Lazarus supposed a case: "He might be in both these cahs at once an' yet not on the platfawm between 'em." "It's mo' than likely!" said the aged pastor, no one meaning anything sly. Yet to some people a parson's smiling mention of the devil is always a good joke, and the Graves laughed, as we may say. Not so, Sister March; she never laughed at the prince of darkness, nor took his name in vain. She spoke, now, of his "darts." "No, Sister March, I reckon his darts, fifty times to one, ah turned aside fum us by the provi_dence_ that's round us, not by the po' little patchin' o' grace that's in us." John's heart jumped. Garnet looked in and beckoned him out. He went. "John "--the voice was tearful--"I offer my hand in penitent gratitude." John took it. "Yes, my dear boy, my feet had well-nigh slipped." "I oughtn't to have spoken as I did, Major Garnet." "It was the word of the Lord, John. It saved me and my spotless name! The mistake had just begun, in mere play, but it might have grown into actual sin--of impulse, I mean, of course--not of action; my lifelong correctness of----" "Oh, I'm sure of that sir! I only wish _I_----" "God bless you! I've a good notion to tell your mother this whole thing, John, just to make her still prouder of you." He squeezed the young man's hand. "But I reckon for others' sakes we'd better not breathe it." "O, I think so, sir! I promise----" "You needn't have promised, John. Your think-so was promise enough. And a mighty good thing for us all it's so. For, John March, you're the hope of Suez! "You've got the key of all our fates in your pocket, John--you and your mother now, and you when you come into full charge of the estate next year. That's why Jeff-Jack's always been so willing to help me to help you on. But never mind that, only--beware of new friends. When they come fawning on you with offers to help you develop the resources of Widewood, you tell 'em----" "That I'm going to develop them myself, alone." "N-n-no--not quite that. O, you couldn't! You've no idea what a--why, _I_ couldn't do it _with_ you, without Jeff-Jack's help, nor he without mine! Why, just see what a failure the effort to build this road was, until"--the locomotive bellowed. "Half-an-hour late, and slowing up again!" exclaimed John. He knew the parson's wife was pressing his mother to spend the night with them, and he was afraid of having his soul asked after. "Why do we stop here, hardly a mile from town?" "It's to let my folks off. They're going to walk over to the pike while I go on for the carriage and drive out; they and Jeff-Jack and the Hallidays."