Page:Elizabeth Jordan--Tales of the cloister.djvu/39

 then sank heavily upon her knees. For the first time the pupils saw the serene nun swept out of her dignified calm. They knew she had forgotten where she was, for she counted the strokes, with her face turned towards the convent chapel, and tears falling unchecked on the white linen on her bosom.

A thrill passed over the assembly. Several of the girls began to cry softly. May Iverson turned an appealing face to the professor. He was listening with surprise to the unusual interruption which had so strangely affected his class.

"I am going to ask you to dismiss us for to-day, Professor Varick," she said, brokenly. "That bell is telling us that our dearest, our very dearest teacher, Sister Edgar, has just died. You know her," she added, "the nun with the lovely face, who always sat down there at the left, where Sister Raymond is sitting now."

Professor Varick showed no annoyance over the abrupt ending of the lesson. His face was grave and his manner very gentle and sympathetic, as he looked down at the wet eyes upturned to his.

"Certainly, I will dismiss the class," he said, kindly. "I think I remember having seen the sister at her post. She sat at the