midnight
But the boy heard not a word ; for he found himself staring at the thin-faced young priest from whom he had received Holy Communion at Padley . It was but for an instant ; for the man to whom the priest spoke answered in the same low voice , and the other pulled his cloak again round his mouth . Yet the look was enough . The sight , once more , of this servant of God , setting out again upon his perilous travels -- seen at such a moment , when the boy 's judgment hung in the balance -LRB- as he thought -RRB- ; this one single reminder of what a priest could do in these days of sorrow , and of what God called on him to do -- the vision , for it was scarcely less , all things considered , of a life such as this -- presented , so to say , in this single scene of a furtive and secret ride before the dawn , leaving Padley soon after midnight -- this , falling on a soul that already leaned that way , finished that for which Marjorie had prayed , and against which the lad himself had fought so fiercely . * * * * * Half an hour later he stood by his father 's bed , looking down on him without fear . `` Father , '' he said , as the old man stared up at him through sleep-ridden eyes , `` I have come to give you my answer . It is that I must go to Rheims and be a priest . ''