rest of his spoil, and throwing himself upon one of his brothers'
beds was soon lost in healthy sleep.

When he awoke the sun was high in the sky, and he found himself
alone with Father Fabian, who appeared likewise only just to have
awakened.

Brother Emmanuel would long ago have held early mass in the
chantry, but this new inmate appeared by no means disposed to
follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. He rubbed his eyes,
and seemed scarce to know where he was; but he accepted Edred's
offers of assistance, and was soon ready to leave the room in
search of the meal to which he was accustomed.

All Chad was in a stir of expectation. It was known throughout the
house that a great search was to be instituted after the missing
priest, who had, as it were, disappeared into thin air.

Everybody knew that he had been within the precincts of Chad upon
the previous day. Some amongst the few servants who had been left
behind to take care of the house had seen him moving quietly about
from the chantry to the courtyard and back. It was now well known
that spies were lurking in the forest round Chad with a view of
intercepting any attempt at flight, and it was plain they had seen
nothing of him. Therefore, unless he had escaped their vigilance by
cunning and artifice, he must still be somewhere within the
precincts of the house; and on the whole this appeared the most
probable theory. In a place like Chad, where there were all manner
of outbuildings, sheds, and lofts; to say nothing of all the
corners and hiding places within the house itself, it would be very
tempting to take refuge in one of these nooks and crannies, and to
trust to the chance of concealment rather than run the gauntlet of
meeting foes in the open.

Brothers from the monasteries, to say nothing of hunted heretics,
had the reputation of being marvellous cunning in their methods. It
was like enough that Brother Emmanuel had long been planning some
such concealment for himself, and had made his plans cleverly and
astutely. Such was the prevailing opinion at Chad, and scarcely a
member of the household but hoped and trusted his hiding place
would not be detected, even though they did not know how seriously
the fortunes of their master might be affected were the monk to be
found hidden in his house.

They all loved Brother Emmanuel for his own sake, and hated the
Lord of Mortimer. And it was well known that that haughty baron was
making common cause with