"And will he say 'Raro antecedentem scelestum deseruit pede ponea claudo'," asked Brother Matthew firmly preventing the Monsignor from finishing his speech.
The interruption had a different effect on each man in the room. Brother Gregory looked puzzled and still miserable. He had not liked the way the conversation had been going. Abbot Napp was upset that Brother Matthew was involved at all in this matter and even more upset that he had insulted the Bishop's secretary, perhaps making matters worse.
But the words of Latin had the strangest effect on Josef Schrattenbach, who froze in mid-sentence and stared at the offending monk.
"What did you say?" he demanded softly.
"It means - 'Justice, though moving slowly, seldom fails to catch a fleeing criminal'," said Klacel, looking unconcernedly at the ceiling, "I cannot remember where I read it recently, but it is a quote from Horace, much used in speeches I believe."
Monsignor Schrattenbach froze, he had recognized the quote at once; it was one of his favorites and he had used it to start the Bishop's speech. How did Klacel know? What did it mean? Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Abbot Napp was about to say something. He waved him impatiently into silence. Then, as a strange realization came over him, he stretched out his hand, never taking his eyes of Klacel, and pulled the red Moroccan leather binder towards him across the desk. Almost in slow motion he opened the binder and looked down. It was empty; the speech he had been writing for the last month, the speech the Bishop was to give before the Austrian Deputies on Sunday, the speech of which there was only one copy, - was missing!
On the other side of the desk, Brother Matthew had finished his examination of the ceiling and was now concentrating all his attention on a small piece of dirt under one of his nails.
"Indeed," said Schrattenbach with low menace. His eyes never left Klacel's face and the intensity of his stare surprised Napp, who realized that something had happened, but was not yet sure what.
Behind his stare the Bishop's secretary was icy calm, he knew at once what had happened and he also knew he was now at the mercy of this Czech monk.
"I was thinking," said Klacel to no one in particular, "that this trivial incident has been taken far to far. I went to see the Tomin boys last night and I had a long talk with them and with their parents. The whole family is mortified by what has happened, all the more so because both boys vigorously deny any knowledge of how the book came to be in their bag."
The prelate did not take his eyes of Brother Matthew for one instant.
"Go on," he said softly, "I would be interested to hear what you think we should do."
"Clearly a silly mistake has been made," Brother Matthew said, "the book in question was last seen on the hall table, it must have fallen, by accident, into the boy's sack which was under the table at the time. It could happen to anyone. Brother Timothy, may the Lord protect him," and he piously crossed himself as he said it, "simply mistook boyish enthusiasm for something more sinister. He is a man of such moral rectitude, he sees sin everywhere, even where no sin has been committed. I think we should forgive him, bless the Lord, and forget about this whole incident." He looked directly at Schrattenbach for the first time in the conversation.