with a
decidedly 'Early English' smell in it, and Uncle Solomon led the way
to his pew, stopping to nudge Mark as they passed the memorial to his
enemy's meretricious aunt; he nudged him again presently, after he had
retired behind the ecclesiastical hat and emerged again to deal out
some very large prayer and hymn books as if they were cards.

'That's him--that's 'Umpage,' he said in a loud whisper.

Mark looked up in time to see an old gentleman advance to the door of
the pew in front of them--a formidable-looking old gentleman, with a
sallow face, long iron-grey locks, full grey eyes, a hook-nose, and
prominent teeth under a yellowish-grey moustache and beard.

He felt a sudden shame, for behind Mr. Humpage came a pretty child
with long floating light hair, with a staid fresh-faced woman in grey,
and last a girl of about nineteen or twenty, who seemed to have caught
the very audible whisper, for she glanced in its direction as she
passed in with the slightest possible gleam of amused surprise in her
eyes and a lifting of her delicate eyebrows.

A loud intoned 'Amen' came from the vestry just then, the organ played
a voluntary, and the vicar and curate marched in at the end of a
procession of little surpliced country boys, whose boots made a very
undevotional clatter over the brasses and flagstones.

As a Low Churchman Mr. Lightowler protested against this processional
pomp by a loud snort, which expression of opinion he repeated at any
tendency to genuflexion on the part of the clergyman during the
service, until the little girl turned round and gazed at him with
large concerned eyes, as if she thought he must be either very devout
or extremely unwell.

Mark heard little of the service; he was dimly aware of his uncle
singing all the psalms and responses with a lusty tunelessness, and
coming to fearful grief in gallant attempts to follow the shrill
little choristers over a difficult country of turns and flourishes. He
explained afterwards that he liked to set an example of 'joining in.'

But Mark saw little else but the soft shining knot of hair against the
dark sables of the hat and tippet of his beautiful neighbour, and a
glimpse of her delicate profile now and then, as she turned to find
the places for her little sister, who invariably disdained assistance
as long as possible. He began to speculate idly on her probable
character. Was she proud?--there was a shade of disdain about her
smile when he first s