Page:Honore Willsie--Judith of the godless valley.djvu/217

 "I guess he won't stay long enough to do any actual harm!" Judith laughed. "He's going to stay quite a spell," returned Doug. "I'm going to see that he does."

"But everybody will make fun of him and of you too," volunteered Mary.

"Probably," agreed Douglas. "But even at that I doubt if they have as much fun as I do. My sense of humor is my strong point!"

"Huh!" sniffed Judith. "You'll need more than what you have, Douglas, in this campaign."

"Look here, Doug," urged his father with an obvious effort to be patient, "just what is the joke?"

"Now listen, Dad! It's not a joke. I'm in deadly earnest. I haven't got a particle of religion in me but I'm interested in that line of talk to see if I can discover what other folks get out of it. Peter Knight is not a fool. He knows the world and he says Lost Chief needs a church. All right, it's going to have one."

"Peter Knight is some advocate, all right!" growled John. "He's always saying he had a religious up-bringing, and look at him! Fourth-class postmaster in a cow valley!"

"I don't suppose his religious up-bringing had a thing to do with that," said Douglas.

"Then what's the good of a religion?" John's voice was triumphant. Douglas said nothing and his father went on. "You'll be the laughing-stock of the Valley. You can let on you won't care, but I know you will."

"Yes, I'll care," admitted Douglas. "But that can't be helped. It seems to be a part of the game."

"Well, he can't come to this house!" roared John. "I wouldn't have one of that breed on the place. Mind you keep him off this ranch, Doug."