and said:
"It must be nice and cool in there."

"Of course it is," said Papias.

"It is never too hot in church. I will tell you what--we will go there."
This was a bright idea; for, thought Dada, any place must be pleasanter
than this; and she felt strongly tempted, too, to see the inside of one
of Agne's temples and to sing once more, or, at any rate, hear others
sing.

"Come along," she said, and they stole through the deserted house to get
into the street by the atrium. Medius saw them, but he made no attempt to
detain them; he had sunk into lethargic indifference. It was not an hour
since he had taken stock of his life and means, setting the small figure
of his average income against his hospitality to Dada and her little
companion; but then, again, he had calculated that, if all went well, he
might make considerable profits out of the girl and the child. Now, he
felt it was all the same to him whether he and his family and Dada met
their doom in the house or out of it.

Dada and Papias soon reached the church of St. Mark, the oldest Christian
basilica in the city. It consisted of a vestibule--the narthex--and the
body of the church, a very long hall, with a flat roof ceiled with
stained wood and supported on a double row of quite simple columns. This
space was divided into two parts by a screen of pierced work; the
innermost portion had a raised floor or podium, on which stood a table
with chairs placed round it in a semicircle. The centre seat was higher
and more richly decorated than the others. These chairs were unoccupied;
a few deacons in 'talares' of light-colored brocade were busied about the
table.

In the middle of the vestibule there was a small tank; here a number of
penitents had collected who, with their flayed ribs and abject
lamentations, offered a more melancholy spectacle than even the terrified
crowd whom Dada had seen the day before, gathered round the temple of
Isis. Indeed, site would have withdrawn at once but that Papias dragged
her forward, and when she had passed through the great door into the nave
she breathed a sigh of relief. A soothing sense of respite came over her,
such as she had rarely felt; for the lofty building, which was only half
full, was deliciously cool and the subdued light was restful to her eyes.
The slight perfume of incense and the sober singing of the assembled
worshippers were soothing to her senses, and, as she took a seat on one
of the benches, she felt shel