haotic. And knowing
all this, he knew that he had touched the hem of the garment of the
Christ-understanding. There remained, then, the test of fire. And it
had come. Would he stand?

"Padre," said Carmen, going to him and putting her arms about his
neck, "you say that you think a great war is coming. But you
needn't be afraid. Don't you remember what it says in the book of
Isaiah? 'No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and
every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their
righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.' No weapon of evil can
touch you, if you understand God. Every tongue of the human mind that
rises to judge you, to sentence you, shall be condemned. You will
condemn it--you _must_! This is your heritage, given you by God. And
your righteousness, your right-thinking, must come from God. Your
thoughts must be His. Then--"

"Yes, yes, _chiquita_," he said, drawing her to him.

"And now, Padre, you will promise me that you will know every day that
Anita's babe is not blind--that it sees, because God sees?"

"Yes, _chiquita_, I promise."

"Padre dear," she murmured, nestling close to him, "I love you so
much, so much!"

He answered not, except in the tightening of the arm that was about
her.

CHAPTER 31

In the weeks that followed there were days when the very air seemed
pregnant with potential destruction, awaiting only the daring hand
that would render it kinetic. Jose dwelt in a state of incessant,
heart-shaking agitation. The sudden precipitation of the revolt six
years before had caught him wholly unprepared, unaware even of the
events which had led to it. In the intervening years, however, he had
had some opportunity, even in his isolation, to study political
conditions in that unhappy country, and to form some estimate of the
mental forces at work in both Church and State which, he knew, must
ultimately bring them again into conflict for supremacy. His knowledge
of the workings of the human mind convinced him that Diego's dire
prophecy had not been empty; that the Church, though ostensibly
assuming only spiritual leadership, would nevertheless rest not until
the question "Who shall be greatest?" even in the petty, sordid
affairs of mortals, should be answered, and answered--though by force
of arms--in her favor. And his estimate of the strength of the
opposing parties had led him to believe