His tone changed suddenly and he looked at her with a great brightness in his gray eyes.
«But way back in a man’s heart there are some things he can’t get rid of—an one of them is that I’m awfully in love with my little sister.»
With a sudden impulse she knelt beside him in the grass and, Leaning over, kissed his forehead.
«You’re hard, Kieth,» she said, «and I love you for it—and you’re sweet.»
III
Back in the reception-room Lois met a half-dozen more of Kieth’s particular friends; there was a young man named Jarvis, rather pale and delicate-looking, who, she knew, must be a grandson of old Mrs. Jarvis at home, and she mentally compared this ascetic with a brace of his riotous uncles.
And there was Regan with a scarred face and piercing intent eyes that followed her about the room and often rested on Kieth with something very like worship. She knew then what Kieth had meant about «a good man to have with you in a fight.»
He’s the missionary type—she thought vaguely—China or something.
«I want Kieth’s sister to show us what the shimmy is,» demanded one young man with a broad grin.
Lois laughed.
«I’m afraid the Father Rector would send me shimmying out the gate. Besides, I’m not an expert.»
«I’m sure it wouldn’t be best for Jimmy’s soul anyway,» said Kieth solemnly. «He’s inclined to brood about things like shimmys. They were just starting to do the—maxixe, wasn’t it, Jimmy?—when he became a monk, and it haunted him his whole first year. You’d see him when he was peeling potatoes, putting his arm around the bucket and making irreligious motions with his feet.»
There was a general laugh in which Lois joined.
«An old lady who comes here to Mass sent Kieth this ice-cream,» whispered Jarvis under cover of the laugh, «because she’d heard you were coming. It’s pretty good, isn’t it?»
There were tears trembling in Lois’ eyes.
IV
Then half an hour later over in the chapel things suddenly went all wrong. It was several years since Lois had been at Benediction and at first she was thrilled by the gleaming monstrance with its central spot of white, the air rich and heavy with incense, and the sun shining through the stained-glass window of St. Francis Xavier overhead and falling in warm red tracery on the cassock of the man in front of her, but at the first notes of the «O salutaris hostia» a heavy weight seemed to descend upon her soul. Kieth was on her right and young Jarvis on her left, and she stole uneasy glance at both of them.
What’s the matter with me? she thought impatiently.
She looked again. Was there a certain coldness in both their profiles, that she had not noticed before—a pallor about the mouth and a curious set expression in their eyes? She shivered slightly: they were like dead men.
She felt her soul recede suddenly from Kieth’s. This was her brother—this, this unnatural person. She caught herself in the act of a little laugh.
«What is the matter with me?»
She passed her hand over her eyes and the weight increased. The incense sickened her and a stray, ragged note from one of the tenors in the choir grated on her ear like the shriek of a slate-pencil. She fidgeted, and raising her hand to her hair touched her forehead, found moisture on it.
«It’s hot in here, hot as the deuce.»
Again she repressed a faint laugh and, then in an instant the weight on her heart suddenly diffused into cold fear. . . . It was that candle on the altar. It was all wrong—wrong. Why didn’t somebody see it? There was something in it. There was something coming out of it, taking form and shape above it.
She tried to fight down her rising panic, told herself it was the wick. If the wick wasn’t straight, candles did something—but they didn’t do this! With incalculable rapidity a force was gathering within her, a tremendous, assimilative force, drawing from every sense, every corner of her brain, and as it surged up inside her she felt an enormous terrified repulsion. She drew her arms in close to her side away from Kieth and Jarvis.
Something in that candle . . . she was leaning forward—in another moment she felt she would go forward toward it—didn’t any one see it? . . . anyone?
«Ugh!»
She felt a space beside her and something told her that Jarvis had gasped and sat down very suddenly . . . then she was kneeling and as the flaming monstrance slowly left the altar in the hands of the priest, she heard a great rushing noise in her ears—the crash of the bells was like hammer-blows . . . and then in a moment that seemed eternal a great torrent rolled over her heart—there was a shouting there and a lashing as of waves . . .
. . . She was calling, felt herself calling for Kieth, her lips mouthing the words that would not come:
«Kieth! Oh, my God! Kieth!»
