Page:Scarlet Sister Mary (1928).pdf/179

 a been full long time ago. A hole couldn' hold all de sinners! No! I tink Hell must be a lake!"

She groaned mournfully at the doleful-sounding words.

"Hell is a lake. A lake of fire. It is full of sinners strugglin an' burnin now. Right now. Right down under us in the ground."

Hell is a lake!

Mary had never seen a real lake, but she had heard July tell about lakes in the swamp that lay still and stagnant, breeding snakes and alligators. Slime covered them over, fever lived wherever they tarried.

Hell is a lake.

The singing at meeting had begun. The words rose and swelled and filled the dusk.

It was beautiful singing and Mary's heart beat with the rhythm. Singing always stirred something inside her, and now she shut her eyes to listen better.