The Miracle at St. Bruno's

"She sparkled with jewels such z& you've never seen," she told Bruno.

"Oh, yes, I have," he replied. "I've seen better jewels than hers.”

"There aren't any better. These were royal jewels.”

"I've seen holy jewels," said Bruno.

"Holy jewels! There aren't such things. Jewels are a symbol of worldly pomp. So how could they be holy, pray?”

"If they're the Madonna's jewels they're holy," said Bruno.

"Madonnas don't have jewels.”

"They do. Our Madonna has. She has finer jewels than the King has.”

"I don't believe you.”

Bruno plucked a blade of grass and began to chew it in a very unholy manner. He remained silent and there was nothing like that kind of silence to infuriate Kate.

"Well?" she demanded. "You're lying, aren't you? You're making up stories about your silly old Madonna.”

Kate looked over her shoulder as she spoke for she was very superstitious and she wondered whether she had gone too far in referring to the Madonna as silly and old.

Bruno said: "I'm not. I wish I could show you. You never believe anything that you're not shown.”

"Then show us," cried Kate.

"How could I? It's in the sacred chapel.”

"All things are possible," said Kate virtuously.

"The jeweled Madonna is in the sacred chapel and only those monks who are enclosed visit it.”

"Then how have you seen it?”

"I was taken there. I blessed her and she blessed me.”

"Oh," said Kate, "the Holy Child of course.”

"Brother Valerian has the key and it hangs on a chain he wears round his waist.”

"You could steal it when he sleeps. He often sleeps when you are doing your lessons.

You told us so.”

"I could not do that.”

"You mean you dare not. You call yourself a Holy Child and you are afraid of an old monk! Where are all your miracles? If you're really a Holy Child you should be able to get the key... just like that.”

"I never said I could work miracles all the time.”

"But it's what we all expect of you. How dare you appear in a Christmas crib if you're not a holy child? It's sacrilege. You ought to be turned out of the Abbey. You're not a holy child, you're a fraud.”

I had discovered that there was one thing Bruno could not endure and that was to have his holiness doubted. I was beginning to realize how much it meant to him to see himself apart from others. His face was suffused with fury. I had never seen him so put out before.

"I am," he cried. "And don't dare say otherwise.”

Kate, who could not learn a few lines of poetry, who could not without great difficulty add a few figures or memorize a Latin verb, was knowledgeable in the ways of people.

She was immediately aware of their weaknesses and knew how to exploit them. She was determined to see the jeweled Madonna and set to work to achieve that end.

It took her a few days; but during that time she so played on Bruno's fear that perhaps after all he was not so different from other boys that she prevailed upon him to steal the key from Brother Valerian's girdle.

I had become caught up in the adventure so that I was as eager to see the Madonna as Kate was. I shall never forget the moment when we entered that cold gray building.

I felt that at any moment we should be struck dead for daring to set foot on sacred ground but I was driven on not so much by my great desire to see the Madonna as to share in the triumph of these two Kate for getting her own way and Bruno for proving that he was capable of acts beyond the power of mortal beings. For who but he would dare to bring outsiders into the sacred precincts of the Abbey.

He went on ahead of us and when he was sure that the way was clear beckoned for Kate and me to follow. We crept through those dank gray cloisters, into the narrow flagged corridors and up a spiral staircase. It was very eerie and so still that Kate said afterward that it was like being with the dead.

Bruno was very pale, his lips were firmly set though and I knew that nothing would deter him. Kate too, her eyes dilated it seemed, silent for once, overawed. Before we had entered the Abbey I had visualized our being discovered and the pain and surprise this would cause my father; but now I forgot that. I was as eager as Kate and as careless of flouting authority. It was a strange feeling; a certain knowledge that I was doing something very wrong and yet an inability to resist doing it.

It seemed a long time before we came to the chapel and Bruno fitted the stolen key into the lock; the door creaked as it moved inward so loudly I thought that the monks in their cells would hear.

Then we were in the chapel.

We crept across the stone flags, past the pews each guarded by a stone angel with what I presumed to be a flaming sword. There was a hush over the place. The stained-glass windows gave a bluish light to the place; the great stone buttresses were very cold.

We crept behind Bruno to the altar on which was a magnificent cloth wrought in gold and silver thread. The ornaments on the cloth were of silver and gold encrusted with jewels. We stared at them in wonder.