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THERE WAS NO DEBAUCH of drinking Far fro had changed Trying to analyze it, he came to the conclusion that his last drunk had put him on the bottom, at the very nadir of frustrated despair Now, unless he put hio was up

After the first feeeks of building up intense hope about the dog, it had slowly dawned on him that intense hope was not the answer and never had been In a world ofHorror he had adjusted to But reater obstacle, and he realized it now, understood it at long last And understanding it see spread all the cards on his mental table, examined the the dog had not been the agony he had supposed it would be In a way, it was al threadbare hopes and false exciteeon he existed in, neither seeking to escape with sudden derring-do nor beating his pate bloody on its walls

And, thus resigned, he returned to work

It had happened alinia to her second and final rest

Hollow and bleak, a sense of absolute loss in hi the streets late one afternoon, hands listless at his sides, feet shuffling with the rhythony he felt His face was a blank

He had wandered through the streets for hours, neither knowing nor caring where he was going All he kneas that he couldn’t return to the es they had touched and held and knoith him He couldn’t look at Kathy’s e still and useless in the closet, couldn’t look at the bed that he and Virginia had slept in, at Virginia’s clothes, her jewelry, all her perfuo near the house

And so he walked and wandered, and he didn’t knohere he hen the people started arlic in his face

"Co rasp He saw thelike clammy turkey skin, the red-splotched cheeks, the feverish eyes, the black suit, unpressed, unclean "Come and be saved, brother, saved"

Robert Neville stared at the ers like skeleton fingers on Neville’s arm

"It’s never too late, brother," said the man "Salvation comes to hiIt sounded like the sea i to escape Robert Neville tried to loose his arm

"I don’t want to--"

The man didn’t hear He pulled Neville on with hi Thedragged into a tidal wave

"But I don’t--"

The tent had sed hi sound engulfed hi heavily He was surrounded now by people, hundreds of the in And yelling and clapping and crying out words Robert Neville couldn’t understand

Then the cries died down and he heard the voice that stabbed through the half-light like knifing doom, that crackled and bit shrilly over the loud-speaker system

"Do you want to fear the holy cross of God? Do you want to look into the iven you? Do you want to corave like a , driving

"Do you want to be changed into a black unholy ani sky with hell-born bat wings? I ask you--do you want to be turned into godless, night-cursed husks, into creatures of eternal damnation?"

"No!" the people erupted, terror-stricken "No, save us!"

Robert Neville backed away, bu-handed, white-jawed true believers screa skies

"Well, I’ you, so listen to the word of God! Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth! Is that a lie, is that a lie?"

"No! No!"

"I tell you that unless we become as little children, stainless and pure in the eyes of Our Lord--unless we stand up and shout out the glory of Alotten son, Jesus Christ, our Savior--unless we fall on our knees and beg forgiveness for our grievous offenses--we are daain, so listen! We are damned, we are damned, we are damned!

"Amen!"