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Bakenesser Church. And when Frans went into
his room to look for something, he saw the Bible
lying on the table open at the seventh chapter of
the Epistle to the Romans. He spoke to Gerbrand
about it, and asked him if he remembered that that
was the chapter their sister was always reading,
her thoughts perpetually on sin. Werendonk made
up his mind to speak to him seriously, to find out
what he had on his mind, but nothing came of it,
for Floris was always in a hurry to go out, and only
came back when Werendonk, who, with his injured
hand, was slow, was just adding up his last figures.
Werendonk met the domine by the Spaarne and
from him he learnt that his nephew was frequently
visiting him again. The boy had a scrupulous
conscience, he said, but it tormented him, and he
asked himself more questions than it was possible
to answer. What he lacked was not intelligence or
goodwill, but faith. To everything the domine
said he raised all sorts of objections, and it was only
when they had prayed together that he seemed to be
relieved for the moment. But the next time he
came back in the same state of dejection.
One evening Kroon came in to see Werendonk.
He asked if he had noticed any disagreement between
his nephew and Wijntje. Yesterday, an unusual
thing, she had come home alone, she had kept on
crying and would not say what was wrong. And this
afternoon when Kroon's wife had been to see her,