' And the Lord says; 'No. If I find fifty
righteous I'll spare all the rest,' he says, 'on account o' them fifty,'
he says, and Abraham says, 'O Lord, now I've begun,' he says, 'and you
don't seem so very much put out with me as I expected, I've a good mind
to keep on askin' ye a little more, jest to see what ye'll say,' he says;
'O Lord, periodventure what if there shouldn't be but forty-five?' he
says."
Grandma went through the list of "periodventures," depicting Abraham's
growing fear and obsequiousness in the most tragic manner until she got
to the hypothetical ten.
"And Abraham said; 'O Lord, I know you won't like it this time, but I've
gone so fur now, that I'm going to out with't; and don't--don't git put
out, O Lord! and I won't put it one mite lower. Periodventure, O Lord,
what if there shouldn't be but ten?' and the Lord said, 'If there wasn't
but ten, he wouldn't destroy them wicked cities.' Now," continued
Grandma, with tearful impressiveness, "if Abraham had even a ventured to
put it down one five more, what more chance do you think there'd be for
us here in Wallencamp?"
After the meeting, Captain Sartell and Bachelor Lot held their usual
theological levee, outside the school-house.
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