ing forth a long bony arm which projected to
beyond the wrist from the loose sleeve of his black robe, said:

"Depart, presumptuous youth! Go hence quickly, and take those misguided
men, thy minions, with thee, lest I call down the wrath of Holy Mother
Church upon thy sacrilegious head--and theirs. Who art thou, that thou
should'st dare to--"

"Reverend senor," interrupted George, unceremoniously, "a fig for you
and your sacrilege"--and he snapped his fingers contemptuously. "The
wrath of thy Holy Mother Church has no terrors for me, though--
understand me--I can respect any man's religion, so long as he is
sincere, and so long as he is willing to respect that of others and
permit them to worship God in their own way. But, enough of this; I am
not here to discuss theological questions, but to right a great wrong
and to avenge fiendish crime and cruelty perpetrated in the sacred name
of Him whose effigy hangs upon yonder cross behind you. Therefore I say
once more, uncover, and let me see your faces--unless indeed you prefer
that we should lay our sacrilegious hands upon you and remove your head-
coverings ourselves!"

"The Saints forbid!" ejaculated the Grand Inquisitor in horror.
"Anything rather than that!"

Then, turning to his companions, right and left, he added--"Uncover, my
Brothers, since this heretical Englishman will have it so. It is not
meet that we, the pillars of the Holy Catholic Church, unworthy though
we be, should submit to insult and indignity at the hands of a pack of
godless Lutheran dogs." And, so saying, he seated himself and proceeded
to remove his own head-covering, disclosing lean, ascetic features,
cold, cruel, and domineering, crowned by the monk's tonsure. At the
same time the others did the same, and with very similar result, the
dominant expression of the faces thus disclosed being that of cold,
stern ruthlessness, tempered, it must be confessed, in some cases, with
very evident signs of fear.

"So! that is better," commented George. "Now, senors," he continued, "I
am not going to make a long business of my talk with you, for we have
already wasted far too much time in this accursed building. I have but
a few questions to ask; and you will do well to answer them briefly and
to the point. This chamber, I perceive, is what is usually termed in
the outside world, `the torture chamber'; and I gather that it is here
you subject those whom you stigmatise as heretics to unspeakabl