"
"I must see the Senora."
"That, I reply, is impossible."
"Presume not--dare not to interfere with a priest in the
duty of his office. It is a mortal sin. The curse of the
Church will rest upon you.
"The curse of the Church will not trouble me. But to treat my
father's known wishes with contempt--that is an act of
dishonor and disobedience which I will not be guilty of."
"Santa Maria! Suffer not my spirit to be moved by this wicked
one. Out of my path, Satanas!"
The last word was not one which Thomas Worth had expected. He
flushed crimson at its application, and with a few muttered
sentences, intelligible only to the priest, he took him firmly
by the shoulder, led him outside the door, and closed and
barred it.
The expulsion was not accomplished without noisy opposition on
the part of Fray Ignatius, and it pained Thomas deeply to
hear, in the midst of the priest's anathemas, the shrill cries
of his mother's distress and disapproval.
The next domestic movement of Thomas Worth was to rid the
house of Molly and Manuel, and the inferior servants. It was
not as easy a task as may be supposed. They had been ordered
by Fray Ignatius to remain, and the order had not been
countermanded. Even if the Senora and her daughters were
going east, and their services were not needed, they had no
objections to remain in the Worth house.
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