XII.
EZA.
The next day, when the nun and Sister Sarah entered the secretary's
room, I advanced to the grating and bade them good-morning. They both
bowed, and the nun took her seat at the table. Sister Sarah then turned
to me and asked if I had a gold pen, adding that the sister was
accustomed to writing with one. I answered that I had all kinds of pens,
and if the sister wanted a gold one it was only necessary to ask me for
it. I brought several gold pens, and handed them through the grating to
the sub-mother, who gave them to the secretary, and then took her leave,
locking the door behind her. My nun took one of the pens, tried it,
arranged the paper, and sat ready to write. I stood by the grating,
hoping to converse a little, if it should be possible.
"Is there anything else you would like?" I said. "If there is, you know
you must mention it."
She gently shook her head. The idea now occurred to me that perhaps my
nun was dumb; but I almost instantly thought that this could not be, for
dumb people were almost always deaf, and she could hear well enough.
Then it struck me that she might be a Trappist nun, and bound by a vow
of silence; but I reflected that she was not really a nun, and
consequently could not be a Trappist.
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