"The one who was talking had two theories about it. You see they had two kinds of folks in that world--one bunch was called 'sinners' and one was called 'righteous.' Plenty of both bunches were killed by the quake. But it seemed that the fellow who was talking, wanted the sinners killed and he was praising my friend for doing it. But his difficulty was in explaining the death of the righteous, whom I gathered were friends of his that had been in the habit of paying him to talk to them. There were a good many empty stalls in the room with black cloths on them, and some of the women in the crowd were weeping. "Well, after the talker got through explaining that their deity had caused the earthquake for the purpose of killing the sinners, he had to admit that it also got a few of the righteous. He said that this was due to the 'mysterious working of the divine purpose' or some such vagary." "Well, what of it?" asked Fidu. "Nothing in particular, only it struck me as funny." "Is that all?" "About," said Gud--"but as I left that world, I took hold of its axis and gave it another shake." "Did you know," said Fidu, "that the Copycat had been visiting?" "What makes you think so?" "Because there are five little copy kittens." After which they journeyed on until they came to a wall. In this wall were two doors. Before the wall stood a great multitude and they stared at the two doors with fixed glassy eyes. Gud turned and spoke to the multitude and said: "Why stare ye at the doors in the wall and durst not enter?" "Alas, Great Gud," cried the multitude, as with one voice, "we wish not to enter the doors, but would only know which door the man entered." "That I will find out for you," said Gud, and he stepped up and examined the knobs of the doors. Then he turned and bowed to the multitude, and turned yet again, and seizing the knob of one of the doors he swung it boldly open. And behold, there stood a man-eating tiger, contentedly licking his chops, his belly with fat lover lined. And Gud beckoned to the tiger which came out through the door and faced the multitude, and on the tiger's face there was a faint fragrance of a smile. And the tiger bowed to the multitude, and Gud also bowed with the tiger. And from the eyes of the multitude the glassy stare faded, and they turned and walked away, and some spoke exultant words to the others. "But," asked Fidu of Gud, as they again went on their journey, "how did you know which door to open--did you smell the blood?" "No, you hundopomorphic canine fool, I looked for finger prints on the knobs of the doors." Chapter XXXV Gud, sauntering through the Market of Knowledge, came to a stall of a prophet and passed the time of day with him. "Business is terrible," lamented the prophet. "What is the trouble?" asked Gud sympathetically.