A short time afterwards the four boys clambered through a narrow opening in the lower section of a window that was sacred to the memory of Zenas Wheelock, deceased, and his three wives, equally deceased, and huddled timorously just inside in readiness to retreat at the first unfavorable symptom. The interior of the church was pretty scary at first, it was so dark and empty and smelled so religious.

But after listening cautiously until he was satisfied that nobody was about but his own company, Sube made bold to speak.

"Well, Giz," he said, "why don't you trot out your wonderful mershum swimmin'-hole?"

All of them started at the hollow echoing sound of Sube's voice, and Cathead made a movement towards the window. But Gizzard pointed a stubby finger at the pulpit.

"It's down under there," he said. "Maybe I can't open it the first thing, but I know it's there, all right."

He walked over and began to run his hand along the edge of the platform on which the pulpit stood. At first he succeeded in finding nothing but a great deal of dust and an occasional sliver, while Sube goaded him on with unkind remarks, and Cathead tried to persuade him to abandon the investigation so that they might "get out while the gettin' was good."

Suddenly there was a click, followed by a seismic rumble. The pulpit and the platform on which it stood moved perceptibly. There were simultaneous exclamations from three members of the party. Gizzard's denoted triumph; Sube's delighted astonishment; and Cathead's nervous apprehension. Cottontop was beyond words. He could only gasp.

Flushed with success, Gizzard began to dance around the front of the altar, making unmistakable signs of derision, and shouting excitedly:

"Ya-da! Ya-da! What'd I tell you! What'd I tell you!"

Sube recovered his indifferent attitude at once.

"Well, we ain't seen it yet, have we?" he said.

"You fellers help me push this here thing back and you'll see it in a hurry!" cried Gizzard confidently.

All lent a hand except Cathead, who discreetly remained in the background. And suddenly he gave a cry of warning.

"Look out there! You're movin' the whole blame' bus'ness!"

And indeed they were. Pulpit and platform rolled majestically back several feet, disclosing to their popping eyes just such a pool as Gizzard had described. When Gizzard had sufficiently recovered from his surprise to find his voice, he demanded of Sube with the gruffness which he was now entitled to employ:

"Ain't that there a swimmin'-hole?"

"Looks like one," Sube was forced to admit.

"Get onto them little steps goin' down into the water, jus' like I tole you," Gizzard pointed out.

Sube did get on to them, first with his eyes, and then with his feet. He squatted down and dipped his hand into the water. "Why, it's warm!" he exclaimed.

"Sure it's warm," said Gizzard patronizingly. "Didn't I tell you it's right on top the furnace, so's they can use it all winter?"

"Hadn't we better be gettin' that thing back?" asked Cathead, glancing nervously towards the door.

"What for?" blurted Sube brazenly. "We jus' got her opened up!"

Cathead squirmed uneasily. "Somebody might come in and catch us. Ol' Joe might come to take care of the furnace."

"Huh!" snorted Sube defiantly. "Who's afraid of ol' Joe? I ain't any more afraid of him than I am of—" Sube looked about for a suitable means of comparison—"of you!" he cried, pointing his finger at Cathead. "And I guess you know how much that is."

"Well, then," argued Cathead, "somebody else might come in. Doc Mossman might—!"

At the mere mention of the minister's name Gizzard quailed; Cottontop showed signs of nervousness; and Cathead furtively glanced at the window by means of which they had entered, as if to be sure that it was still there. But Sube was no craven. He let out a howl of derision.

"That big boob! Ha—a—a ha! He's a big bag of wind! Why, he wouldn't hurt a fly! Say, I ain't any more afraid of him than I am of ol' Joe! You know what I'd do to him if he should come buttin' in here? I'd take 'im down into that little ol' mershum swimmin'-hole, and I'd duck 'im and duck 'im till he went home bellerin'! Gee! I wisht he would come in here. Wouldn't we have fun with him, though!"

Gizzard was not naturally timid. Rather was he inclined to be venturesome; and in addition to that he had carefully schooled himself to fear nothing that Sube was not afraid of. It was accordingly not long before he was able to force his unwilling tongue to say slighting things about Dr. Mossman. And, encouraged by Sube's contemptuous animadversions, he finally found himself saying that if the "Big Noise" should come botherin' around him, he'd lick him with one hand.

"Well, if that's the way you feel about it," remarked Sube, "what's to hinder our havin' a little swim in this mershum swimmin'-hole?"

Gizzard was taken completely by surprise. He had supposed that the episode would end with the villification of the minister. For a moment he was silent.

"What's the matter? Afraid?" taunted Sube.

"No, I ain't," replied Gizzard weakly.

"Will you go in if I will?"

"If you do, I will; but what'd we do if anybody should come in and catch us?" Gizzard equivocated.

"That's easy," blustered Sube. "We'd stay right in the water, and these two fellers would shut the thing up and duck under the seats with our duds, and wait till they went out again!"

It sounded so reasonable and so safe that Gizzard resisted no longer. And soon the two boys were floating about in the delightful depths of the baptistry. There was not a great deal of room for swimming, but they repeatedly expressed their unqualified approval of mershum as a pastime.

