ed! On the Saint's bed!
Some boards are laid upon the broken slabs of stone which lead up to
Benedetto's door, and the two invalids are half pushed, half carried up,
by the surging crowd. There they lie, crosswise upon the Saint's pallet.
The crowd fills the cave. All fall upon their knees in prayer.

It is indeed a cave. One whole side of it is a wall of yellowish rock,
hewn obliquely. The bare, uneven earth forms the floor. Near the couch,
raised about two spans, is a fireplace. There are no windows, but a
ray of sunshine, falling through the chimney, strikes--like a celestial
flame--on the stones of the hearth where there is no trace of ashes. A
brown blanket is spread over the couch. A cross is roughly carved on
the face of the rock, near the entrance. In one corner appear--the only
luxuries--a large pail full of water, a green basin, a bottle, and a
glass. Some books are piled on a rickety cane-seated chair; and a second
chair bears a plate of beans and some bread. The place indicates extreme
poverty, but is clean and orderly.

The feverish man complains of the cold, of the dampness, of the dark. He
says he is worse, that they have brought him here to die. They beseech
him to calm himself, to hope. But his young sister, with the diseased
heart, begins to feel relief almost as soon as they have placed her on
the bed. She proclaims this at once, announces that she is being healed.
Pressing around her they laugh and cry, and praise the Lord all at the
same moment. They kiss her garments, as if she herself had become holy;
the news is shouted to those outside. Joyous voices answer, more people
press into the den, with glowing faces, with eager eyes. But at that
moment some one who has gone farther down the hill in search of the
Saint, cries from afar: "The Saint is coming! The Saint is coming!" Then
the cave pours out a stream of people upon the slope; a din of voices
and a rush of feet flow downwards, and in a second the Selvas and the
three or four students stand alone, below the door of the cabin. Many of
the women of Jenne have gone back to their work in the bakehouse, while
others are looking on from the doorway. Maria exchanges a few words with
the latter. Are they all strangers, those who have gone down? _Eh, si_!
Not all, but most of them. People from Vallepietra, for the most part.
It would be better if water came to us from Vallepietra. And what do
they want? To take the Saint away from Jenne with them? Yes,