t it's the first
of October!" cried Tremendous K. in his most tremendous voice, "and
it's not goin' to be a minute later, neither!"

"That's the first night of the special meetings in our church," put in
Minnie Brown, sharply, "and father wouldn't think of letting us come."

Tremendous K. scowled. "Looky here," he declared, "we've been putting
off this here concert for some dog fight or another for about two
years, and I don't care if King George the Third was goin' to have
special meetin's right in the hall that night, we're goin' to have that
concert!"

Tremendous K. was exceedingly loyal to both King and country, but he
could never remember which George it was that occupied the throne, and
had no notion of suggesting that one should rise from the dead.

"You don't call special services in a church a dogfight, I hope," put
in Tilly Holmes's father, his eyebrows bristling. Mr. Holmes was a
Baptist and had no intention of attending the Methodist meetings, but
he felt he ought to stand for the principle of the thing, especially as
Tremendous K. was a Presbyterian.

"I never said nothing of the sort!" denied the choir leader hotly,
being himself a bit troubled in his conscience. "But what I do say is
that we've put off this thing so that it can't be put off no longer if
it's to be sung before the crack o' doom! The concert's on the first
of October, or not at all. Here! all turn to page thirty-four, the
opening chorus, 'All's Well.' Everybody, whoop her up, now!"

That was the beginning of the trouble; the next evening the Browns and
several other good Methodists were not at practice and neither were the
Holmeses. Mr. Wylie, the Methodist minister, went to Mr. Sinclair
about it and Mr. Sinclair said it was no more a Presbyterian affair
than a Methodist. And the Baptist minister stood aloof and said he
always knew these union affairs would never bring anything but trouble.

The thinned ranks of the choir closed up, though the loss of the
Browns, who were all musical, was a staggering blow. Tilly Holmes
cried so hard that her father had to let her come back, and two or
three of the less faithful Methodists returned, pending the final
decision in regard to the date. And Tremendous K. went on, stubbornly
waving his baton in the face of the whole Methodist congregation.

No serious trouble might have arisen, however, had not the two who were
always a source of dissension in the village, put their wicked heads