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Reverend Blackman shook a long forefinger at the justices.

"You know what you can do," he replied to his own question, "tear this infidel doctrine out of the school books! Tear it out! Give the old devil a thrust in the heart with the sword of truth! Strike a match to his sulfurious fires an' roast him out of the school books our blessed little childern's got to read. Roast him out! Ain't I right, Brother Overall?" he bellowed, beet-coloured.

"You're right, Brother Blackman!"

"Then, let's all be right!" chanted the preacher. "Now, brothers an' justices of Lane County, when the clerk passes aroun' the petition I have drew up, I want ever' man who believes in God and wants to meet his childern in Heaven—I want him to sign it. I want you to tell our legislatur' that we don't want no more infidel doctrines of the Godless Yankees sent down here in our school books, an' we won't have it! Let 'em know ol' Lane stan's fer God, an' God stan's fer ol' Lane! An' we do this hopin' our county escapes the destruction that God is shore to send on our Sodom an' Gomorrah nation! Brethren, let us pray!"

The parson lifted his hands and the whole courtroom bowed its head. His prayer was as vehement as his address and covered the same points. When he made an end, he retired, dripping with perspiration, while the blond clerk, rather hastily, passed around a petition which the minister had drawn up asking the Tennessee state legislature to remove all traces of the science of evolution from the school books of the state.

The justices looked at it rather blankly and signed one after another. One of the court hesitated a moment. "Professor Overall," he asked, "does our present school books teach there ain't no God an' our gran'fathers was monkeys?"

Professor Overall rolled his prominent eyes on the questioner reprovingly. "They certainly do, Brother Boggus. You can take my word as a teacher and a scholar."

"I jest wanted to know," said the justice in a chastened tone, and signed his name hurriedly.