Suddenly she became aware of a new presence, something external, in front of her, consummated and expressed in warm red tracery. Then she knew. It was the window of St. Francis Xavier. Her mind gripped at it, clung to it finally, and she felt herself calling again endlessly, impotently—Kieth—Kieth!
Then out of a great stillness came a voice:
«Blessed be God.»
With a gradual rumble sounded the response rolling heavily through the chapel:
«Blessed be God.»
The words sang instantly in her heart; the incense lay mystically and sweetly peaceful upon the air, and the candle on the altar went out.
«Blessed be His Holy Name.»
«Blessed be His Holy Name.»
Everything blurred into a swinging mist. With a sound half-gasp, half-cry she rocked on her feet and reeled backward into Kieth’s suddenly outstretched arms.
V
«Lie still, child.»
She closed her eyes again. She was on the grass outside, pillowed on Kieth’s arm, and Regan was dabbing her head with a cold towel.
«I’m all right,» she said quietly.
«I know, but just lie still a minute longer. It was too hot in there. Jarvis felt it, too.»
She laughed as Regan again touched her gingerly with the towel.
«I’m all right,» she repeated.
But though a warm peace was falling her mind and heart she felt oddly broken and chastened, as if some one had held her stripped soul up and laughed.
VI
Half an hour later she walked leaning on Kieth’s arm down the long central path toward the gate.
«It’s been such a short afternoon,» he sighed, «and I’m so sorry you were sick, Lois.»
«Kieth, I’m feeling fine now, really; I wish you wouldn’t worry.»
«Poor old child. I didn’t realize that Benediction’d be a long service for you after your hot trip out here and all.»
She laughed cheerfully.
«I guess the truth is I’m not much used to Benediction. Mass is the limit of my religious exertions.»
She paused and then continued quickly:
«I don’t want to shock you, Kieth, but I can’t tell you how—how inconvenient being a Catholic is. It really doesn’t seem to apply any more. As far as morals go, some of the wildest boys I know are Catholics. And the brightest boys—I mean the ones who think and read a lot, don’t seem to believe in much of anything any more.»
«Tell me about it. The bus won’t be here for another half-hour.»
They sat down on a bench by the path.
«For instance, Gerald Carter, he’s published a novel. He absolutely roars when people mention immortality. And then Howa—well, another man I’ve known well, lately, who was Phi Beta Kappa at Harvard says that no intelligent person can believe in Supernatural Christianity. He says Christ was a great socialist, though. Am I shocking you?»
She broke off suddenly.
Kieth smiled.
«You can’t shock a monk. He’s a professional shock-absorber.»
«Well,» she continued, «that’s about all. It seems so—so narrow. Church schools, for instance. There’s more freedom about things that Catholic people can’t see—like birth control.»
Kieth winced, almost imperceptibly, but Lois saw it.
«Oh,» she said quickly, «everybody talks about everything now.»
«It’s probably better that way.»
«Oh, yes, much better. Well, that’s all, Kieth. I just wanted to tell you why I’m a little—luke-warm, at present.»
«I’m not shocked, Lois. I understand better than you think. We all go through those times. But I know it’ll come out all right, child. There’s that gift of faith that we have, you and I, that’ll carry us past the bad spots.»
He rose as he spoke and they started again down the path.
«I want you to pray for me sometimes, Lois. I think your prayers would be about what I need. Because we’ve come very close in these few hours, I think.»
Her eyes were suddenly shining.
«Oh we have, we have!» she cried. «I feel closer to you now than to any one in the world.»
He stopped suddenly and indicated the side of the path.
«We might—just a minute——»
It was a pietà, a life-size statue of the Blessed Virgin set within a semicircle of rocks.
Feeling a little self-conscious she dropped on her knees beside him and made an unsuccessful attempt at prayer.
She was only half through when he rose. He took her arm again.
«I wanted to thank Her for letting as have this day together,» he said simply.
Lois felt a sudden lump in her throat and she wanted to say something that would tell him how much it had meant to her, too. But she found no words.
«I’ll always remember this,» he continued, his voice trembling a little——»this summer day
