"Ran to show them I could," said the boy.
"They lay in to me I can tell you. There were Chinamen and niggers—all sorts. Hit a fellow over the head with an ice-cream refrigerator—killed him dead."
"Where was this?"
"Poke. At the institution. I showed them I could fight."
"What are you, American?"
"Pennsylvanian Dutch."
"I suppose there is a church about here that you go to?"
"Yes; a Methodist. But I don't go. Family service. We get many blessings."
"Is there a hotel at Padan-Aram?"
"No; but at Leon. If you go there, you'll get a Christian woman. You'll find God. She'll lighten your load. She's a saint. I know her well."