Frey Luis spoke again. "There are tests the Holy Inquisition would impose that would be harder to pass. We have to think of the soul, sire. Let this man be given over to the infinite compassion of the Church." Philip laid his hand on the table. "A heretic of any nation, Frey Luis, belongs to the Church. I am not so undutiful a son of Christ as to withhold from the Church any heretic, be he a notorious pirate or a peaceable burgher," he said austerely. "As an enemy to Spain El Beauvallet should be judged by the secular arm, but I have to think of the soul, which must be saved at all costs. The Church demands him." "Your Majesty is a faithful son of the Church," Father Allen said. "That is well known. Humbly I would suggest, sire, that the charge of heresy be strictly followed up." There was a short silence. Don Cristobal stood patiently waiting by the curtain that hung over the doorway. The King's eyes were veiled; he seemed to brood, like some sated vulture. What thoughts passed in that tortuous mind even Father Allen could not guess. "There is as yet no suspicion of heresy," the King said at last. "We must remember, Father, that we have to deal with a subject of France." Father Allen bowed his head and stood back. The matter was plain enough now. Philip had no wish to offend the French King upon so trivial a matter, nor did he want his own secret dealings with the Guises to be made public. He would not run the risk of the Chevalier de Guise disclosing these dealings, Father Allen knew well. Frey Luis, no Jesuit, but a priest with one single aim, one obsession, did not read the King's mind so acutely, nor, had he been able to appreciate Philip's difficulty, would it have weighed with him. His faith was simple, and burned like a consuming flame; earthly considerations he would never consider. "The Inquisition claims him," he said, "There may yet be time to rescue his soul from the depths to which it has sunk." The King gave only half an ear to this. "We gain nothing by haste," he said. "You assume, Frey Luis, that this man is indeed El Beauvallet. I am not so easily satisfied. I have listened to wild tales; they do not convince me." "The Holy Inquisition, sire, is tender above all things and infinitely just," said Frey Luis earnestly. "It does not leap to conclusions, and there can be nothing to be feared at its hands by a true son of Christ. If this man be the Chevalier he could raise no objection to appearing before a tribunal appointed to sift him."