Cathead had done his best to keep the boys from going into the water, and he now began to urge them to come out.

"I tell you it ain't safe," he was saying. "Somebody is liable to come in here—"

As if in response to the suggestion, there was a metallic sound from the front door which indicated the introduction of a key into the lock. This was followed by an ominous rattling of the knob. Then came the hum of voices. A supreme effort brought the pulpit back to place. Cottontop snatched Gizzard's clothes and dived under the seats; but Cathead, who was thoroughly rattled, caught up Sube's clothes, and throwing them out of the window, hastily scrambled out after them.

In the impenetrable darkness of the baptistry the two boys clung to each other for company and listened intently. Suddenly Sube felt Gizzard's muscles stiffen; then heard him gasp, "Good Gosh!"

"What's the matter of you?" whispered Sube.

"It's ol' Mossy, and a whole lot of women's with him!"

"Well, what of it? They ain't comin' in here, are they?"

"That's jus' what I'm scairt of!" sniffed Gizzard, on the verge of tears.

"Don't be a baby!" said Sube disgustedly. "They ain't comin' in here! You don't s'pose ol' Mossy'd bring a lot of women with him if he was goin' to take a swim in this here mershum swimmin'-hole, do you?"

This thought was so comforting to Sube that he chuckled perceptibly. Gizzard, too, was reassured; for he sought out Sube's ear and said:

"I thought maybe you was goin' to get a chanct to show me what you promised to do to him."

Sube sniffed disdainfully, and ignoring Gizzard's little pleasantry, suggested that they move up to the front end of the tank and see if they could make out what the intruders were doing. There was room at the crack for only one ear, and this was occupied by Sube's right one. From time to time he issued bulletins based partly on what he heard or thought he heard, and partly on what he imagined was taking place.

"They're all tellin' 'im what a whale of a speech he made down to my house last night ... they all b'lieve in it, too!"

"B'lieve in what?" asked Gizzard.

"If it's who I think it is, it don't matter much, 'cause they're mostly ol' maids that ain't got any children—"

"B'lieve in what?" persisted Gizzard. "What is it they b'lieve in?"

"Sh—h—hut up!" breathed Sube. "Want to get us caught?"

"Well, what is it—?"

"Shut up till I hear, can't you?"

"Well, you might tell a feller—"

Sube turned exasperated from the crack, and feeling about till he found Gizzard's ear, drew it towards him with what Gizzard considered unnecessary emphasis, and whispered crossly:

"Moral Persuasion, if you must know!"

Then he turned his attention once more to matters outside the baptistry. Gizzard was still wondering what Moral Persuasion was like, when he felt Sube groping for his ear again. He fortified it with his hand before yielding it.

"They're beggin' him to make another speech so's those who didn't go to the meetin' last night can hear about Moral Persuasion, too. I guess he's goin' to do it, 'cause he jus' tole 'em that it's his hobby—"

"What's that?" asked Gizzard.

But Sube nudged him to silence with his elbow.

"What's a hobby?" Gizzard insisted.

"Shut up! Will you?—Jus' listen and you'll find out all about it! He's tellin' 'em now—"

Gizzard listened. Dr. Mossman's remarks were informal but none the less forceful. He briefly repeated his arguments of the evening before, and added in conclusion that many of the foremost minds of the day regard corporal punishment as a sin. When the resulting applause had faded away he cried out with irrepressible enthusiasm:

"And I may say that I am one of them!"

Within the dark baptistry the two boys embraced each other effusively, and Gizzard whispered:

"Now I know why you wa'n't more afraid of him! I ain't any more afraid'n you are, now!... I wisht my folks was Baptis'es—"

"Hark!" gasped Sube. "What's that he's sayin'?"

He pressed his ear to the crack and listened intently.

"What is it?" breathed Gizzard as Sube drew back, trembling in every fiber.

"He's goin' to open this thing up so's to show it to those women!—They're goin' to be ducked to-morrow—he's sayin' he's sorry it's so dark, but he thinks they can see enough without lightin' the lamps."

A wave of terror swept over Gizzard. He sank his nails into Sube's arm as he panted desperately: "What you goin' to do? You got me into this! Now you can get me out again!"

Sube shook him off. "I got you in, did I? I did, did I? Well, I guess I didn't! I didn't even know it was here till you tole me! I guess you better be gettin' me out of—"

There was a click and a jar. A streak of light became visible at the front end of the pool. The boys, who had unconsciously retreated to the rear end, with one accord took a long breath and disappeared beneath the surface, clinging to each other for support and encouragement.

They felt the rumble as the pulpit was shoved back, and waited in vain for it to be replaced. Finally the pounding in their ears became so loud that they thought it must have been accomplished without their hearing it. Then, having remained under water for a period of time afterwards estimated by Gizzard as fifteen minutes, and by Sube as half an hour at the very least, they came up. And their coming was no graceful bobbing to the surface. It was more like a volcanic upheaval, followed by the terrific spouting of a horrid two-headed marine monster.