ght? I
wonder if there's lots of things that look right before you think about
them, that ain't right after you've turned 'em over a spell? And I
wonder how a fellow is going to know?"

Then he gave his undivided attention to the sermon again; and went home
after the service was concluded, with a very thoughtful face. Jim was
there making a visit, but Tode only nodded to him, and went abruptly to
the little shelf behind the stove in the corner, and took down the old
Bible.

"Grandma, where are the commandments put?" he asked eagerly, addressing
the old lady by the title which he had bestowed on her very early in
their acquaintance.

"Why they're in Exodus, in the twentieth chapter."

"And where's Exodus?"

"Ho!" said Jim. "You know a heap, Tode, don't you?"

Tode turned on him a grave anxious face.

"Do you know about them? Well, just you come and find them for me,
that's a good fellow. I'm in a powerful hurry."

Thus appealed to, Jim, nothing loth to display his wisdom, sauntered
toward the table, and speedily found and patronizingly pointed out the
commandments. Tode read eagerly until he came to those words, "Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Then he read slowly and carefully,
"Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is
the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates."

Three times did Tode's astonished eyes go over this commandment in all
its length and breadth; then he looked up and spoke with deliberate
emphasis,

"This beats all creation! And the strangest part of it is that you
didn't tell me anything about it, grandma."

"Whatever is the boy talking about?" said grandma, wheeling her rocker
around to get a full view of his excited face; and then Tode gave a
synopsis of the evening sermon, and the history of his amazement,
culminating with this first reading of the fourth commandment.

"And so you've been at your business all day!" exclaimed the astonished
old lady. "Why, for the land's sake, I thought you had gone off to some
meeting away at the other end of the city."

"I never once knew the first thing about this in the Bible. How was I
going to know it was a mean thing to do?" questioned Tode, with
increasing excitement. "And it was the best day I've had, too, and that
makes it all the meaner."

And his