A 60-piece orchestra played rousing sacred music. A reformed jailbird, a one-time drug-addict, a converted cowpuncher, a ''reformed Presbyterian deacon" gave testimonials. A brief, fierce sermon whipped up the pulses of 1,500 people in the arched, open-walled tabernacle. One by one they hurried up to kneel in straw and sawdust by a long bench-like altar. Rawboned, hot-eyed men lifted clasped hands high in prayer. Women wailed, waved their arms, chanted gibberish. Small bewildered children noisily imitated their elders. The din rose, night after night, week after week, while plain people nearby...
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