parishioners, he might assure them of His Reverence's tender regard for them as his beloved children, and that he had certain special favors to grant to them in due time. Also, that a statue of the Virgin, which had arrived from Rome, and which carried the most potent blessing of the Holy Father, was to be bestowed upon that church in the diocese which within the next twelve months should contribute the largest amount of Peter's Pence in proportion to population. This plan should be especially attractive to the people of Simití, as the town lay on the confines of a district renowned in the ancient annals for its mineral wealth. Herein, too, lay a great opportunity for the priest; and His Reverence rejoiced in the certain knowledge that he would embrace it. Invoking the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Ever-Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph, His Grace awaited with interest the priest's first report from the parish of Simití. The letter fell like a wet blanket upon Josè, chilling him to the marrow, for it revived with cruel poignancy the fact that he was still a servant of Rome. In the past few happy days he had dwelt apart from the world in the consciousness of a new heaven and a new earth, revealed by Carmen. This sudden call to duty was like a summons from Mephistopheles to the fulfillment of a forgotten pact. He carefully read the letter again. Beneath the specious kindliness of Wenceslas lay sinister motives, he knew. Among them, greed, of course. But--a darker thought--did Wenceslas know of Carmen's existence? Could Cartagena have received any intimation of his plans for her? Refusal to comply with these instructions meant--he dared not think what! On the other hand, strict compliance with them certainly was out of the question. As for Peter's Pence, what could the impoverished folk of this decrepit town furnish! And yet, if a reasonable sum could only be contributed at frequent intervals, would not the vampire Wenceslas rest content, at least for a while? Oh, for a fortune of his own, that he might dump it all into the yawning maw of Holy Church, and thus gain a few years' respite for himself and Carmen! "Bad news, Padre?" Rosendo inquired, anxiously regarding the priest's strained features. What could the man do or say, limited, hounded, and without resources? Could he force these simple people to buy Masses? Could he take their money on a pretext which he felt to be utterly false? Yet Cartagena _must_ be kept quiet at any hazard! "Rosendo," he asked earnestly, "when you had a priest in Simití, did the people have Masses offered for their dead?" "_Na_, Padre, we have little money for Masses," replied Rosendo sadly. "But you have bought them?" "At times--long ago--for my first wife, when she died without a priest, up in the Tiguí country. But not when Padre Diego was here. I couldn't see how Masses said by that drunken priest could please God, or make Him release souls from purgatory--and Padre Diego was drunk most of the time."