‘Tell me about the angel,’ he said quietly.
‘I saw it by the altar in the church — quite clearly.’
‘What did it look like?’ Neil asked, awed.
‘Like light... shining...’
‘Did it say anything?’
‘It told me that my grandmother was dying, but that I must not worry because ‘in God’s kingdom she will live forever’. And then... and then it was gone.’
‘And when you came home,’ Durston said. ‘You found that your grandmother had died?’
‘Yes. The villagers were very angry when I tried to tell them about the angel and said that I was a wicked girl and that I lied. It puzzled me. The priest is always talking about angels as though they really exist. If they do — why is it so impossible that I had seen one?’
Durston shook his head thoughtfully.
Neil suddenly remembered his sister. He jumped up
