But alas for Tode! It was not the
bishop who preached that day. It was a stranger, whose low monotonous
voice reached the boy so indistinctly, that he soon gave up all
attempts to listen, and before the sermon was half over he was sound
asleep. Fortunately he was used to hard resting-places, and he slept
so quietly that the occupants of the pew did not discover his presence
at all.
The music of the choir and of the organ mingled with the boy's dreams,
but did not arouse him, and when the people departed and the sexton
closed the church and went home, Tode still slept on in darkness and
solitude.
Usually there was an evening service, but on this occasion it was
omitted, the rector being ill, so when Tode at last opened his eyes,
it was to find all dark and silent about him. As he started up his
head struck the bottom of the seat with a force that made him cry out
and drop back again. Then as he lay there he put out his hands, and
feeling the cushioned seat over his head, he knew where he was and
guessed what had happened.
"Wal! I was a chump to go to sleep here!" he muttered, slowly, rising
with hands outstretched. "'Spect I'll have ter get out of the
window."
The street lights shining through the stained glass made a faint
twilight in the church, but there was something weird and strange
about being there alone at that hour that set the boy's heart to
beating faster than usual.
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