Julius stopped with a sudden snap and whispered to John:
"Lordy, sah, I clean fergit 'bout dat meetin' at de cullud folks' church, sah, dat dey start up. I promise de preacher ter fetch you, sah—An' ef we gwine ter march ter-morrow, dis here's de las' night sho——"
The concert was adjourned to the log house which an old colored preacher had converted into a church. It was filled to its capacity and John stood in the doorway and heard the most remarkable sermon to which he had ever listened.
The grey-haired old negro was tremendously in earnest. He could neither read nor write but he opened the Bible to comply with the formalities of the occasion and pretended to read his text. He had taken it from his master who was a clergyman. Ephraim invariably chose the same texts but gave his people his own interpretation. It never failed in some element of originality.
The text his master had evidently chosen last were the words:
"And he healeth them of divers diseases."
Old Ephraim's version was a free one. From the open Bible he solemnly read:
"An' he healed 'em of all sorts o' diseases an' even er dat wust o' complaints called de Divers!"
He plunged straight into a fervent exhortation to sinners to flee from the Divers.
"I'm gwine ter tell ye now, chillun," he exclaimed with uplifted arms, "ye don't know nuttin' 'bout no terrible diseases till dat wust er all called de Divers git ye! An' hit's a comin' I tell ye. Hit's gwine ter git ye, too. Ye can flee ter the mountain top, an' hit'll dive right up froo de air an' git ye dar. Ye kin go down inter de bowels er de yearth an' hit'll dive right down dar atter ye. Ye kin take de wings er de mornin' an' fly ter de ends er de yearth—an' de Divers is dar. Dey kin dive anywhar!