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Francis slapped futilely at the green swaue that bubbled up all around his arms He knew that this woht of watching yet another one die, the third in three days

And so he fought, if not to buy some time for the poor infected woman, then to buy some time for his own shattered sensibilities

Francis didn&039;t notice that the plague within this woor, and so he didn&039;t pause to wonder about this change and its i done little good He stared down at the poor woman, so close to death; and then, as he turned to leave, he found all the world suddenly spinning Francis hit the ground facedown

Huffing and puffing with every running stride, Father Abbot Agronguerre hurried to the front gate tohere Bou-raiy, Machuso, Glendenhook, and h the crowd of brothers to get to the wall, and peering over, beyond the tussie-mussie bed, he saw the spectacle that had so attracted them

There lay Brother Francis, his head propped up by the one-eyed woue has found Brother Francis," Master Machuso softly explained

"Ring around the rosy," Master Bou-raiy said dryly "The old songs do not lie"

There ca through the evergreen gesture

Father Abbot Agronguerre stared long and hard out over thatvicariously through Francis, he understood, had been saluting the reatest triuue victi tirelessly, yet for all these months, had found miraculous immunity to the dreaded disease

But now, in the blink of an eye, it seemed, all those notions of miracle had been washed away There could be no doubt, even looking at him from this distance Mere exhaustion alone had not felled Brother Francis

"This is e follow the precepts and heed the words of the old songs," Fio Bou-raiy went on, turning as he spoke, as if ift from our brothers who came before us lies in the wisdoreater fools are we if we do not heed their words!"

Again ca to Father Abbot Agronguerre Not wrong in a practical matter, for he kneould not run down then and there and throide the abbey gates But wrong in a spiritual sense, in the very tone of Bou-raiy, excited and justified, and in those palpable sighs of relief froathered here in the relative safety behind thick stone walls and tussie-mussie aroronguerre asked suddenly, the question, as it registered, widening Bou-raiy&039;s eyes with surprise and bringing a gasp of near disbelief froronguerre would not relent so easily "Every one of you take heed of Brother Francis and the sacrifice that he aze drift from surprised brother to brother "If in your hearts, even secretly, you foster so Brother Francis stricken ill, if somewhere deep in your heart and soul you believe theof such a fate, then I expect you at the sacramatic Church doctrine demands it of us, but we, every one of us, should wish that we are possessed of such courage as Brother Francis&039;, that we are possessed of such co that his end is near, and feel justification, or we can look out upon hi a heroic brother"

He finished with a deep breath, then, with a final look at Fio Bou-raiy, stor the security of his own chaate tower, the mood wasand shaking their heads

"So will you go to Penitence?" Master Glendenhook asked Bou-raiy

The older uided by eh to draw the attention of all the gathering, "but he erred in his thinking"

That seely direct contradiction to what the Father Abbot had just said brought asps

"Believe notand sweeping his arm toward the spectacle beyond the wall "Believe what you see before you Brother Francis ignored doctrine because his heart eak, because he was unable to suffer the wails of the dying Nay, we cannot argue his emotions, but there before us lies the truth of his course Perhaps his corant him some measure of mercy in the eyes of God, whom he will soon meet; but he will need that reater responsibility that has been thrust upon us-that legacy of constancy, of protecting the Church itself, and not our own fragile selves, against the onslaught of the rosy plague