-which rang through the whole
house, and which was but the accompaniment of the fierce exclamation
that went with it.

They heard them mount the stairs together, and then they were left to
their imaginations. As for Antonia, she was almost terrified at the
storm she had raised. Never had she seen anger so terrible. Yet, though
he had not said a word directly to her, she was aware of his full
sympathy. He grasped her hand, and entered the Senora's room with her.
His first order was to Rachela--

"Leave the house in five minutes; no, in three minutes. I will tell
Ortiz to send your clothes after you. Go!"

"My Senora! Fray I--"

"Go!" he thundered. "Out of my house! Fly! I will not endure you another
moment."

The impetus of his words was like a great wind. They drove the woman
before him, and he shut the door behind her with a terrifying and
amazing rage. Then he turned to the priest--

"Fray Ignatius, you have abused my hospitality, and my patience.
You shall do so no longer. For twenty-six years I have suffered your
interference-"

"The Senor is a prudent man. The wise bear what they cannot resist"; and
with a gentle smile and lifted eyebrows Fray Ignatius crossed himself.

"I have respected your faith, though it was the faith of a bigot; and
your opinions, though they were false and cruel, because you believed
honestly in them. But you shall not again interfere with my wife, or my
children, or my servants, or my house."

"The Senor Doctor is not prince, or pope. 'Shall,' and 'SHALL NOT,' no
one but my own ecclesiastical superiors can say to me."

"I say, you shall not again terrify my wife and insult my daughter, and
disorganize my whole household! And, as the God of my mother hears me,
you shall not again burn up His Holy Word under my roof. Never, while
I dwell beneath it, enter my gates, or cross my threshold, or address
yourself to any that bear my name, or eat my bread." With the words, he
walked to the door and held it open. It was impossible to mistake
the unspoken order, and there was something in the concentrated yet
controlled passion of Robert Worth which even the haughty priest did not
care to irritate beyond its bounds.

He gathered his robe together, and with lifted eyes muttered an
ejaculatory prayer. Then he said in slow, cold, precise tones:

"For the present, I go. Very good. I shall come back again. The saints
will take care of that. Senora, I give you my blessing. Senor, you may
yet