And so Samuel was on hand, trembling with excitement, and painfully conscious of his green and purple necktie. He sat in the Vince's pew, at Ethel's invitation; and directly across the aisle was Miss Wygant, miraculously resplendent in a springtime costume, yet with a touch of primness, becoming to the Sabbath. She did not see her adorer until after the service, when they met face to face.
“Why, Samuel!” she exclaimed. “You are here?”
“Yes, Miss Gladys,” he said. “I'm to work in the church now.”
“You don't tell me!” she responded.
“I'm to help the sexton,” he added.
“And he belongs to the church, too,” put in little Ethel. “And oh, Miss Gladys, won't you please let him tell you about Sophie!”
“About Sophie?” said the other.
“She's a little girl who works in your papa's mill, Miss Gladys. And her family's very poor, and she is sick, and Samuel says she may die.”
“Why, that's too bad!” exclaimed Miss Gladys. “Tell me about her, Samuel.”
And Samuel told the story. At the end a sudden inspiration came to him, and he mentioned how Sophie had received her Christmas present from Miss Gladys, and how she had kept her pictures in her room.