Ten minutes later he was seated in an easy chair in Parson Jones's study. After a few commonplace remarks he said, "Rev. Jones, I came over here to ask your advice about something I do not seem able to satisfy myself on." Rev. Jones was a short, fleshy man, with red hair and face; he was noted for being a well educated and well read man, also of being very short and sharp in his speech, always speaking directly to the point. So he said, "Well, what is it?" "I came to ask you if you know anything about this new cult called Christian Science?" "Nothing to it at all." "My boy, Walter, claims to have been healed by reading the text book, 'Science and Health.'" "A book full of rubbish, heresy, and nonsense." "The boy is well now, and you know he has always been sick since he was a child." "Reading that book didn't heal him." "Still he claims it did, he stopped taking medicine, began reading the book, and soon we saw he was improving." "Rest assured it wasn't the book." "He does not claim it was the book, but the truth the book contained that did the work." "Nonsense! there is no truth in that book." "How, then, can we account for his getting well?" "Probably the after effect of the medicine, or else he only believed himself sick." "That is just what he claims, that he was only sick in belief and not in reality." "Just as I thought," said the Rev. Jones. "What do you mean, Mr. Jones?" "He is another one of those simple-minded fellows who believed they were sick, and then claim reading that book cured them," said Rev. Jones. "But I employed the best physicians and specialists, and they all agreed that he had hereditary consumption and was incurable." "Most of these physicians are numbskulls and quacks." "Do you call Professor Chas. William Canterbury of the University of Canterbury a numbskull or quack?" "Eh, no, of course not." "He examined him thoroughly about a year ago and agreed with the diagnosis of the other physicians; furthermore he told me the boy could not live more than a year, and it was about this time that he began to fail very rapidly," said the Rev. Williams. "When did he begin to mend?" "It was just at the time when he was failing rapidly that he found a copy of 'Science and Health' on the street, and he claims that as soon as he began the reading of the book he began to get better." "This must be the work of the devil; it never was the book. You had better be careful, Rev. Williams," said the Rev. Jones, with a startled look. "So I told the boy, and he asked me a question which I would like to ask you." "What is it?" "Do you consider it good that my boy is well, Rev. Jones?" "Why certainly." "Did you ever hear of the devil doing good?" "No," said the Rev. Jones, with a shake of his head. "Then how can you say his getting well is the work of the devil who never does anything good?" Rev. Jones sat back in his chair with a jerk. "Rev. Williams, do you intend to defend this heretical cult?"