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God's will to know New England ain't got it figured out yet."

"You sound like professors arguing over an obscure point of Latin grammar, when the passage itself is a forgery," said Purity. "Whether I was led to you by God or nature or Satan himself, it doesn't change my answer. I have no business with you. It's here that my destiny lies. Whatever I am and whatever happens to me, my story begins and ends with the... with New England."

"With the courts of New England," said Verily.

"So you say," said Purity.

"With the gallows of New England," Verily insisted.

"If God wills," said Purity.

"No," said Verily, "you'll meet the gallows only if you will it."

"On the contrary," said Purity. "Meeting you has been the most important lesson of my life. Until I met you, until I heard your story, I was sure my parents could not really have been witches and therefore a great injustice was committed. I didn't really believe that witches existed. But I have seen now that they do. You have powers far greater than God meant anyone but a prophet or apostle to have, Mr. Smith, and you have no qualms about using them. You are going about gathering disciples and planning to build a city. You are Nimrod, the mighty hunter against the Lord, and the city you mean to build is Babel. You want it to lift mankind above the flood and take men into heaven, where they will be as God, knowing all things. You are a servant of the devil, your powers are witchery, your plans are anathema, your beliefs are heresy, and if my parents were one-tenth as wicked as you, they deserved to die!"

They all stared at her in silence. Arthur Stuart had tears streaking his cheeks.

Finally Alvin spoke to the others, not to her. "Best be on our way, boys," he said. "Arthur, you run and tell Audubon to dry off and get dressed."

"Yes, sir," said Arthur quietly, and he was gone.

"Aren't you even going to argue with me?" asked Purity.

Alvin looked quizzically at her for a moment, then walked away toward where Mike Fink had gone to stand watch. Only Verily Cooper remained.

"So you admit that what I said is true," said Purity.

Verily looked at her sadly. "What you said is false as hell," said Verily. "Alvin Maker is the best man I know in all the world, and there's no trace of evil in him. He's not always right, but he's never wrong, if you understand what I'm saying."

"That is just what I'd expect a demon to say of his master the devil."

"There," said Verily. "What you just said. That's why we're giving up on you."

"Because I dare to name the truth?"

"Because you've latched on to a story that can capture everything we say and do and turn it into a lie."

"Why would I do that?" asked Purity.

"Because if you don't believe these stupid lies about us, then you have to admit that they were wrong to kill your parents, and then you'd have to hate them, and they're the only people that you know. You'd be a woman without a country, and since you're already a woman without a family, you can't let go of them."

"See how the devil twists my love for my country and tries to turn it against me?" said Purity.

Verily sighed. "Miss Purity, I can only tell you this. Whatever you do in the next few hours and days, I expect you'll have plenty of chance to judge between Alvin Smith and the law of New England. Somewhere inside you there's a place where truth is truth and lies get shed like raindrops off oil. You look in that place and see which is acting like Christ."

"Christ is just as well as merciful," said Purity. "Only the wicked claim that Christ is only forgiving. The righteous remember that he denounced the unrepented sin, and declared the truth that everlasting fire awaited those who refused to choose righteousness."

"He also had sharp words for hypocrites and fools, as I recall," said Verily.

"Meaning that you think I'm a hypocrite?"

"On the contrary," said Verily. "I think you're a fool."

She slapped his face.

As if she hadn't touched him, he went on in a mild tone of voice. "You've been made foolish by the harm that's been done to you, and by the fact that the wickedness of this place is so small compared to its goodness. But that doesn't mean it isn't real, and hasn't poisoned you, and won't