and in a Scripture reading which followed. By the time the leader was
about to begin his address, the people had almost relapsed into their
normal mental and spiritual condition of benevolent neutrality. A second
time a text was announced, when abruptly the door opened and up the
aisle, with portentous impressiveness as of a stately ocean liner coming
to berth, a man advanced whose presence seemed to fill the room and give
it the feeling of being unpleasantly crowded. A buzz went through
the seats. "The Rector! The Rector!" The evangelist gazed upon the
approaching form and stood as if incapable of proceeding until this
impressive personage should come to rest. Deliberately the Rector
advanced to the side bench upon which Larry and his mother were seated,
and slowly swinging into position calmly viewed the man upon the
platform, the woman at the organ, the audience filling the room and then
definitely came to anchor upon the bench.

The preacher waited until this manoeuvre had been successfully
accomplished, coughed nervously, made as if to move in the direction of
the important personage on the side bench, hesitated, and finally with
an air of embarrassment once more announced his text. At once the Rector
was upon his feet.

"Will you pardon me, sir," he began with elaborate politeness. "Do I
understand you're a clergyman?"

"Oh, no, sir," replied the evangelist, "just a plain preacher."

"You are not in any Holy Orders then?"

"Oh, no, sir."