“The darkness misleads you,” I said. “I am not Sir Percival.”
The man drew back directly.
“I thought it was my master,” he muttered, in a confused, doubtful way.
“You expected to meet your master here?”
“I was told to wait in the lane.”
With that answer he retraced his steps. I looked back at the cottage
and saw the clerk coming out, with the lantern lighted once more. I
took the old man’s arm to help him on the more quickly. We hastened
along the lane, and passed the person who had accosted me. As well as I
could see by the light of the lantern, he was a servant out of livery.
“Who’s that?” whispered the clerk. “Does he know anything about the
keys?”
“We won’t wait to ask him,” I replied. “We will go on to the vestry
first.”
The church was not visible, even by daytime, until the end of the lane
was reached. As we mounted the rising ground which led to the building
from that point, one of the village children—a boy—came close up to us,
attracted by the light we carried, and recognised the clerk.
“I say, measter,” said the boy, pulling officiously at the clerk’s
coat, “there be summun up yander in the church. I heerd un lock the
door on hisself—I heerd un strike a loight wi’ a match.”
The clerk trembled and leaned against me heavily.
“Come! come!” I said encouragingly. “We are not too late. We will catch
the man, whoever he is. Keep the lantern, and follow me as fast as you
can.”
I mounted the hill rapidly. The dark mass of the church-tower was the
first object I discerned dimly against the night sky. As I turned aside
to get round to the vestry, I heard heavy footsteps close to me. The
servant had ascended to the church after us. “I don’t mean any harm,”
he said, when I turned round on him, “I’m only looking for my master.”
The tones in which he spoke betrayed unmistakable fear. I took no
notice of him and went on.
The instant I turned the corner and came in view of the vestry, I saw
the lantern-skylight on the roof brilliantly lit up from within. It
shone out with dazzling brightness against the murky, starless sky.