Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-05
CHAPTER V.-Continued.

Jan noted the backward step, the guard
ed uplift of hand, and with an agonlZed
cry he buried his face In his hands. In
another instant he had turned. and. before
Cummins startled voice found words. had
opened the door and run out into the
night. The man saw him darling swiftly
toward the forest and called to him. but
there was no response.
There was hot fire burning In Jan s
brain. blazing, writhing contortion Oh
things that brought low moaning from
his lips. He ran tirelessly and swiftly
until he sank down upon the snow in
silent place far from where he had LETT
John Cummins. His eyes still blazed with
their strange fire upon the desolatlon
about him, his fingers clinched ana I'M
clinched themselves, digging their nalis
into his flesh. and he spoke softly to him.
self, over and over again, the name OF
the little Melissa.
Painting itself each instant more plainly
through the tumult of his emotions was
what Jan had come to, know as the pic
ture in his BRAIN Shadowy and indistinct
at first. in pale. elusive lines of mental
fabric, he saw the picture growing; ana
in its growth he saw first the SOFT. sweet
outlines of q woman's face. and then
great, Turing eyes, dark like his own
and before these eyes, which gazed upon
him with overwhelming love, all else
faded away from before Jan Thoreau
The fire went out of his eyes. his fingers
relaxed, and after little while he got
up out Of the snow, shivering, ana went
back to the cabin.
Cummins asked no questions He looked
at Jan from his cot. and watched the boy
silently as he undressed and went to bed:
and in the morning the whole incident
passed from his mind. The intanS1DIe
holds but little fascination for the simple
folk who live under the arctic circle.
Their struggle is with life. their joys are
in its achievement, in their constant
struggle to keep life running strong ana
red within them. Such an existence OF
solitude and of strife with nature leaves
small room for curiosity. So the nature
of John Cumnins led him to forget what
had happened. as he would have Tor
gotten the senseless running away Of
sledge dog and its subsequent return. He
saw no tragedy and no promise OF tragedy
in the thing that had occurred.
There was no recurrence Of the strange
excitement in Jan. He gave no hint OF
it in word or action, and the thing seemed
to be forgotten between the two.
The education of the little Melissa be-
gan at once, while the post was still de-
serted. 1t began. first of all. with Ma
balla. She stared dumbly and with shat
tered faith at these two creatures who
told her of wonderful things in the up
bringing of child--things Of which she
had never SO much as heard rumor be-
fore. Her mother instincts were aroused,
but with Cree stcicism she made no be-
travail of them.
The leather-tanned immobility Of her
face underwent no whit of change when
CumminS solennly declared that the little
Melissa was about to begin teething. She
sat grimly and watched them in silence
when between them, upon bearskin
on the floor. they tried vainly to
persuade Melissa to use her feet.
1t was great fun for Melissa and she
enjoyed it immensely: SO that as the days
passed and the post Still remained de-
serted, John Cummins and Jan Thoreau
spent much of their time upon their knees.
In their eyes the childs progress was re-
markable. They saw in her an unceasing
physical growth, and countless symptoms
delighted to pull the strings Of JAMS vio-
lin, which was an unmistakable token of
her musical genius. She went into &C.
stasies over the gaudy plates in the FASH
ion paper. She fingered them in sugges-
tive and inquiring silence. or with still
more suggestive grunts, and made futile
efforts to eat them, which was the great
est token of all.
Weeks passed and Williams came in
from the southern forests Mukee fol-
lowed him from the edge Of the barrens.
Perez returned from the Eskimo people.
three-quarters starved and with half of
his dogs stolen. From the north. east.
west and south the posts fur rangers
trailed back. Life was resumed. There
was a softness in the air. a growing
warmth in the midday sun. The days
of the big change were near. And when
they came John Cummins and Jan Tho
reau, of all the factors people. wore
patches at their knees.