St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-10-15
AT the asking?" said the gambler;
THAT'S a mighty Quick deal. Did YOU

AT the ASKING Sa1u the gambler /,
chats mighty quick deal. Did you
ever pray, John Norton"
"Sartin, sartin, | be a prayin' man."
said the trapper sturdily.
AT the asking!" murmured the
gambler softly.
"Sartiu, boy" answered the trap
per, chats the line the trail takes.
ye can depend on it, and it " i'll bring
We to the eend Of the great clearin' in
peace"
ITS quick DEAL" said the gam
bier, speaking to himself, utterly un-
conscious of the incongruity Of his
speech to his thought. ITS quick
deal, but can see that it might end
as he says, if the feeling was right"
For moment nothing was said.
The trapper stood looking stead
lastly at the young man on the moss,
as he lay with his quiet, clean-cut face
turned up to the sky, to whose color
had already come the first shade Of
the awful whiteness.
Up the mountain a rifle cracked.
Neither stirred. A red squirrel ran
out upon the limb 20 feet above the
gamblers head and shook the silence
into fragments with his cbattering;
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 hest
tated. Then he said
II can't say that can. No, | sar-
tinly can't say that could undertake
it with reasonable chance of gittin'
through; leastwise, it wouldn't bein
way to help man any"
as there any way, old man, in
which we can 60 partners ?" asked
the gambler. the vocabulary of whose
profession still chung to him in the
solemn counseing.
II was thinkin' of that" answered
the trapper; "yis, I was thinkin' ei
we couldn't sorter jine works, and
each help the other by doin' his own
part himself. Wis.," continued the
old man, after a moments reflection,
1.-THE plans good 'un-ye pray fur
yersclf, and I'll pray fur mysell-and
ef can git in anything that seems
likely to do ye sarvice, We can count
on it, as ye can on a grooved barrel"
"And now, boy" said the trapper,
with a sweet solemn enthusiasm,
such as faith might give to suppl
eating saint, which lighted his fea-
lures until his countenance fairly
shone with light which came out
OF it from a radiance within, rather
than upon it from the sun overhead
NOW, boy, remember that the
Lord is Lord of the woods as well as
of the cities. and that he heareth the
prayin' of the poor hunter under the
pines, as well as the great preachers
in the pulpits, and that when sins be
heavy, and death be nigh, his ear and
his heart be both open. There was
no use OF his Sons dyin' eff the Father
can't be iorgivin'. "
The trapper knelt on the moss at
the gamblers feet. He clasped the
fingers OF his great hands until they
interlaced, and lifted his wrinkled
face upward. He said not a word
but an Eye that was watching noted
that the strongly chiseled lips, scanned
with age, moved and twitched now
and then, and the same Eye saw, as
the silent prayer went on, two great
tears leave the protection of the
closed lids, and roll down the rugged
check. The gambler also closed his
eyes; then his hands quietly stole one
into the other, and avoiding the
bloody stain, rested on his breast
and thus, the old man who had lived
beyond the limit OF mans days, and
the young one, cut down at the
threshold OF mature lite-the one
kneellng on the MOSES, with his face
turned toward the same sky, without
word or uttered speech,-prayed to
the Divine Mercy which beyond the
heaven and the sky saw the two men
underneath the pines, and met, we
may not doubt, with needed answer
the silent npgoing prayer.
The two opened their eyes nearly
at the same instant. They looked
for moment al each other, and then
the gambler feebly lifted his hand and
put into the broad palm OF the trap
per. Not a word was said. No
word was needed. Sometimes men
understand each other better than
by talking. Then the gambler picked
the diamond stud from the spot
where it rested, slipped the solitaire
from his finger, and said as he handed
them to the trapper:-
There's girl in Montreal that
will like these. You will find her pic
ture inside my vest when you bury
me. Her address is inside the picture
case. You will take them to her,
John Norton?'
"She shall have them from my own
hand" answered the trapper gravely
You needn't disturb the picture.
John Norton" said the gambler
it's just as well, perhaps, to let it lie
where it is; it's been there eight years.
You understand what | mean, old
man 2v