Hospital was not made, and cannot be altered, in a day--even for
the better. Like England, it has been built by accretions, by
traditions; yes, and by traditions that apparently conflict--by that
of Brother Ingman, among others. . . .

"We who love St. Hospital," continued the Master, still tremulously,
"have, I doubt not, each his different sense of the _genius loci_.
Warboise finds it, we'll say, in the person of Peter Ingman,
Protestant and martyr. But I don't defend his behaviour. I will
send for him to-morrow, and talk to him. I will talk to him very
severely."

CHAPTER III.

BROTHER COPAS HOOKS A FISH.

"Well," said Brother Copas, "since the fish are not rising, let us
talk. Or rather, you can tell me all about it while I practise
casting. . . . By what boat is she coming?"

"By the _Carnatic_, and due some time to-morrow. I saw it in the
newspaper."

"Well?--" prompted Brother Copas, glancing back over his shoulder as
Brother Bonaday came to a halt.

The bent little man seemed to have lost the thread of his speech as
he stood letting his gentle, tired eyes follow the flight of the
swallows swooping and circling low along the river and over the
meadow-grasses.

"Well?--" prompted Brother Copas again.

"Nurse Branscome will go down to meet her."

"And then?--"

"I am hoping the Master will let her have my spare room," said
Brother Bonaday vaguely.

Here it should be explained that when the Trustees erected a new
house for the Master his old lodgings in the quadrangle had been
carved into sets of chambers for half a dozen additional Brethren,
and that one of these, differing only from the rest in that it
contained a small spare room, had chanced to be allotted to Brother
Bonaday. He had not applied for it, and it had grieved him to find
his promotion resented by certain of the Brethren, who let slip few
occasions for envy. For the spare room had been quite useless to him
until now. Now he began to think it might be, after all, a special
gift of Providence.

"You have spoken to the Master?" asked Brother Copas.

"No: that is to say, not yet."

"What if he refuses?"

"It will be very awkward. I shall hardly know what to do. . . . Find
her some lodging in the town, perhaps; there seems no other way."

"You should have applied to the Master at once."

Brother Bonaday considered this, while his eyes wandered.

"But why?" he asked. "The boat had sailed before the letter reached