“I suppose you know the purpose of Miss Tracy’s visit,” said Lamar when he was again alone with the widow.
“I can imagine what it is,” was the reply.
“If she can get you interested in the preacher,” he continued, “and the preacher can get you interested in the Church, you’re as good as lost.”
“I might be as good as saved,” she replied.
“That’s religious cant. You know what I mean. The moment you get into the Church capital will have its clutches on you. You’ll be lost to socialism, lost to labor, lost to me. None of us can afford it.”
“You seem to value my services,” she said.
“I do. Socialism does. You’ve brought us more genuine recruits in the short time you’ve been with us than all those high-toned, college-bred fellows that train with us could get for us in years.”
“You are extravagant.”
“I have a right to be. I know what I’m talking about.”