"The lay sister in the hall shall deliver it."
"Who is the sister?"
"Sister Grace."
There was a silence.
"Reverend mother, has Sister Grace ever spoken of the past?"
The superior told a few beads.
"The past is as nothing to us here, my daughter. Within these walls the world does not enter. In the presence of the Cross the past and the future are one."
Greta drew a long breath. Then she stooped and kissed the hand of the superior, and turned softly away.
Greta and the landlady passed out through the deep portico, and the same nun who had opened the door closed it behind them. Mrs. Drayton clung to Greta's arm as they went through, and her hand trembled perceptibly.
"Who is she?" whispered the landlady, when they were seated in a cab.