The Flower of Faith
Summary
In a frontier community steeped in fervent piety, the arrival of Ephram Judson, a peripatetic evangelist, alongside his earnest daughter Ruth and impressionable son Tom, ignites a spiritual revival. Yet, on the periphery of this zealous congregation lurks Hugh Lee, a man scarred by a profound tragedy: the immolation of his sister on her wedding day, an event that shattered his faith and cast him into bitter isolation. A chance encounter with the compassionate Ruth, however, begins to thaw the ice around his heart, rekindling a flicker of hope that briefly illuminates his desolate world. Persuaded to attend a Sunday service, Lee is abruptly overwhelmed by the spectral vision of his sister's fiery demise, provoking a visceral, public denunciation of the very religion he once embraced. This sacrilegious outburst electrifies the worshippers, who, in a swift surge of righteous indignation, pursue him into the surrounding wilderness. Simultaneously, a more terrestrial drama unfolds: the considerable day's offering, entrusted to young Tom, falls prey to the allure of a local card shark. In a moment of reckless abandon, Tom gambles away the church funds, losing them to the village sport, who then uses the ill-gotten gains to settle a debt with the grocer. Witnessing the grocer conceal the money, a desperate Tom resorts to theft, only to be pursued and wounded. Fleeing in panic, he seeks sanctuary in the only place he can conceive of: Hugh Lee's cabin. Believing himself to be on the precipice of death, Tom pleads for Ruth, prompting Lee to brave the night and bring her to his secluded dwelling. The grocer, meanwhile, rallies the community, including the evangelist, into a vengeful mob. Tracing Tom to Lee's cabin, they descend upon it, finding Ruth, disheveled from sleep, but steadfastly protecting her brother and the ostracized Lee. The mob's fury erupts; Lee is savagely dragged out, a noose ominously placed around his neck. Ruth, refusing to betray her brother or compromise Lee's honor, despite his pleas, defiantly asserts divine intervention. As a tempest rages, the torch-wielding mob, having torched Lee's cabin, forces him towards the revival grounds. The mob leader casts the noose over a sturdy tree limb and whips Lee's horse forward. In that precise, climactic instant, a colossal bolt of lightning cleaves the limb, felling Lee to the ground unharmed, and simultaneously strikes the mob's instigator dead. From the inferno of the cabin, Tom emerges, witnessing this miraculous deliverance. His conscience ignited, he publicly confesses his culpability, vindicating Lee and his sister's integrity, transforming the bloodthirsty throng into a jubilant assembly. The narrative concludes with Lee, now a believer, embracing Ruth, acknowledging the profound power of faith that transcended his skepticism and saved him from the gallows.
