He raised his hat, bowed, and said:
"I will."
"Oh, thank you!"
They turned and walked back in silence until they reached the door, and he asked:
"Are the pews free?"
"Yes, sir; but Mrs. Mason and I generally sit yonder by that column."
"Very well, you must pilot me."
She turned into the side aisle next the windows, and they seated themselves in a pew just beyond the projection of the choir gallery.
The edifice was small, but the altar and pulpit were handsome, and though the windows were unstained, the light was mellowed by buff inside blinds. The seats were by no means filled, and the congregation was composed of people whose appearance denoted that many belonged to the labouring class, and none to the Brahmin caste of millionnaires, though all were neatly and genteely apparelled.
As the silver-haired pastor entered the pulpit the organ began to throb in a low prelude, and four gentlemen bore shallow waiters through the assemblage, to receive the contribution for the "Destitute." Mr. Palma saw his companion take something from her glove, and when the waiter reached them and she put in her small alms, which he judged amounted to twenty-five cents, he slipped his fingers in his vest pocket and dropped a bill on the plate.