melted as it fell, but when it struck
him about the neck and face it had an uncommonly penetrating power and
the chill seemed to go into the bone. He must have shelter. He looked at
the dark walls of the cathedral and then at the light in the slender
lantern far up above the dome. What more truly a shelter than a church!
It had been a sanctuary in the dark ages, and he might use it now as
such.

He left the trees and stood for a little while by a stone, one of the
124 which formerly enclosed an atrium. Still seeing nothing and hearing
nothing but the whistle of the wind which drove the cold drops of snow
under his collar he advanced boldly again, sprang over the iron railing,
and came to the walls of the old church, where he stood a moment.

Ned knew that in great Catholic cathedrals, like the one of Mexico,
there were always side doors or little wickets used by priests or other
high officials of the church, and he was hoping to find one that he
could open. He passed half way around the building, feeling cautiously
along the cold stone. Once he saw a watchman with sombrero, heavy cloak
and lantern. He pressed into a niche, and the watchman went on his
automatic way, little thinking that anyone was near.

The boy continued his circuit and presently he found a wooden door,
which he could not force. A little further and he came to a second which
opened to his pressure. It was so small an entrance that he stooped as
he passed in. He shut it carefully behind him, and stood in what was
almost total darkness, until his eyes grew used to the gloom.

Then he saw that he was in a vast interior, Doric in architecture,
severe and simple. It was in the form of a Latin cross, with fluted
columns dividing the aisles from the nave. Above him rose a noble dome.

He could make out nothing more for the present. It was very still, very
imposing, and at another time he would have been awed, but now he had
found sanctuary. The cold and the snow were shut out and a grateful
warmth took their place. He walked down one of the aisles, careful that
his footsteps should make no sound. He saw that there were rows of
chapels, seven on either side of the church. It occurred to him that he
would be safer in one of these rooms and he chose that which seemed to
be used the least.

While on this search he passed the main altar in the center of the
building. He noticed above the stalls a picture of the Virgin. He was a
Protestant, but when he saw i