One such, who was a wealthy man, had so far protruded his disagreeableness upon the community that the church officials voluntarily gave him medicine for his liver. This was of no avail. He still grew more irritable and complained about the preacher, the sexton, the choir, and even his own wife. The weather never suited him, and when he gave any testimony about religion it was always a partial outline of the supposed or real sorrows and troubles of the Christian pilgrimage. While suffering from one of his morbid spells, he listened to the voice of the tempter who persuaded him to seek help at the hands of the physicians under the control of this Hospital. These doctors dosed him until they persuaded him to submit to an operation, and the wicked surgeon knew how to render him still more liable to trouble after his imaginary restoration toward which he was looking when Mr. World saw him. When he leaves this Hospital he can never be cured from the fiercer subsequent attacks unless he be born again, and such an event Satan knows is very unlikely to occur. Mr. World, in passing, spoke to quite a few who were suffering from spiritual dyspepsia, consumption, and a great number of other ailments which had developed into chronic form, or had made necessary the surgeon’s cruel knife, and then, turning to his obliging friend, asked if he could not now see Miss Church-Member. He was taken into a special department arranged for those who were convalescent. When she saw her faithful and loving friend, Miss Church-Member smiled for the first time since the operation. The pleasant interview soon ended at the behest of the nurse, and Mr. World was asked if he wished to enter the secret departments underground. This question aroused his curiosity and led to a lengthy conversation after which he expressed a desire to visit the secret chambers. He was conducted into a dark office and asked to sign a pledge that lay on a desk. CHAPTER XXIII. SATAN’S SECRET SERVICE. 1. While Miss Church-Member is convalescent, Mr. World alone visits the underground apartments where secret sins are taught. 2. The last horrible stages of vice represented. I saw Mr. World standing in a shadowy room and reading the conditions of entering “Satan’s Secret Service.” He was soon surprised by hearing a voice from a gloomy corner: “You cannot gain entrance to these secret abodes unless you sign that pledge.” “The meaning of the pledge is not clear to me. Who will explain it?” asked Mr. World somewhat tremulously. “You can read between those lines all you wish. Those sentences must be their own interpreters, and you must choose to sign or withdraw from this room, just as you prefer,” came the firm answer from the dark corner. Before Mr. World could decide what particular course to take, a hand gently touched his shoulder. He turned to see who stood in the rear.