we are all creatures of habit."

"Yes," agreed the Devil, "many of us are like that. We try to do too
much, and get discouraged and throw up everything. However, I have
always been a hard worker and rather liked it."

"But you are out of a job now," said Gud significantly, "and before I
can talk business I will have to know why."

"Certainly," said the Devil, "I am out of employment for the very
excellent reason that my god died."

"What! You don't mean it?"

"Why not? You fellows don't want to take your immortality too seriously.
It's a necessary pose, of course, as a matter of business; but you see
my god was really very old. He had a premonition, too, and very
thoughtfully left me a letter of recommendation. Would you like to see
it?"

"Thanks, but I never look at letters of recommendation. I have written
too many of them. But tell me about this death of your employer."

"My partner, you mean," corrected the Devil. "Of course, I was only the
junior partner, but I had a share in the loot. As I said, this chap was
old and had won and lost many realms. I was with him on his final
venture, running a hell as usual, and a purgatory on the side--the heavy
end of the job, I call it, on that three-realm theology. This old god
had nothing to do but sit up there surrounded by his angels--yes, he
really had angels, old-fashioned place, you know--and wait for the
resurrection when I was to deliver up his share of the loot from
purgatory, and the Chief Arch was to blast the sleepers out of their
graves."

"That's a bit muddled," remarked Gud.

"I grant it, but we had it arranged that way. Well, we got everything
ready and I turned the crowd out of purgatory as per agreement; and the
Arch blasted out the sleeping souls, and they all went trooping into
heaven, demanding to see their god.

"It was a sorry affair, all those countless souls who had lived and
died, and some of them had suffered in purgatory for eons. And finally
they came trooping into heaven and no god in sight.

"They sent an angel down for me, for the situation was beyond those harp
playing satellites. I found that the old god had died peacefully in his
sleep, leaving the letter for me and a proper will drawn up, but he was
dead.

"I fixed up a double and set him on the throne to keep the crowd quiet
while I stood behind a screen to prompt him. But some disgruntled little
wing flapper betrayed us and the fraud got out. The crowd stopped
squabbling ab