“Then the voice began again.”
The priest stopped a moment and looked round, and I could see that he was trembling a little.
“Would you rather not go on?” I said. “I think it disturbs you to tell me.”
“No, no,” he said; “it is all right, but it was very dreadful––very dreadful.”
“Well, the voice began again in a loud quick whisper, but the odd thing was that I could hardly understand a word; there were just phrases here and there, like the name of God and of our Lady, that I could catch. Then there were a few old French words that I knew; ‘le roy’ came over and over again. Just at first I thought it must be some extreme form of dialect unknown to me; then I thought it must be a very old man who was deaf, because when I tried, after a few sentences, to explain that I could not understand, the penitent paid no attention, but whispered on quickly without a pause. Presently I could perceive that he was in a terrible state of mind; the voice broke and sobbed, and then almost cried out, but still in this loud whisper; then on the other side of the screen I could hear fingers working and moving uneasily, as if entreating admittance at some barred door. Then at last there was silence for a moment, and then plainly some closing formula was repeated, which gradually grew lower and ceased. Then, as I rose, meaning to come round and explain that I had not been able to hear, a loud moan or two came from the penitent. I stood up quickly and looked through the upper part of the screen, and there was no one there.
“I can give you no idea of what a shock that was to me. I stood there glaring, I suppose, through the screen down at the empty step for a moment or two, and perhaps I said something aloud, for I heard a voice from the end of the church.
“‘Did you call, sir?’” And there stood the sacristan, with his keys and lantern, ready to lock up.
“I still stood without answering for a moment, and then I spoke; my voice sounded oddly in my ears.
“‘Is there any one else, Williams? Are they all gone?’ or something like that.
“Williams lifted his lantern and looked round the dusky church.