"I can think of nothing but you and your suffering!" cried the child--but she had to obey and to lead the blind monk forward. He pulled her on without farther delay.
They were now passing by the foot of the fortress of Reichenburg, and the little girl looked anxiously up at the blank and towering walls.
"God be thanked!" she sighed, when they were past, "Reichenburg is behind us! now we have nothing more to fear."
"How long will it be before we reach Saint Gertrude's?" asked Donatus.
"Before sun-down we shall be there. What shall we do then?"
"There I shall beseech the Duchess to grant me an escort and an efficient force to protect my brethren at Marienberg, and I shall hasten back with them. I shall give you into the noble Lady's charge that she may obtain your reception among the brides-of-heaven who dwell in the cloister of Saint Gertrude, for that is the path-way of the blessed in which I promised to lead you, and there flows the well of living water of which you must drink."
"Jesu Maria!" shrieked the child. "You will shut me up in a cloister!"
"What else could I do with you that would be pleasing to the Lord?"
"Oh!--no, never, never!--" the child groaned under her breath.
"Beata--is this your obedience?"