He tried nodding and murmuring a general sort of assent, as if he wished to go to sleep; but it was useless: the voice went on and on.

And then suddenly he understood, and a kind of fury seized him.
How did they know he had once been a priest?
Spying and badgering, as usual!.

.

.

No: he did not want a priest sent for.
He was not a priest any more; not even a Catholic.