himself he
said the short prayer offered to God instead of the formal attendance at
the Office.

"Well, I mustn't let the horses get chilled. You'd better get back to
your casuals. By the way, I'm going to have Brother Nicholas to work out
here awhile, and I want you to act as guest-master. Brother Raymond
will be porter, and I'm going to send Brother Birinus off the farm to be
sacristan. I shall miss him out here, of course."

The Prior put his hand once more to the plough, and Mark went slowly
back to the Abbey. On the brow of the hill before he plunged into the
coppice he turned to look down at the distant figure moving with slow
paces across the field below.

"He's wrestling with himself," Mark thought, "more than he's wrestling
with the soil."

CHAPTER XXVII

MULTIPLICATION

At Easter the Abbey Gatehouse was blessed by the Father Superior, who
established himself in the rooms above and allowed himself to take a
holiday from his labour of preaching. Mark expected to be made porter
again, but the Reverend Father did not attempt to change the posts
assigned to the brethren by the Prior, and Mark remained guest-master, a
duty that was likely to give him plenty of occupation during the summer
months now close at hand.

On Low Sunday the Father Superior convened a full Chapter of the Order,
to which were summoned Brother Dominic, the head of the Sandgate house,
and Brother Anselm. When the brethren, with the exception of Brother
Simon, who was still a postulant, were gathered together, the Father
Superior addressed them as follows:

"Brethren, I have called this Chapter of the Order of St. George to
acquaint you with our financial position, and to ask you to make a grave
decision. Before I say any more I ought to explain that our three
professed brethren considered that a Chapter convened to make a decision
such as I am going to ask you to make presently should not include the
novices. I contended that in the present state of our Order where
novices are called upon to fill the most responsible positions it would
be unfair to exclude them; and our professed brethren, like true sons of
St. Benedict, have accepted my ruling. You all know what great additions
to our Mother House we have made during the past year, and you will all
realize what a burden of debt this has laid upon the Order and on myself
what a weight of responsibility. The closing of our Malta Priory, which
was too far away to interest peop