iah VII:30: 'They
have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name to
pollute it,' With these I think we have a good scaffolding to build on."

Belle looked puzzled and said nothing. Hartigan was waiting for her
approval. He wanted it.

"What do you think?" he asked, a decided note of anxiety creeping into
his question.

"I would not do it," was the answer.

"Why not?" said Jim instantly on the defensive. "Don't they need it, and
aren't they awfully weak on these things?"

"Yes, they are," said Belle, "but----"

"But what?"

"Mr. Hartigan," she replied as she stopped at her gate, "if you wanted a
rich man to help a poor widow, and went to him saying: 'You miserable
old skinflint, I know you are as greedy as the pit, but I demand it as a
human right that you help this poor woman out of your ill-gotten
abundance,' how much are you going to get? Nothing at all; and the truer
it is the less your chance. On the other hand, if you go to him and say:
'Mr. Dives, you are one of the few men in town who have the power to
help this woman. I know she is well worthy of help, for she's having a
hard struggle. Now, you had a struggle once and know what that means. It
made a keen, successful business man of you; but I know you are
kind-hearted and generous and that all you want is to be sure that the
case is genuine. Well, I can assure you it is. Will you not help her
with the rent till strawberry time, when she expects to get a little
money?' That way you will get something. He _has_ to become generous
when you _say_ he is; and I think that you will get more out of these
people if you assume that they are something good. Later, when they know
you better, you can put them right on their faults."

Hartigan stared at her with frankly admiring eyes.

"Well," he said, "you surely have the level head. You are right and I
will do as you say. But I wonder why you take all this trouble with me?"

Flushed and happy over her victory and very deeply moved by the look she
had seen on Jim's face, Belle realized the full meaning of her success
and took a woman's pride in the fact that this great, powerful,
self-confident, gifted man should in two short encounters completely
change about and defer to her judgment. There was a moment's silence in
which she sought to get her voice under control. Then she added:

"Will you let me know what you decide to preach on?"

"I will," said Jim, his eyes still on her face.

They