Molly sot still with her pretty head leaning aginst me and I went on, “In the story of His life and death, that volume that holds the wisdom of the old and ripened glory of the new, that holy book sez, ’He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under shadow of the Almighty.’

“What a place to abide in, Molly, the shadow of the All Loving, the All Mighty one, a shadow that casts glowing light instead of darkness like our earthly shadows, a pure white light in which, lookin’ through the eye-glass of faith we can read the meanin’ of all the sorrows and perplexities and troubles he permits us to endure, and find every word on ’em gilt edged with glory.

“Spiritualists, Christian Healers, etc., may name this what they will.  Disciples of the New Thought may call it the Silence, but I shall keep right on callin’ it the Secret Place of the Most High.  And He who inhabits that sacred place has promised that if you reverently and obediently enter and dwell therein and trust in Him, He will give you the desire of your heart.

“So all you’ve got to do, Molly, is to do as he tells you to, obey and trust Him jest as the child trusts his pa, and asks him for what he wants most, you must ask Him for the desire of your heart, and if it is best for you, dear, He will bring it to pass.”

“Do you think so?” sez she, brightenin’ up more’n considerable.

“No, I don’t think so.  I know it.”

Well, them consolin’ words, for thought is a real thing, and I jest wropped her round with my tenderness and compassion, I guess they comforted her some, ’tennyrate she promised me sweetly that she would obey and trust, and I felt considerable better about her.

I wuz sorry for her as sorry as I could be, but I had a strong feelin’ inside of my heart (mebby some wise, sweet angel whispered it to me) that everything would come out right in the end, and Molly would git the desire of her heart.

She’s belonged to the meetin’ house for years.  But sometimes members git some shock that jars ’em and sends ’em out of the narrer road for quite a spell and they git kinder lost gropin’ through the dark shadders of earthly disappointment and sorrow.  Nothin’ but the light that streams down from above can pierce them glooms, and I knowed by the sweet light that lit up Molly’s linement that her face wuz turned in the right direction and she wouldn’t look sideways, behind or before, but would seek for light and help from above.

CHAPTER XII.

Well, for the next week we had a busy time, goin’ to the Fair most every day, sometimes all together, but not stayin’ together long, for most always we’d meet Professor Todd somewhere and he and Blandina would pair off together (I jest as willin’ as anybody ever wuz).

Molly had a young schoolmate who lived in St. Louis, and sometimes they would spend the day together at some reception or other.  But most of the time Josiah and I paid our two attentions to the Fair stiddy, a travelin’ about and seein’ all we could.