“Humph!” said he. “What are you waiting for?”
I told him my whole story. He listened to it, after the first,
abstractedly, with one eye caressing his abominable book. At the end
he gave me absolution, canvassing me distastefully as he pondered the
penance. Presently he spoke.
“I order you,” he said, “twenty Ave Marias, and to return to your
master.”