The funeral over, and the Californian safely laid in his native soil on the hillside, men gathered in groups on the corners of the village street, or stepped into the bank to look at the six-shooter which had failed their friend in his hour of need. The local minister, gazing upon the dead man's revolver, was heard to remark: "They that take the sword shall perish with the sword." But the bystanders would not endure the doctrine. Their Anglo-Saxon blood recoiled. And a former Californian, who was an old friend of Cummins, stepped forward and said: "Mr. Lamb, Will Cummins was not afraid to perish with the sword. And, if he could have drawn that revolver, there would have been two dead robbers. This doctrine of non-resistance is wrong, dead wrong. We proved that in California, just as you people proved it here in the Civil War. Will Cummins was not afraid to defend his rights." "But," replied the minister, who in spite of his name seemed eager for the combat, "the Civil War was a national crime. Think of the hundreds of thousands of young men, North and South, who perished." "Yes, Mr. Lamb, the war _was_ a crime. And Jeff Davis and the other criminals ought to have been hanged, just as those stage-robbers ought to be." "Don't you see, my friend," replied the minister, "that violence breeds violence?" "Then," rather scornfully, "you think Will Cummins did wrong to defend his property?" "He would have been alive to-day if he hadn't." "But that's not the point. Will Cummins died for a principle. He believed in self-defense, and was not afraid to risk his life." "Of course," said the minister, "I admit that he was a brave man. But Christ said, 'if any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also'--'turn the other cheek'--'resist not evil'--'they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.'" "Well," said the Californian, "I don't dispute the fact that people who carry weapons are likely to get killed. What I say is, I admire a man who is not afraid of getting killed when he knows he's right. It may be just as honorable to perish with the sword as to be crucified." This statement, savoring of the heresy that was introduced into American thought both by soldiers returning from the Civil War and by men returning from the lawless life of the West, rather shocked the minister, who was a good and sincere man. But he only said: "Surely, you are a Christian?" "Well," replied the Californian, "I don't know. If Jesus Christ said self-defense is wrong, then He was mistaken." Here the argument ended. But the theme is a fruitful one; and every thoughtful man and woman in Reedsville was bound to consider it. Dead men tell no tales and make no arguments. Will Cummins slept peacefully on. But the facts of the case were too plain to be ignored; and the Californian's doubt of Christ's infallibility was widely discussed.