CHAPTER FIFTEEN“This must all stop!” Matthew raged.
They were gathered around the pit in the Meditation Hall barn: The Teacher and Father Nahum, Carey and Emily, Sisters Diana and Pascale, a half-dozen others who had been kept at Hammer Reach to serve. Of those who had stayed during what was intended to have been Matthew’s final days, only Brothers Reuben, Lemuel and Ehud were under lock in the cells. In addition, the two children - Tamar and Thomas - were present. Nahum had brought them with him from New York.
Matthew, Nahum, Carey and Emily were washed and had dressed in the cleanest white clothing they could find: likewise, the children were in their Meditation best. The others wore simple shifts, or grubby T-shirts and shorts, working gear - the nearest thing to hand when finally the
