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78 "It was brave enough," he responded; "and there's no doubt about the man's conscientiousness; but I believe he's mistaken."

At that moment Barry and Miss Chichester came up.

"Are you talking about the sermon?" asked Miss Chichester. "Barry and I are agreed that it was simply impossible, aren't we, Barry?"

"Preposterous!" asserted Barry. "Why, don't you know, the thing would never work out. We couldn't really have those people in our pews with us. Could we, Mrs. Tracy?"

"I'm pretty sure that I couldn't have them in mine," Mrs. Tracy replied.

"Why, just think of it!" added Barry. "For instance, the vice-president of the Malleson Manufacturing Company reading the responses out of the same prayer-book with a common day-laborer in his employ. How could the proper attitude be preserved on week days between the employer and the employee? Why, Phil, old man, the whole thing is absurd!"

"You might stay away from church, Barry," suggested Ruth.

"Don't put that idea into his head," said Westgate. "Barry needs all the religion he can possibly absorb."

Then Mrs. Tracy came to the rescue of the vice-president.

"Barry's not so far wrong," she declared. "It's ridiculous to think of having these people in our pews. Just imagine Lucy Breen sitting with me. You all know poor Lucy, with her green gown and her red hat with the enormous white feather in it. Why, I should go into hysterics. Really I should."

"And," laughed Ruth, "if Red-nosed Mike the burglar should sit with you he'd steal your Sunday dollar before ever the alms-basin came around."

"Now, I don't think it's fair," said Miss Chichester, "to make fun of Barry and Mrs. Tracy that way. It's really a serious matter. Don't you think so, Phil?"