"Well, I snum! Kind of disobedient to love you, hain't it? Knows her father 'd be set ag'in' it?"
"Yes, but she can't help that."
"Why?"
"You—why, you fall in love! You don't do it on purpose, Mr. Baines. It just comes to you."
"From where?" said Scattergood, abruptly.
The young minister stared.
"Who's to blame for there bein' love?" Scattergood demanded.
After a pause the young man answered. "God," he said. "Why does He send it?"
"So that people will marry, and the love will keep them together, strong to bear the trials and labors of life. I think love is a kind of wages that God pays to men and women for living on His earth."
"Um!... Does He send love sort of helter-skelter and hit-or-miss, or does He aim it at certain folks?"