The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-07-26
b, heve there's any judgment day, do

uOD huOW uOOub CnuICu-
MEMBERS" answered the trapper, "for
I've never ben in the settlements least
wise, I've never studied the habits of the
creturs, and dare say they differ, bein'
good and bad, and I've seed some that
was sartinly vagabonds. No, 1 don't
know much abont cbusch-members but
ssrtinly believe, yis, know, there is a
day whom the Lord shall ledge the livin'
and the dead and the honest trapper
shall stand on one side and the vagabond
that pill n, his skins AMI steals his traps
Sd i st N the other This is what
the Boo ,.ys, and it sartinly seems
reasonable, for the deeds that he did on
the arth be of two sorts, and the folks
that do 'em be of two kinds, and atween
the two the Lord, eff he notes anything,
must make diyidin line."
"And when do you think this judg-
ment is, John Norton ?" asked the gam
bier, as if he was actually enjoying the
crude bat honest ideas of his companion.
The trapper hesitated moment before
he spoke, then he said
81 copceit that the Judgment be al
ways goin' ON. It's court that never
adjourns, and deserters and the knaves
and the disobedient in the regiment be
always on trial. But 1 conceit that
there comes a day to every man, good
aud bad, when the record OF his deeds
be looked over from the start, and the
good and the bad counted up; and In
that day he gifts the final Judgment.
whether it be for or agin him. And
now, boy" continued the old man SOL
EMMY, with touch of infinite tender
ness in the vibrations of his voice, eye
be nigh the Judgment day, yerself, and
the deeds We have did, both the good
and the bad, will be passed in review. :"
=" reckon there isn't much chance
for me if your view is sound, John Nor
ton" And for the first time his tone
lost its cheerful recklessness.
"The court be court of marcy, and
the Jedge looks upon 'em that comes up
for tr; al as eff he was their father"
"That ends it, old man." answered
The gambler. "My father never showed
me any mercy when was boy. Ii he
had, / shouldn't have been here now. If
did a wrong deed got it to the last
inch of the lash," and the words were
more intensely bitter because spoken SO
quietly.
"The fathers of 'arth be not like the
Father of Heaven, for I have seed 'em
correct their children beyond reason, and
without marcy. They whipped in their
rage and not in their wisdom; they
whipped because they was strong, and
not because of their love: they whipped
when they should have forgiven, and got
what they arnt-the hatred of their
children. But the Father of Heaven be
different, boy. He knows the men be
weak as well as wicked. He knows that
half of em haven't had fair chance,
and so He overlooks much; and when
He can't overlook it, 1 conceit He sorter
forgives in lump. Yis, He subtracts
all He can from the evil we have did,
boy, and eff that isn't enough to satisfy
His feelin's toward a man that might
have been different ef he'd had fair
chance, He jest wipes the whole row OF
figur's clean ont at the asxin'."
"At the asking?' said the gambler;
that's mighty quick game. Did you
ever pray, John Norton2"
"Sartln', sartin, l be prayin' man,"
said the trapper, sturdily.
AT the asking ?" murmured the gam
bier, softly.
"Sartin', boy" answered the trapper;
that's the line the trail takes, we can
depend Oh it; and it will bring We to the
end of the gre at clearin' in peace"
Its quick DEAL" said the gambler,
speaking to himself, utterly unconscious
of the incoDgruity of his speech to his
thoughts. It's qsick deal, but [ can
see that it might end as he says, if the
feeling was right"
For u moment nothing was said. The
trapper stood looking steadfastly at the
young man on the moss, as he lay with
his quiet face turned up to the sky, to
whose color had already come the frs5
shade OF the awful Wilderness.
Up the mountain a rifle cracked.
Neither stirred. A red squirrel ran out
on the limb, twenty feet above the gam
bler's head, and shook the silence into
fragments with his chatteripg: then sat
gazing with startled eyes at the two men
underneath.
"Can you pray, old man % asked the
gambler, quietly.
" Sartinly," answered the trapper.
"Can you pray in words ?" asked the
gambler, again.
For moment the trapper hesitated.
Then he said ct can't say that 1 can.
No, sartinly, can't say that 1 could IN.
dertake it with a reasonable chance OF |
gittin' through; leastwise, it wouldn t be
III a way to help man any,"
Is there any way, old man, in which
we can go partners ?" asked the gam
bier, the vocabulary of whose profess
sion still chung to him in the solemn
counseling.
81 was thinkin' of that" answered |
the trapper; "yis, was thinkin' eff we
couldn't sorter iine works and each help |
the other by doing his own part him
self. Yis," continued the old man, after
a moments reflection, "the plans a
good un-ye pray for yerself and I'll
pray for myself-and if can git in any
thing that seems likely to do We sarvice
we can count on it as we can q grooved
barrel. And now, boy" said the trap
per, with a sweetly-solemn enthusiasm,
such as faith might give to suppl
eating seint-which lighted his features
until his countenance fairly shone with
a light which came out of it, rather than