As it
was, appearances had no power to impose on _me_. I got out, and,
followed by one of my men, entered the church. The other man I
sent round to watch the vestry door. You may catch a weasel
asleep, but not your humble servant, Matthew Sharpin!
We stole up the gallery stairs, diverged to the organ-loft, and
peered through the curtains in front. There they were, all three,
sitting in a pew below--yes, incredible as it may appear, sitting
in a pew below!
Before I could determine what to do, a clergyman made his
appearance in full canonicals from the vestry door, followed by a
clerk. My brain whirled and my eyesight grew dim. Dark
remembrances of robberies committed in vestries floated through
my mind. I trembled for the excellent man in full canonicals--I
even trembled for the clerk.
The clergyman placed himself inside the altar rails. The three
desperadoes approached him. He opened his book and began to read.
What? you will ask.
I answer, without the slightest hesitation, the first lines of
the Marriage Service.
My subordinate had the audacity to look at me, and then to stuff
his pocket-handkerchief into his mouth. I scorned to pay any
attention to him. After I had discovered that the man "Jack" was
the bridegroom, and that the man Jay acted the part of father,
and gave away the bride, I left the church, followed by my men,
and joined the other subordinate outside the vestry door.
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