st be taught to obey; they must learn their own
ignorance. And I am not sure," he continued, turning his back on Evan
and looking out of the prow of the ship into the darkness, "I am not
sure that I agree with your little maxim about justice. Discipline
for the whole society is surely more important than justice to an
individual."

Evan, who was also leaning over the edge, swung round with startling
suddenness and stared at the other's back.

"Discipline for society----" he repeated, very staccato, "more
important--justice to individual?"

Then after a long silence he called out: "Who and what are you?"

"I am an angel," said the white-robed figure, without turning round.

"You are not a Catholic," said MacIan.

The other seemed to take no notice, but reverted to the main topic.

"In our armies up in heaven we learn to put a wholesome fear into
subordinates."

MacIan sat craning his neck forward with an extraordinary and
unaccountable eagerness.

"Go on!" he cried, twisting and untwisting his long, bony fingers, "go
on!"

"Besides," continued he, in the prow, "you must allow for a certain high
spirit and haughtiness in the superior type."

"Go on!" said Evan, with burning eyes.

"Just as the sight of sin offends God," said the unknown, "so does the
sight of ugliness offend Apollo. The beautiful and princely must, of
necessity, be impatient with the squalid and----"

"Why, you great fool!" cried MacIan, rising to the top of his tremendous
stature, "did you think I would have doubted only for that rap with a
sword? I know that noble orders have bad knights, that good knights have
bad tempers, that the Church has rough priests and coarse cardinals;
I have known it ever since I was born. You fool! you had only to say,
'Yes, it is rather a shame,' and I should have forgotten the affair. But
I saw on your mouth the twitch of your infernal sophistry; I knew that
something was wrong with you and your cathedrals. Something is wrong;
everything is wrong. You are not an angel. That is not a church. It is
not the rightful king who has come home."

"That is unfortunate," said the other, in a quiet but hard voice,
"because you are going to see his Majesty."

"No," said MacIan, "I am going to jump over the side."

"Do you desire death?"

"No," said Evan, quite composedly, "I desire a miracle."

"From whom do you ask it? To whom do you appeal?" said his companion,
sternly. "You have betrayed the king, renounced h