The unhappy color suffused Mr. Bixby’s face, and letting go of Julie’s hand, his glance sought the ground in confusion. Then suddenly he raised his eyes and gazed straight at her. She saw his spirit, desperate and impotent, like a caged wild animal, looking out at her. The sight shook her once more with that familiar suffocating anger. “Oh, well,” she retorted boldly, “what people say isn’t really anything. It’s what they are that matters. I’m not much of a hand for talking myself. Maybe the same cat got my tongue.--Excuse me; I’ve got to go back and speak to Brother Seabrook a minute,” she added suddenly. Julie reëntered the church and went hastily along the red-carpeted aisle, and with every determined spring of her foot she said to herself, “It’s got to stop--it’s just got to stop right now. Folks have _got_ to let us alone.” Quickly and decisively she came straight up to Brother Seabrook and paused in front of him. He was busy putting some papers together, and everybody else had left the church. “Brother Seabrook,” she said clearly, “I just came back to ask you--to _tell_ you--you mustn’t call on me to pray.” Brother Seabrook looked down at her in surprise, his brows over his shoe-button eyes going up protestingly. “Why, my sister, what is this?” he cried. “Not call on you to pray?” “No, I can’t do it. I never could. My mother always explained to every new minister that I couldn’t. But she’s dead now, so I’ve got to tell you myself.” Her big gray eyes fringed by dark lashes looked straight up at him. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. Her breath came quickly, making the ruffles about her neck stir up and down. She was all of thirty-two, but Brother Seabrook was nearing fifty, and was a widower. They were alone in the church. He took her hand and held it in both of his large palms. “My sister, my little sister,” he said, “you must pray--all of my flock must pray. Couldn’t you say one little prayer for me?” Julie jerked her hand free. “If I can’t do it for the Lord, I’m not likely to be able to do it for you,” she retorted, and went lightly away down the church aisle and out into the street, leaving him to turn a dusky red and swallow convulsively.