But don't you see how we
have come to think of the ministry as we have come to think of the
church? It is to us, as you say, a part of this great organization that
men have created and control, and in this we are right, for this church
has made the minister, and this minister has in turn made the church.
They are indeed inseparable."
Dan caught up a flower that she had dropped and began picking it to
pieces with trembling fingers.
"To me," he said slowly, "the minister is a servant of God. I believe,
of course, that whatever work a man does in life he must do as his
service to the race and in that sense he serves God. But the ministry--"
he reached for another flower, choosing his words carefully, "the
ministry is, to me, the highest service to which a man may be called."
She did not reply but looked away over the valley.
"Tell me," he said, "is it not so?"
"If you believe it, then to you it is so," she answered.
"But you--" he urged, "how do you look upon the minister?"
"Why should I tell you? What difference does it make what I think? You
forget that we are strangers." She smiled. "Let us talk about the
weather; that's a safe topic."
"I _had_ forgotten that we are strangers," he said, with an answering
smile. "But I am interested in what you have said because you--you have
evidently thought much upon the matter, and your profession must
certainly give you opportunities for observation. Tell me, how do you
look upon the minister and his work?"
She studied him intently before she answered.
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