about seven o'clock
He had done what the monk had told him , and it had been followed by a curious sense of relief at the thought suggested to him that the responsibility of decision did not rest on him but on his heavenly helpers . And then as he served mass the answer came . It was in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin , a little building entered from the north transept , with its windows opening directly on to the road leading up into the town ; there was no one there but the two . It was about seven o'clock on the feast of the Seven Martyrs , and the chapel was full of a diffused tender morning light , for the chapel was sheltered from the direct sunshine by the tall church on its south . As they went up to the altar the bell sounded for the Elevation at the high-altar of the church , at the _ missa familiaris _ , and the footstep of someone passing through the north transept ceased instantly at the sound . The priest ascended the steps , set down the vessels , spread the corporal , opened the book , and came down again for the preparation . There was no one else in the chapel , and the peace of the place in the summer light , only vitalized by the brisk chirping of a sparrow under the eaves , entered into Christopher 's soul .