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"I cannotbefore the servants One of the But I will sit with hiood You must be with him as much as you can Remember, it is not the worst yet It is to prevent that worst happening that you ot"

"Aht out? And what shall I tell Father Mahon?"

"You ht on his side, re hi"

She bowed She did not wish to use htful

"It is this: whatever you may see--little tricks of speech or ht that the creature that is obsessing hi is wholly evil, wholly evil; but it may, perhaps, do its utent, but not brilliant; it has the intelligence only of sohten you You htened"

She understood hints here and there of what the old h, at any rate, to act

"And you must keep up to the utmost pitch your sympathy with him himself You must remember that he is somewhere there, underneath, in chains; and that, probably, he is struggling too, and needs you It is not Possession yet: he is still partly conscious Did he know you?"

"Yes; he just knew me He was puzzled, I think"

"Has he seen anyone else he knows?"

"His motheryes He just knew her too He did not speak to her I would not let him"

"Miss Deronnais, you have acted ad now?"

"I don't know I left hio back directly Shall we turn? I don't think there's much more to say just now"

Then she noticed that he had said nothing about the priest

"And what about Father Mahon?" she said

The old ain

"Miss Deronnais, I wouldn't rely on Father Mahon I've hardly ever s seriously In theory--yes, of course; but not in concrete instances However, Father Mahon may be an exception And the worst of it is that the priesthood has enormous power, if they only knew it"