f into two heads: One, Who are your friends.
Two, What was your business?"

Now it had been established beyond a doubt at previous examinations that
he was a priest; a student of Douai who had apostatised had positively
identified him; so Anthony answered boldly:

"My friends were Catholics; and my business was the reconciling of souls
to their Creator."

"And to the Pope of Rome," put in Wade.

"Who is Christ's Vicar," continued Anthony.

"And a pestilent knave," concluded a fiery-faced man whom Anthony did not
know.

But the Commissioners wanted more than that; it was true that Anthony was
already convicted of high treason in having been ordained beyond the seas
and in exercising his priestly functions in England; but the exacting of
the penalty for religion alone was apt to raise popular resentment; and
it was far preferable in the eyes of the authorities to entangle a priest
in the political net before killing him. So they passed over for the
present his priestly functions and first demanded a list of all the
places where he had stayed in the north.

"You ask what is impossible," said Anthony, with his eyes on the ground
and his heart beating sharply, for he knew that now peril was near.

"Well," said Wade, "let us put it another way. We know that you were at
Speke Hall, Blainscow, and other places. I have a list here," and he
tapped the table, "but we want your name to it."

"Let me see the paper," said Anthony.

"Nay, nay, tell us first."

"I cannot sign the paper except I see it," said Anthony, smiling.

"Give it him," said a voice from the end of the table.

"Here then," said Wade unwillingly.

Anthony got up and took the paper from him, and saw one or two places
named where he had not been, and saw that it had been drawn up at any
rate partly on guesswork.

He put the paper down and went back to his chair and sat down.

"It is not true," he said, looking steadily at the Secretary; "I cannot
sign it."

"Do you deny that you have been to any of these places?" inquired Wade
indignantly.

"The paper is not true," said Anthony again.

"Well, then, show us what is not true upon it."

"I cannot."

"We will find means to persuade you," said the Secretary.

"If God permits," said Anthony.

Wade glanced round inquiringly and shrugged his shoulders; one or two
shook their heads.

"Well, then, we will turn to another point. There are known to have been
certain Jesuit priests in Lancashire in