"I'm sorry to hurt your feelings," she said; "but I'm a infidel."
"What!"
"Yes; father and I are both infidels."
"Hush! you don't know what you're saying."
"Oh yes, I do. He says, 'Damn it!' when you're not there."
"How dare you!"
"I don't, but father does, so you see—"
"I see that you talk wildly and ignorantly, as well as too much. Go and dress for church."
She had half risen, her eyebrows had risen wholly. She looked singularly alarming. Val retreated backwards to the door, and Mrs. Gano resumed her seat.
"I ain't so igorunt as you think," the child persisted. "The reason I stopped going to church was because my conscience wouldn't let me join in."