is name is Dom Adrian Bennett. He
is--or rather ought to be--a Westminster monk, but his return has
been deferred for the present."

"I met him at Lourdes, your Eminence."

"Ah! He is a very clever young man, and at the name time perfectly
courageous. . . . Well, you'll look up the procedure, if you're
not perfectly clear? And I should wish to have the names of the
judges by tomorrow night. The Canon Theologian of the diocese may
not be well enough to act. But you will make arrangements."

"Yes, your Eminence."

"The second matter is exceedingly important." (The Cardinal began
to play with the pen that lay on his desk.) "And no rumour of it
must get out from this house. It may be made public at any
moment, and I wish you to know beforehand in order that you may
not be taken by surprise. Well, it is this. I have had
information that the Emperor of Germany will be received into the
Catholic Church to-night. I needn't tell you what that means. He
is quite fearless and quite conscientious; and there is not the
slightest doubt that he will, sooner or later, make it impossible
for the Socialists to congregate any longer in Berlin. That will
mean either civil war in Germany--(I hear the Socialists have
been in readiness for this for some time past)--or it will mean
their dispersal everywhere. Europe, at any rate, will have to
deal with them. However, that's in the future. The important
thing at the present is that we should be able to show our full
strength when the time comes. There will be thanksgivings
throughout England, of course, as soon as the news is published,
and I wish you to be in readiness to make what arrangements are
necessary. It was the Lourdes miracle, which you witnessed, that
has finished the affair. As you know, the Emperor has been on the
edge of this for months past."

The Cardinal spoke quietly and diplomatically enough; but the
other could see how deeply moved he was by this tremendous
development. The Emperor's position had been the one flaw in the
Catholic organization of Europe--and indeed of the world. Now the
last stone was laid, and the arch was complete. The single
drawback was that no statesman or prophet could conjecture with
certainty what the effect on the Socialists would be.

"And how are you, Monsignor?" asked the Cardinal suddenly,
smiling at him.

"I am getting on very well, your Eminence!"

"I should like to say that, for myself, I am more than
satisfied," went on the othe