Of course
there's them that says it can't. Mr. Austin says it would be a
terrible mistake, that he's too young; and Seth Curtis says no rich man
would be fool enough to pester himself with a dinky country church.
But I guess people like Seth and Mr. Austin ain't the kind of people
that have much to say. He's doing regular minister's work, comforting
the sick and picking up the fallen and pacifying the quarrelsome, and
it's work like that that'll elect him.
"And he's getting mighty popular, let me tell you, even with them that
no other minister could please or get near. There's old Mrs.
Rosenwinkle. She loves him just because he never tried to tell her
that the earth was round. Why, she says he's as good as any Lutheran.
And Hank Lolly said that maybe when that new suit Billy's ordered him
out of the new mail-order catalogue gets here, he'll go hear him
preach. It seems the minister's been driving around with Hank all over
creation and Hank says he can get along with him as easy as he does
with Billy.
"And did you hear what he did for Jim Tumley? It seems the minister
told Grandma Wentworth what a fine voice Jim had and what an ear for
music. And he was most surprised that Jim never even had a second-hand
organ of his own in the house but had to go over to his sister's, Mrs.
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