469
THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
December, 1939
God
PART I
to be popular and not have some people jealous of him. Well, he would just for get it, of course; that was the Chris tian thing to do. But somehow he must show those two that what they said was untrue. He really couldn’t stand having anybody going around talking about him like that! Perhaps it would be a good thing to just lean over and challenge what they had said now. set tle the matter right then and there and dominate the situation before those two went out and spread such „an idea! Then like a tantalizing little imp, the couplet ran through his brain. And something moved within him. Could it be that there was any truth in the assertion that he wasn’t inter ested in anything that he himself didn’t run? While he paused to collect a list of his good works wherewith to con found the men in front of him, suddenly the two rose as one man, with the ex clamation: "Why, there is Dr. Leveridge up there at the other end of the car. Let’s go and speak to him!” And they hurried eagerly forward to greet a gray haired, kindly faced man. Frank recog nized him as one who had been pointed out to him a few days ago as a confer ence speaker. Frank lowered his paper an inch and watched the eager meeting between the three men. He saw how their faces lighted. He was wont to see faces lighted with greeting like that for him self. Yet two of these faces held be hind them thoughts against his reputa tion as a Christian! Of course Sharpless had been just a kid in his Sunday-school class not long ago. But a sick wave of fury passed over him. Somehow he felt left out, and he was not used to being left out. He arose swiftly and slipped out the door, cross ing the platform to the next car. He decided to tell Emily nothing about it. No need of her having to bear this, too. Of course young Sharpless had been the only one of the two who had said anything really mean. That awful song—“I love me!” It disgusted him more and more as he thought of it. What Lawyer Harris had said wasn’t so bad, only he had in a way accepted the slur. Christian people! Talking that way about one who was doing twice as much Christian work as they were! Well, somehow he must prove to them that they were wrong. How would it do to go to one of their old meetings? Let "I love me! I love me! I’m wild about myself!”
He unfurled a newspaper more as a protection than be cause he wanted to read it. Sud- denly he heard his own name spoken.
Poor things. They’ve got that great hall on their hands, and I don’t suppose it’ll be half filled. We really should have gone earlier, taken hold of the thing somehow. I t seems people think we ought to do everything!” So they went to the meeting. When they reached the hall, they were sur prised to find people pouring in by the hundreds. They thought at first they must have got in the wrong place. But they ^tactfully hid their surprise from others. And there was no front seat to be had! Indeed there was scarcely a seat left anywhere on the street floor, and the galleries were filling fast. Men were already standing leaning against the walls. So Frank found a place for Emily behind a post where practically no one could see her, while he stalked up the aisle and took up his stand on his angry aching limbs at one side of the pulpit steps. There he stood with a haughty heart but a smile of patronage locked upon his face for the evening. It was hard work standing there with his whole body aching like the tooth ache. The room was hot, for the audience
himself be seen in a front seat! Make it known that he was in thorough sym pathy, only he had not been able to go sooner! If he could get rid of this rotten headache and the aches all over him, he would go tonight. He would do it no matter how bad he felt! It was impor tant to reverse this feeling before, every one heard of it. He knew he was in no condition to go out again that night, but he meant to go. It had come to seem quite the most important thing in the world that he be seen in the front seat of the conference at once. At home Emily protested: "Why, you are sick, Frank, and it’s beginning to sleet! You’re not fit to go out.” “No,” said Frank, “I’ve got to go to that conference tonight! I promised I’d look in on them, and this is perhaps the last night! Anyhow, it’s important. Th'ere are reasons why, I feel that I should lend my influence to it. And I’d like you to go along with me if possible! I really feel we ought! I find it’s quite expected of us, and I guess it must be a good thing. They need encouragement.
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