At that instant the chanting of the congregation above ceased;
and then the sudden and awful stillness was deepened rather than
interrupted by the faint sound of one voice praying. Slowly and
with trembling fingers the priest removed the band round his
neck--paused a little--sighed heavily--and pointed to a scar
which was now plainly visible on one side of his throat. He said
something at the same time; but the bell above tolled while he
spoke. It was the signal of the elevation of the Host. Gabriel
felt an arm passed round him, guiding him to his knees, and
sustaining him from sinking to the floor. For one moment longer
he was conscious that the bell had stopped, that there was dead
silence, that Father Paul was kneeling by him beneath the cross,
with bowed head--then all objects around vanished; and he saw and
knew nothing more.
When he recovered his senses, he was still in the cabin; the man
whose life his father had attempted was bending over him, and
sprinkling water on his face; and the clear voices of the women
and children of the congregation were joining the voices of the
men in singing the _Agnus Dei._
"Look up at me without fear, Gabriel," said the priest. "I desire
not to avenge injuries: I visit not the sins of the father on the
child. Look up, and listen! I have strange things to speak of;
and I have a sacred mission to fulfill before the morning, in
which you must be my guide .
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