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He's a dear good soul as ever was, but he is the narrowest kind of Come-Outer. His creed is just about as wide as the chapel door, and that's as narrow as the way leadin' to salvation; it IS the way, too, so the Come-Outers think." "What are Come-Outers? Some new sect?" "Sakes alive! Haven't you heard of Come-Outers? Cat's foot! Well, you'll hear of 'em often enough from now on.
And as you might expect from that kind of a man he was more down on tobacco than the Come-Outer parson himself. He even got up in revival meetin' and laid into it hammer and tongs. He was the best 'horrible example' they had, and Hannah was so proud of him that she couldn't sleep nights.
He was surprised. "Er this Miss Van Horne?" he asked. "Is she a Come-Outer?" Mrs. Coffin nodded. "Yes," she said. "She's one. Couldn't be anything else and live with her Uncle Eben, as she calls him." The minister experienced a curious feeling of disappointment and chagrin.
Nor was he disturbed seriously by rumours that his hero was a "come-outer"; that instead of attending church with Miss Alvira he could be heard at the barbershop of a Sabbath morning, agreeing with Milo Barrus that God might have made the world in six days and rested on the seventh; but he couldn't have made the whale swallow Jonah, because it was against reason and nature; and, if you found one part of the Bible wasn't so, how could you tell the rest of it wasn't a lot of grandmother's tales?
Goin' callin', be you?" "No." "Hum! Queer weather for a walk, I call it. Won't be many out to-night, except Come-Outers goin' to holler their lungs loose at prayer meetin'. He, he! You ain't turned Come-Outer, have you, Mr. Ellery? You've headed right for the chapel." Ellery's reply was hurried and a bit confused. He said good night and went on.
"Laviny," whispered the shocked Kyan, "do you think that was a er polite thing to say to a parson? That about his turnin' Come-Outer? He didn't make much answer, seemed to me. You don't think he was mad, do ye?" "I don't care if he was," snorted Miss Pepper. "He could tell a body where he was goin' then. Nobody can snub me, minister or not.
As she took her departure, she told the come-outer or so I fancied that there was a man under the tree, a pestilent fellow, and it would be well to get a little out of his reach. At all events, she had scarcely disappeared before the youngster was again on the wing. It was wonderful how much at home he seemed, poising, backing, soaring, and alighting with all the ease and grace of an old hand.
What help she got was from a Come-Outer, from Eben Hammond, bless his good soul! Yes, and for them that preached it, too. So there! Captain Eben called for more testimony. But the testifiers were, to use the old minstrel joke, backward in coming forward that evening.
"Why, what do you like about it?" she exclaimed. To her it had been distasteful. "Everything," he answered. "That young come-outer, and his fam'ly that can't understand him for he is broad gauge, yu' see, and they are narro' gauge." The Virginian looked at Molly a moment almost shyly.
The next thought was, of course, to run for help and for a doctor, but he took but a few steps when a new idea struck him and he came back. Lighting another match he examined the fallen man hurriedly. The old "Come-Outer" lay in the path with his arms outstretched, as if he had fallen while running. He was bare-headed, and there was no sign of a wound upon him.
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