"A man!"
The Pontiff nodded, as if he approved the observation.
In the man Francesco had long discovered the judicial mind, and the discreet intelligence of the trained statesman.
From the shadows the Pontiff was warily regarding the sun-steeped features of the young monk.
At last, his voice sinking down to its accustomed calm, he said, as if feeling his ground:
"Does the new life satisfy your soul?"
The restless, ceaseless pain of longing again knocked at Francesco's heart, and with it returned the old spirit of rebellion, which had possessed him in the days of his novitiate at Monte Cassino. And, unconsciously, he repeated the words of the Duke of Spoleto:
"Men make a patchwork quilt of life, and call the patchwork religion and law."
An audible gasp was wafted to his ears.