"Senhor Viscount; Senhor Captain; soldiers--you have come here to rob God. For years your comrades have been pouring out their blood in civil strife--and why? On the plea that Portugal must be ruled by the will of the people instead of by the will of kings. Is this the will of the people? Answer me. If Dom Pedro had told you amidst the shot and shell of Oporto that these were to be the first-fruits of his victory, I say that Donna Maria would never have reached her throne. You have been deceived. You were fighting for Absolutists after all. It is not Liberalism to trample on every liberty save your own." "This is stark treason," sputtered the Viscount. "It is stark truth," rejoined the Prior. "But I will return to our business. Senhores, give me leave to prepare him for your visit, and I will lead you to the cell of our Abbot. Father Isidoro, go and make all ready." "The Abbot?" echoed the captain astonished. And the Viscount turning very red as Father Isidoro disappeared, gasped out: "The Abbot? No. Certainly not. Decidedly not. The Abbot is very old and very ill. Your young men have told me so. It is unnecessary. Decidedly not. We will treat the sick and the aged with more humanity." "These papers," said the Prior curtly, tapping the roll in the Viscount's hand, "are addressed to the Abbot. They are his death-warrant; and your Excellency shall not shirk executing it." "It is inhumanity!" the Viscount cried. "Not on our part," answered the Prior. "We are his children, and we know our Abbot. He shall not be carried away in a litter to-morrow to die among strangers. Kill him here. Kill him now. Our beloved father would have it so. Senhores, excuse me. In five minutes I will return." Before the Prior's sandals had ceased to resound on the cloister flags twenty tongues were loosened. The ranks of monks broke up into little groups, some dismayed, others defiant. As for the Viscount he turned upon the captain wrath fully. "We are fools to allow it," he cried. "What have we to do with dying old men? It's a trick to work on our feelings. They mean to turn the soldiers against us. Yes, we're fools. I say we're a pair of fools." "Perhaps your Excellency will speak for himself," grunted the captain, whose disgust for his work was growing as rapidly as his contempt for the civilian. "Aren't we masters here?" the Viscount demanded. "We will parley with no Abbots. Aren't we in possession?" "I think not," said the captain. "I'm no lawyer: but the Prior says these papers are addressed first and foremost to the Abbot." A confused murmuring had been growing louder and louder among the troopers who crowded the doorway. All of a sudden it rose to an uproar, and two struggling men lurched into the light, locked in a fierce embrace. The captain sprang upon them as if they had been two fighting terriers, cuffing them roundly about the ears till they fell apart. "What is this?" he thundered.