Then for contrast he remembered the whitewashed church where he attended
now with his wife, Sunday by Sunday, the pulpit occupied by the black
figure of the virtuous Mr. Bodder pronouncing his discourse, the great
texts that stood out in their new paint from the walls, the table that
stood out unashamed and sideways in the midst of the chancel. And which
of the two worships was most like God?...

Then he compared the worshippers in either mode. Well, Drake, his hero,
was a convinced Protestant; the bravest man he had ever met or dreamed
of--fiery, pertinacious, gloriously insolent. He thought of his sailors,
on whom a portion of Drake's spirit fell, their gallantry, their
fearlessness of death and of all that comes after; of Mr. Bodder, who was
now growing middle-aged in the Vicarage--yes, indeed, they were all
admirable in various ways, but were they like Christ?

On the other hand, his father, in spite of his quick temper, his mother,
brother, aunt, the priests who came and went by night, Isabel--and at
that he stopped: and like a deep voice in his ear rose up the last
tremendous question, What if the Catholic Religion be true after all? And
at that the supernatural began to assert itself. It seemed as if the
empty air were full of this question, rising in intensity and emphasis.
What if it is true? What if it is true? _What if it is true?_

He sat bolt upright and looked sharply round the room; the candles burned
steadily in the sconce near the door. The tapestry lifted and dropped
noiselessly in the draught; the dark corners beyond the press and in the
window recesses suggested presences that waited; the wide chimney sighed
suddenly once.

Was that a voice in his ear just now, or only in his heart? But in either
case----

He made an effort to command himself, and looked again steadily round the
room; but there seemed no one there. But what if the old tale be true? In
that case he is not alone in this little oak room, for there is no such
thing as loneliness. In that case he is sitting in full sight of Almighty
God, whom he has insulted; and of the saints whose power he has
repudiated; and of the angels good and bad who have---- Ah! what was
that? There had seemed to come a long sigh somewhere behind him; on his
left surely.--What was it? Some wandering soul? Was it, could it be the
soul of one who had loved him and desired to warn him before it was too
late? Could it have been----and then it came again; and