"Will the Cardinal listen to you?" asked Giovanni, his voice unsteady with emotion.
"What I recommend is usually done," answered the prelate, without a shade of arrogance, but with the quiet certainty of a man in power.
"What I ask of you is, to submit at once to the operation that alone can save you, on the strength of my a.s.surance that I am going to do my utmost to obtain what you desire."
"It is hard to believe!" Giovanni exclaimed, almost to himself.
The nun moved her head silently from side to side without lifting her face from her arm.
"You can believe me," Monsignor Saracinesca answered. "I give you my solemn promise before G.o.d, and my word of honour before men, that I will do the utmost in my power to succeed. Do you believe me?"
Giovanni held out his sound hand. The churchman came nearer and took it.
"Will you risk the operation on that?" he asked.
The light of a profound grat.i.tude illuminated the young soldier"s tired face, and his fingers pressed Monsignor Saracinesca"s spasmodically; but his voice was quiet when he spoke.
"Sister Giovanna----"
"Yes?"
The nun looked up suddenly and drew a sharp breath, for her joy was almost agonising.
"Will you kindly go and tell Doctor Pieri that I am ready?"
The nun rose with a spring and was at the door in an instant, and in her heart rang such a chorus of glory and rejoicing as not even the angels have heard since the Morning Stars sang together.
Of her, I think the most rigid cannot say that she had not endured to the end, for her vow"s sake. Whether the churchman was too human in his sympathies or not may be an open question; if he was, he had the courage to make himself alone responsible, for, as he had foretold, what he recommended was done; if he was wrong, he has at least the consolation of having brought unspeakable happiness to three human beings. For the mother, whose heart had so nearly broken for her child, had her share of joy, too, and it was no small one.
POPULAR COPYRIGHT BOOKS
Ask your dealer for a complete list of A. L. Burt Company"s Popular Copyright Fiction.
Abner Daniel. By Will N. Harben.
Adventures of A Modest Man. By Robert W. Chambers.
Adventures of Gerard. By A. Conan Doyle.
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. By A. Conan Doyle.
Ailsa Page. By Robert W. Chambers.
Alternative, The. By George Barr McCutcheon.
Ancient Law, The. By Ellen Glasgow.
Angel of Forgiveness, The. By Rosa N. Carey.
Angel of Pain, The. By E. F. Benson.
Annals of Ann, The. By Kate Trumble Sharber.
Anna the Adventuress. By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
Ann Boyd. By Will N. Harben.
As the Sparks Fly Upward. By Cyrus Townsend Brady.
At the Age of Eve. By Kate Trimble Sharber.
At the Mercy of Tiberius. By Augusta Evans Wilson.
At the Moorings. By Rosa N. Carey.
Awakening of Helen Richie, The. By Margaret Deland.
Barrier, The. By Rex Beach.
Bar-20. By Clarence E. Mulford.
Bar-20 Days. By Clarence E. Mulford.
Battle Ground, The. By Ellen Glasgow.
Beau Brocade. By Baroness Orczy.
Beechy. By Bettina von Hutten.
Bella Donna. By Robert Hichens.
Beloved Vagabond, The. By William J. Locke.
Ben Blair. By Will Lillibridge.
Best Man, The. By Harold MacGrath.
Beth Norvell. By Randall Parrish.
Betrayal, The. By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
Better Man, The. By Cyrus Townsend Brady.
Beulah. (Ill.u.s.trated Edition.) By Augusta J. Evans.
Bill Toppers, The. By Andre Castaigne.
Blaze Derringer. By Eugene P. Lyle, Jr.
Bob Hampton of Placer. By Randall Parrish.
Bob, Son of Battle. By Alfred Ollivant.
Bra.s.s Bowl, The. By Louis Joseph Vance.
Bronze Bell, The. By Louis Joseph Vance.
b.u.t.terfly Man, The. By George Barr McCutcheon.
By Right of Purchase. By Harold Bindloss.
Cab No. 44. By R. F. Foster.
Calling of Dan Matthews, The. By Harold Bell Wright.
Call of the Blood, The. By Robert Hichens.
Cape Cod Stories. By Joseph C. Lincoln.
Cap"n Eri. By Joseph C. Lincoln.
Captain Warren"s Wards. By Joseph C. Lincoln.
Caravaners, The. By the author of "Elizabeth and Her German Garden."
Cardigan. By Robert W. Chambers.
Carlton Case, The. By Ellery H. Clark.
Car of Destiny, The. By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.
Carpet From Bagdad, The. By Harold MacGrath.
Cash Intrigue, The. By George Randolph Chester.
Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine. Frank S. Stockton.
Castle by the Sea, The. By H. B. Marriot Watson.
Challoners, The. By E. F. Benson.
Chaperon, The. By C. N. and A. M. Williamson.
City of Six, The. By C. L. Canfield.
POPULAR COPYRIGHT BOOKS