
couldn't get in the church 'cause it was locked. You can't bluff _me_--"

"You think so, do you? Well, we ain't goin' in the door at all! We're
goin' in a window with a busted catch! Hope to die and cross my heart if
we ain't! And if you don't come along now we'll know who's the bluffer,
by jingo!"

"All right, kid," grunted Sube as he arose languidly and began to hunt
for his cap. "But if I find out you been lyin' to me,--I'll fix you good
and plenty."

CHAPTER XXVII

TRIAL MERSHUM

A short time afterwards the four boys clambered through a narrow opening
in the lower section of a window that was sacred to the memory of Zenas
Wheelock, deceased, and his three wives, equally deceased, and huddled
timorously just inside in readiness to retreat at the first unfavorable
symptom. The interior of the church was pretty scary at first, it was so
dark and empty and smelled so religious.

But after listening cautiously until he was satisfied that nobody was
about but his own company, Sube made bold to speak.

"Well, Giz," he said, "why don't you trot out your wonderful mershum
swimmin'-hole?"

All of them started at the hollow echoing sound of Sube's voice, and
Cathead made a movement towards the window. But Gizzard pointed a stubby
finger at the pulpit.

"It's down under there," he said. "Maybe I can't open it the first
thing, but I know it's there, all right."

He walked over and began to run his hand along the edge of the platform
on which the pulpit stood. At first he succeeded in finding nothing but
a great deal of dust and an occasional sliver, while Sube goaded him on
with unkind remarks, and Cathead tried to persuad