“Fool! Don’t bring her in here! The ceremony is starting! Lock her up and be quick about it!”
CHAPTER
17
THE CULT CEREMONY
As Penny watched from behind a pillar in the cloister, Winkey pulled the struggling girl through a doorway and out of sight.
Father Benedict then adjusted his long robe and rang a silver bell. With stately tread he retired to a position behind the crystal globe.
An instant later from the far side of the cloister, a door was flung open. A procession of ten persons in white robes moved slowly into the shadowy room.
As far as Penny could tell, all who participated were women, many of advanced age. Leaders of the strange procession carried banners embroidered in silver and gold symbols.
The white robed figures moved slowly along the passageway, and Penny saw that they would pass the pillar where she stood.
Fearing detection, she shifted position slightly to avoid being seen.
But as the mumbling, chanting group passed her, she was overcome with a sudden impulse to join the procession.
“If I can get up close, I’ll be able to hear what is said!” she thought. “Maybe I’ll learn the secret of Father Benedict’s strange power over these people!”