The incident with the vicious priest weighed heavily on Albornoz’s mind, and this was not helped by his having no one to tell. Above all, he was determined to become an altar boy, so he could not confide in his parents, Gelmiro or his friends lest the priest learned of his disclosure concerning the event he had witnessed in the vestry.
He was distracted in his lessons and, previously unknown, he achieved only six or seven out of ten when Gelmiro tested his Latin words. Gentle and understanding as his tutor was, he put the boy’s poor performance down to the inherent laziness he saw in all his pupils. This was not so, but it was a logical conclusion.
“Albornoz, this is not good enough! You had been making such good progress that I related my pleasure to your father. Then, I am rewarded by
