"I ain't supposed to. I cough. Say, do you know if a wedding has taken
place here? I am a witness."
"Oh, I see. He said he'd bring one. Are you alone?"
"I don't know. It feels like a crowd every time I cough. Are you the
preacher?"
"No, I'm the bridegroom's cousin. We've got to get in through a window.
I couldn't find my key. Would you mind giving me a leg?"
"A leg? Nothing was said about legs," said the waiter, moving away.
Carpenter laughed.
"I mean a boost up to the window."
"Oh! Sure."
"There's one in the rear I can smash. We'll get inside and light up. I
can open the door from that side, too. Come on--follow me." They turned
the corner and followed the path so lately taken by Windomshire and
Anne. As they came to the back of the church they were startled and not
a little alarmed by the sound of sudden scurrying and a well-defined
imprecation, but it was too dark for them to distinguish any one. While
they were trying to effect an entrance through one of the windows,
other mystified participants in the night's affairs were looking on
from secret and divers hiding-places. Far out in the little grove Derby
and his old companion watched the operations of the church-breakers,
the sickly glare of Carpenter's lantern as it stood upon the edge of
the rain barrel affording an unholy light for the occasion. Windomshire
and Anne, crouching behind a stack of old benches, looked on in
amazement. Mr. Hooker, whose conscience was none too easy, doubtless
for excellent reasons, peered forth from behind a tall tombstone. He
had arrived at the conclusion that he was being hounded down as a
body-snatcher.
"This is a devil of a mess," he muttered dolefully. "If they catch me
in this graveyard, I'll have a hard time proving an alibi. What an
idiot I was to get into this thing! I guess I'll get out of it. He's
got plenty of witnesses and I've got his ten dollars." He began
sneaking off toward the extreme west end of the graveyard, bent on
finding the road to town. "Holy smoke!" stopping short. "Another bunch
of them coming! I'm surrounded!" He dropped down behind a weed-covered
mound and glared straight ahead. Almost directly in his path a lantern
wobbled and reeled slowly, finally bringing its bearer to the fence
between the burying-ground and the churchyard. A man carried the light
and half carried the form of a woman besides.
"Brace up, Nell dear," Mr. Hooker heard the newcomer say as tenderly as
his exertions would allow. "The worst is over. Here's the church. Good
Heavens, just think of being lost in a graveyard!"
"And climbing four fences and a tree," moaned Eleanor Thursdale. They
had come up through the graveyard by mistake.
"It wasn't a tree; it was a fence post. Great Scot! There's no light in
the church. What's up? Wait here, dear, and I'll investigate."
"Alone? Never!" she cried. They climbed their fifth fence,
notwithstanding the fact that a gate was near at hand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account