The minister was surprised at these questions, which were wholly foreign to all his previous intercourse with Mills. His eyes opened and shut quickly. The Reverend Stuart Lindley was known as a man’s man, a clergyman who viewed humanity in the light of the twentieth century and was particularly discerning as to the temptations and difficulties that beset twentieth century business men. “My dear Mills,” he said ingratiatingly, “you know and I know that this is an age of compromise. We clergymen are obliged to temper our warnings. The wind, you know, no longer blows on the lost sheep with the violence it once manifested, or at least the sheep no longer notice it!” A glint in Mills’s eyes gave him pause, but he went on hurriedly. “In certain particulars we must yield a little without appearing to yield. Do you get my point?” “Frankly, I don’t know that I do,” Mills replied bluntly. “You preach that certain things are essential to the salvation of my soul. What right have you to compromise with me or anyone else? You either believe the Gospel and the creeds that are used every day in our churches or you don’t. I didn’t mean to start a theological discussion; I was just a little curious as to what you meant by perplexities, when the obligation is as plain as that table.” “But--you see the difficulties! We have a right to assume that God is perfectly aware of all that goes on in His world and that the changing times are only a part of His purpose.” “Well, yes,” Mills assented without enthusiasm. “But I was thinking of what you and the church I was born into declare to be necessary to the Christian life. I go to church rarely, as you know, but I’m fairly familiar with the New Testament. I’ve got a copy with the words of Jesus printed in bold type, so you can’t miss His meaning. He was pretty explicit; His meaning hits you squarely in the eye!” “But, my dear friend, above all He preached tolerance! He knew human frailty! There’s the great secret of His power.” “Oh, that’s all true!” said Mills, with courteous forbearance. “But you know very well that few of us--no--I’ll admit that _I_ don’t live the Christian life except where it’s perfectly easy and convenient. Why talk of the perplexities of the ministry when there’s no excuse for any of us to mistake His teachings? You either preach Jesus or you don’t! We lean heavily on His tolerance because we can excuse ourselves with that; it’s only an alibi. But what of His courage? Whatever I may think of Him--divine or merely a foolish idealist--He did die for His convictions! It occurs to me sometimes that He’s served nowadays by a pretty cowardly lot of followers. Oh--not you, my friend!--I don’t mean anyone in particular--except myself! Probably there are other men who think much as I do, but we don’t count. We pay to keep the churches going, but we don’t want to be bothered about our duty to God. _That’s_ a disagreeable subject!” He ended with a smile that was intended to put Lindley at ease.