Gabriel’sFATHER LOHAN, HIS back to the people, knelt at the altar for the noon Requiem Mass of All Souls’ Day. “Munda cor meum ac labia mea, omnipotens Deus, qui labia Isaiae Prophetae calculo mundasti ignito …”Maud, the non-Catholic, also on her knees, read the English translation on the right side of the missal. Cleanse my heart and my lips, O Almighty God, Who didst cleanse the lips of the Prophet Isaias with a burning coal …She liked following along in the missal. This one, new to the pew racks this school year, was arranged better, had larger type, and was more lavish with illustrations. That must please Tildy, she thought. Before the coming of Chloe, Maud had knelt next to Tildy. Not because they had been best friends but because everything at Mount St. Gabriel’s was alphabetical, and in their class, Norton had been followed by Stratton. Even if Chloe hadn’t been Tildy’s new best friend, she would still be placed now between Maud and Tildy, because Starnes came between Norton and Stratton.Maud could see Tildy, on the other side of Chloe, kneeling with her gaze fastened on her open missal.
