handkerchief to her mouth to hide a
smile.

"She belongs to our church, and we have heard she is being led astray by
this blasphemous kind of healing," pursued Mrs. Dyke, looking severely
at Grace from under her thick grey veil which hung like a lowering cloud
just above her eyes. "Mr. Narrow requested me and Mrs. Linberger to call
and examine into the matter. I hope _you_ don't encourage such
wickedness, young woman?"

"Certainly I am at enmity with any kind of wickedness, but I am not
aware of any particular wickedness in Christian Healing," replied Grace,
bracing herself for the storm she saw brewing.

"What! you don't see anything wrong in such awful heresy!" exclaimed
Mrs. Dyke, again pushing her veil up, and looking with horrified eyes,
first at Grace, then at Mrs. Linberger. "Perhaps you don't understand
about it," she added, softening a little as she settled back in her
chair.

"I must confess I know but very little about it, but what I do know only
increases my desire to know more," said Grace, flushing, as she sat down
in the nearest chair.

"Let me warn you not to read or hear another word about it then, for it
will simply be the means of worse than death to you," continued Mrs.
Dyke, raising her finger solemnly.

"It destroys the most important doctrines in the Bible, even taking away
the belief in the devil and hell," added Mrs. Linberger, speaking for
the first time.

"Yes; they even deny there ever was a devil or that there ever will be
any future punishment. Just think of it," reiterated Mrs. Dyke. "I guess
they will see, some time!" she added with a sort of steely satisfaction.

"Do you really believe they lay aside all future punishment?" asked
Grace, willing to waive the application to herself, and anxious to hear
Mrs. Dyke's views.

"Yes, they say there is no evil and no devil, so of course there is no
need for punishment."

"But do they not regard the devil as Jesus did, after all?" asked Grace,
again pursuing her advantage.

"U-m, well, Jesus recognized him and talked to him, telling him to get
out, and he often referred to the everlasting punishment," added Mrs.
Dyke again, with a solemn face.

"But, he did not mean a literal fire, did he, when He spoke of
everlasting punishment?"

Mrs. Dyke was the catechized instead of the catechizer, and it was an
unaccustomed _role_, but she bore it like a soldier.

"Of course he did; several places in Matthew he described the lot of the
w