‘Then you side with the Archbishop?’

’Perhaps I do in a way, but for different reasons.  I know very well that the people won’t kneel in the rain.  Is it really true that he opposes the roofing of the abbey on account of the legend?  I have heard the legend, but there are many variants.  Let’s go to the abbey and you’ll tell the story on the way.’

‘You see, he’ll only allow a portion of the abbey to be roofed.’

’You don’t mean that he is so senile and superstitious as that?  Then the reason of his opposition really is that he believes his death to be implicit in the roofing of Kilronan.’

‘Yes; he thinks that;’ and the priests turned out of the main road.

‘How beautiful it looks!’ and Father Oliver stopped to admire.

The abbey stood on one of the lower slopes, on a knoll overlooking rich water-meadows, formerly abbatial lands.

’The legend says that the abbey shall be roofed when a De Stanton is Abbot, and the McEvillys were originally De Stantons; they changed their name in the fifteenth century on account of a violation of sanctuary committed by them.  A roof shall be put on those walls, the legend says, when a De Stanton is again Abbot of Kilronan, and the Abbot shall be slain on the highroad.’

’And to save himself from a violent death, he will only allow you to roof a part of the abbey.  Now, what reason does he give for such an extraordinary decision?’

‘Are Bishops ever expected to have reasons?’

The priests laughed, and Father Oliver said:  ‘We might appeal to Rome.’

’A lot of good that would do us.  Haven’t we all heard the Archbishop say that any of his priests who appeals to Rome against him will get the worst of it?’

‘I wonder that he dares to defy popular opinion in this way.’

’What popular opinion is there to defy?  Wasn’t Patsy Donovan saying to me only yesterday that the Archbishop was a brave man to be letting any roof at all on the abbey?  And Patsy is the best-educated man in this part of the country.’

‘People will believe anything.’

‘Yes, indeed.’

And the priests stopped at the grave of Seaghan na Soggarth, or ’John of the Priests,’ and Father Oliver told Father Moran how a young priest, who had lost his way in the mountains, had fallen in with Seaghan na Soggarth.  Seaghan offered to put him into the right road, but instead of doing so he led him to his house, and closed the door on him, and left him there tied hand and foot.  Seaghan’s sister, who still clung to religion, loosed the priest, and he fled, passing Seaghan, who was on his way to fetch the soldiers.  Seaghan followed after, and on they went like hare and hound till they got to the abbey.  There the priest, who could run no further, turned on his foe, and they fought until the priest got hold of Seaghan’s knife and killed him with it.

‘But you know the story.  Why am I telling it to you?’