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Then he let his hands fall and cracked his fingers, as if he were

shaking the whole mystery out of his hands.

This dark gesture the hearers understood; they began to gaze in

amazement at one another, each trying to guess his neighbour's

thoughts, and the gloomy silence lasted for several minutes. At

last Rykov said:-

"The wolf was a robber, and robbers have caught him!"

"Requiescat in pace," added the Chamberlain.

"In this was the finger of God!" said the Judge. "But I am not

guilty of this blood; I did not know of this."

The Monk rose on the pillows and sat up with gloomy mien. At last

he said, looking sharply at the Warden:-

"It is a great sin to slay an unarmed captive! Christ forbids us

to take vengeance even on our enemies! Ah! Warden, you will

answer heavily for this to God. There is but one ground of

pardon-if the deed was done not from stupid vengeance but pro

publico bono."