d hold
of it; those that's got a clear title don't find their investment as
slow in making returns, while those that find fault are generally the
ones that's made a mistake."

Poor Joe! He thought he had settled this whole matter; but now, if his
partner was right, he was worse off than if he hadn't begun. He believed
in justification by faith; now, wasn't his faith strong--first class, he
might say? To be sure of being safe, hadn't he believed everything that
_all_ the ministers had insisted upon as essential? And what _was_
faith, if it wasn't believing? He would ask his partner; the old man had
got him into this scrape--now he must see him through.

"Squire," said he, "isn't faith the same thing as believing?"

"Well," said the Squire, adjusting his glasses, and taking from the desk
the little Testament upon which he administered oaths, "that depends on
how you believe. Here's a verse on the subject: 'Thou believest in God;
thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble.'"

Ugh! Joe shivered. He wasn't an aristocrat, but would one fancy such
companionship as the Squire referred to?

"Here," said the Squire, turning the leaves, "is another passage bearin'
on the subject. 'O, generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee
from the wrath to come? Bring forth, therefore, _fruits_ meet for
repentance.'"

Vipers! Joe uncomfortably wondered who else the Squire was going to
introduce into the brotherhood of the faith.

"Now, see what it says in another place," continued the Squire, "Not
every one that saith unto Me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

"Yes," said Joe, grateful for hearing of no more horrible believers,
"but what _is_ his will but believing on him? Don't the Bible say that
they that believe shall be saved?"

"Joseph," said the Squire, "when you believed in my store, you put in
your time and money there. When you believed in hoss-tradin' you devoted
yourself to practicing it. When you believed life insurance was a good
thing, you took out policies and paid for them, though you _have_
complained of the Patagonian dividends. Now, if you do believe in God,
what have you done to prove it?"

"I've paid over a hundred dollars a year church dues," said Joe,
wrathfully, "not counting subscriptions to a bell and a new organ."

"That wasn't for God, Joseph," said the Squire; "'twas all for you. God
never'll thank you for