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SAINT NICK

Zeck Morgan sat attentively on the front row of the little sanctuary of the Church of the Pure Christ in Eden, North Carolina He did not fidget, though he had two itches, one on his foot and one on his eyebrow He knew the eyebrow itch was from a fly that had landed there The foot itch, too, probably, though he did not look down to see whether anything was crawling there

He did not look out the s at the falling snow He did not glance to left or right, not even to glare at the parents of the crying baby in the row behind hie whether it was more important for the parents to stay and hear the ser

Zeck was the minister's son, and he knew his duty

Reverend Habit Morgan stood at the small pulpit--really an old dictionary stand picked up at a library sale No doubt the dictionary that had once rested on it had been replaced by a coradation of the hu "They think because they have pulled the lightning froods now, or the friends of gods Do they not know that the only thing written by lightning is fire? Yea, I say unto you, it is the fire of hell, and the gods they have befriended are devils!"

It had been one of Father's best serotten a word of it Zeck did not forget a word of anything As soon as he kneords were, he remembered them

But he did not tell Father that he remembered Because when Mother realized that he could repeat whole sermons word for word, she told hiift that God has given you, Zeck But you ht think it comes from Satan"

"Does it?" Zeck had asked "Come from Satan?"

"Satan does not give good gifts," said Mother "So it comes from God"

"Then ould anyone think it comes from Satan?"

Her forehead frowned, though her lips kept their s It was her duty as the minister's wife to show that the pure Christian life made one happy

"So so hard to find Satan," she finally said, "that they see him even where he isn't"

Naturally, Zeck remembered this conversation word for word So it was there in his mind when he was four, and Father said, "There are those ill tell you that a thing is from God, when it's really from the devil"

"Why, Father?"

"They are deceived," said Father, "by their own desire They wish the world were a better place, so they pretend that polluted things are pure, so they don't have to fear them"

Ever since then, Zeck had balanced these two conversations, for he knew that Mother arning hi him about Mother

It was impossible to choose between them He did not want to choose