CHAPTER XX
--BUT DIFFERENTLY!
Church was very--that is, they enjoyed the service very much, without
knowing precisely why they liked it. They joined in the hymns with
more energy than usual, because they felt "singy" and knew the tunes
as well. Colonel Stumper handed round one of the bags at the end of a
long pole--and, though the clergyman didn't look at all as if he
required feeding, the threepenny bits dropped in without the least
regret on the part of the contributors. Tim's coin, however, having
been squeezed for several minutes before the bag came round, stuck to
his moist finger, and Stumper, thinking he had nothing to put in,
drove the long handle past him towards Maria. That same instant the
coin came un-stuck, and dropped with a rattle into the aisle. Come-
Back Stumper stooped to recover it. Whereupon, to Judy, Tim and Uncle
Felix, watching him, came a sudden feeling of familiarity, as though
all this had happened before. The bent figure, groping after the
hidden coin, seemed irresistibly familiar. It was very odd, they
thought, very odd indeed. Where--when--had they seen him groping
before like that, almost on all fours? But no one, of course, could
remark upon it, and it was only Tim and Judy who exchanged a brief,
significant glance.
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