"Well?"
"I . . . I don't know what's going to happen. The envoy's coming at the last hour. The Council is in a very divided state of mind. You saw that?"
"Well?"
"They're wavering. It's no use denying it. They'd accept almost anything. It's perfectly desperate. They see that now."
He was fingering the priest's sleeve by now, and his eyes were full of a pitiable anxiety.
"What do you wish me to do?"
"Well, they'll say I was responsible—if the negotiations come to anything, I mean. They'll say I urged them on. They'll sacrifice me—me and the President. They'll say they never would have gone to such lengths——What's that noise?"
Monsignor jerked his head impatiently. He began to see light.
"Well," went on the other nervously, "I want you to speak for me, if necessary—if necessary, you understand? You're a Christian, Monsignor. . . You'll stand by me."
The priest waited before answering; as the situation took shape before his eyes, he began to understand more and more clearly; and yet——