The River (short story)

The story focuses on a boy named Harry Ashfield who is brought to a Christian revival meeting by his babysitter, Mrs. Connin, a revivalist Christian who believes in faith healing. Harry is about four or five years old, and has a troubled home life. When he hears he is going to meet the young evangelist Bevel Summers, he tells Mrs. Connin that his name is Bevel. For the rest of the story, Harry is referenced as Bevel.

While at the revival, Bevel is baptized in the river by the evangelist who tells him he has a father in heaven who loves him, and that he is counted among the saved now—that he "counts." When the boy returns home, his family still ignores him despite the fact that he tells them that he now counts. In the morning, young Bevel returns to the river to re-experience the events of the preceding day and drowns while attempting to find the Kingdom of Christ.[1]

When Bevel returns to the river, a gas station owner named "Mr. Paradise" who sees Bevel wandering about, follows him to the river and dives in after him, but is unable to save him, emerging from the river 'empty-handed,' 'looking like some ancient water monster'. Mr. Paradise, who was afflicted with cancer behind the ear, was a regular participant at the river revivals, but only to act as a skeptic and show off his cancer which is never healed by the evangelist. Mr. Paradise uses Bevel's innocence to further mock the evangelist, who is humiliated publicly while praying seriously for Bevel's 'sick' mother, when Bevel reveals with childlike innocence that her 'sickness' is actually a hangover. Mr. Paradise 'guffaws' at this embarrassing revelation, saying 'Haw! Cure the afflicted woman with the hangover!'