them, and a great flood of blood-coloured light on every side; the
priest was in the midst of the three, and the two men leaning towards
him seemed to be speaking and as if encouraging him strongly. For an
instant, so strange was the light, so immense the shadows on this side
spread over the tumbled ground up to the lads themselves, so vast the
great vault of illuminated sky, that it seemed to Robin as if he saw a
vision.... Then the strangeness passed, as Mr. Garlick turned away again
to beckon to them; and the boy thought no more of it at that time.

They uncovered as they rode towards the priest, and bowed low to him as
he lifted his hand with a few words of Latin; and the next instant they
were in talk.

Mr. Simpson, like his friends, was a youngish man at this time, with a
kind face and great, innocent eyes that seemed to wonder and question.
Mr. Ludlam, too, was under thirty years old, plainly not of gentleman's
birth, though he was courteous and well-mannered. It seemed a great
matter to these three to have fallen in with young Mr. Babington, whose
family was so well-known, and whose own fame as a scholar, as well as an
ardent Catholic, was all over the county.

Robin said little; he was overshadowed by his friend; but he listened
and watched as the four spoke together, and learned that Mr. Simpson had
been made priest scarcely a month before, and was come from Yorkshire,
which was his own county, to minister in the district of the Peak at
least for awhile. He heard, too, news from Douay, and that the college,
it was thought, might move from there to another place under the
protection of the family of De Guise, since her Grace was very hot
against Douay, whence so many of her troubles proceeded, and was doing
her best to persuade the Governor of the Netherlands to suppress it.