There they were, all three, sitting in a pew below--yes, incredible as it may appear, sitting in a pew below! Before I could determine what to do, a clergyman made his appearance in full canonicals from the vestry door, followed by a clerk.

My brain whirled and my eyesight grew dim.

Dark remembrances of robberies committed in vestries floated through my mind.

I trembled for the excellent man in full canonicals--I even trembled for the clerk.
The clergyman placed himself inside the altar rails.

The three desperadoes approached him.