Mr. Cowdrick came in while Father Tunicle was speaking; and when the good pastor had rehearsed his grievances to the banker, Mr. Cowdrick said,—
“Father Krum’s conduct is subversive of good order and of authority; and if he is allowed to continue he will demoralize the entire congregation. He ought to remember what the Bible says about submitting reverently to one’s pastors and spiritual masters. You are his pastor and spiritual master. Isaiah, isn’t it, who says that?”
“The quotation, though somewhat inexact,” replied Father Tunicle, “is from the Catechism.”
“Well, anyhow, he ought to do as you want him to do. That is what we pay him for. And if he refuses to do it, he ought to be dismissed.”
“That,” said Father Tunicle, “will be difficult to do while he has at least half of the vestrymen with him. I am sorry to say that his obstinacy is countenanced and approved by a number of the lay officers of the church.”
“Then we must use force!” exclaimed Mr. Cowdrick. “If we men who put down our money to keep the church in operation cannot be allowed to do as we please, we had better stop contributing. The people who pay for spreading the glad tidings of the Gospel ought to be allowed to spread them in their own way.”
“Matters,” said Father Tunicle, “are fast approaching a point where something will have to be done. Three times I have instructed Krum to extend only three of his fingers when he pronounces absolution, but he continues to hold out his entire hand, with all his fingers wide open. The last time he did it I noticed that Mrs. Lindsay, who is one of our party, got up and left the church in a rage.”
“I saw her go out,” said Leonie. “That was the first Sunday upon which she wore her purple velvet bonnet. Everybody was looking at her.”
“If he does it again,” said Mr. Cowdrick, “I am in favor of shutting the church doors against him and his friends. Peremptory action of some kind becomes a necessity in cases like this.”
After some further conversation relative to ecclesiastical and secular matters, Father Tunicle took his leave, and went home, probing the deep recesses of his mind, as he walked along, to find some plan by which he might successfully overcome the resistance offered by the perverse Father Krum to the evangelization of a fallen race.