“Then at last”—and the minister’s eye kindled and his whole sunburnt face glowed with the mixed fires of hope and fanaticism—“the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens, and He shall come again in power and great glory. Even so, come, Lord Jesus—but come before our hearts are all broken. What’s the use of chaining up the Dragon in the Lake if he’s already devoured the world? Shorten these days, for the Elect’s sake—save us from the burning, fiery furnace which is making frizzle of our bones and cinders of our hearts.”
He suddenly dropped his head between his hands. Tom felt a bit upset. He had again and again heard all this in chapel, but it was embarrassing and rather alarming to have it coming from the next chair.
“Reckon you mind this War more’n I do,” he remarked lamely.
“Because to you it is just war—while to me it’s Judgment. This is the day of which the Prophet spoke, the day that shall burn as an oven, and our sons and daughters shall burn as tow.... Bless you, young chap! there have been other wars—the country’s full of their dead names ... there were two lakes of blood up at Senlac.... But this war, it’s the End, it’s Doomsday. Now it shall be proved indeed that Christ died for the Elect, for all save the Elect shall perish. Tom, I have a terrible fear that I shall have to stand by and see my boy perish.”
“Oh, he’ll pull through right enough—give him his head and he’ll come to his senses afore long.”
“I’m afraid not.” Mr. Sumption rose and began walking up and down the room, his hands clasped behind him. The dipping sun poured over his burly figure, showing up in its beautiful merciless beam the seediness of his coat and the worn hollows and graven lines of his face. “I’m afraid not, Tom Beatup. I’m afraid I’ll have to stand by and see my boy damned. I’ll stand among the sheep and see him among the goats. There’s no good trying to job myself into thinking he’s one of the Elect—he knows he isn’t, and I know it. Whereas I have Assurance—I’ve had it a dunnamany years. Between us two there is a great gulf fixed. I’ll have to dwell for ever in Mount Sion, in the general assembly and church of the firstborn, and see him for ever across the gulf, in hell.”
“Then reckon you’ll be in hell yourself.”
“It seems like it. But the ways of the Lord are past finding out.... And I would willingly give my soul for Jerry’s—the soul the Lord has damned from the womb....”
Tom stood up. He felt he could not stand any more of this.
“Seemingly your religion aun’t much of a comfort to you.... Well, I must be going now.”