"I dare you!" he cried.
"I am going," said the boy simply; and the burglar slapped his thigh
in delight.
"Go on!" he chuckled. "Sock it to him, Sammy! And come back and tell
me about it!"
CHAPTER XXI
"Dr. Vince is at lunch," said the maid who answered the bell.
"Please tell him I must see him at once," said Samuel. "It's something
very important."
He went in and sat down in the library, and the doctor came, looking
anxious. "What is it now?" he asked.
And Samuel turned to him a face of anguish. "Doctor," he said, "I've
just had a terrible experience."
"What is it, Samuel?"
"I hardly know how to tell you," said the boy. "I know a man--a very
wicked man; and I went to him to try to convert him, and to bring him
into the church. And he laughed at me, and at the church, too. He said
there are wicked men in it--in St. Matthew's, Dr. Vince! He told me
who they are, and what they are doing! And, doctor--I can't believe
that you know about it--that you would let such things go on!"
The other was staring at him in alarm. "My dear boy," he said, "there
are many wicked men in the world, and I cannot know everything."
"Ah, but this is terrible, doctor! You will have to find out about it-
-you cannot let such men stay in the church."
The other rose and closed the door of his study. Then he drew his
chair close to Samuel. "Now," he said, "what is it?"
"It's Mr.
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