The Churchwarden calmly put the stopper in his bottle and restored it to his pocket.
"Humph!" said he. "Nothing like Odour of Sanctity. Never knew it to fail. No harm to human persons, but no wicked spirit as ever lived can stand against it; and a blessed good thing the bottle didn't break as we came down the water-fall. No perfumery in this world like Odour of Sanctity!"
CHAPTER XIX
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR
The Third Vice-President and his fellow-members of the Daft Committee seated themselves in the chairs just vacated by the thirteen murdered pirates. Nothing could have persuaded any of the others to sit in those dreadful seats; but no feeling of this sort appeared to disturb the Committee, and they evidently saw no reason why they should not be comfortable.
The Third Vice-President drummed on the table with his fingers, and frowned to himself in silence. One of the Committee, taking his skull-cap from his head and smoothing it thoughtfully with his hand, glanced up at the Chairman and said:
"I fear, Professor, that our hopes are dashed. It is nothing less than disastrous."
"You are right, my dear sir," said the Chairman. "It is a terrible misfortune; terrible indeed. And just when we were on the point of—"