Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-10-03

her work. as she firmly believed. in a
most faithful and thorough manner.
With a shrek. Jan threw Off his pack
and darted toward her like a wild
thing.
"Sacre bleu-you keel-keel ze leetle
Melisse!" he cried shrilly. snatching up
the half frozen child. Mon Dieu. she
ees not papoose; she ees ceevilize-cee.
vilize" and he ran swiftly with her
into the cabin, flinging back a torrent
OF Cree anathema Mt the dumbly be
wildered Maballa.
At last Maballa went into an ECSTASY
Of understanding. Melissa was not to
be taken out and rolled In the snow:
so she brought In the snow and rolled
1t over Melissa.
When Jan discovered this his tongue
twisted itself into sounds so terrible,
and his face writhed so fercely that
Maballa began to comprehend that
thereafter no snow at all. either out
doors or In. was to be used In the phys
ical development of the little Melissa.
This was the beginning of the prob
lem, and it grew and burst forth in
all Its significance on the day before
Cummins came in from the wilderness.
For a week Mabal liz had been drop.
ping sly hints Of wonderful thing
which she and the factors half breed
wife were making for the baby. On
the day before Cummlns' arrival Jan
came In from chopping wood. Melissa
was smiling and making queer. friend.
ly little signals to him from the table.
She was standing upright, wedged In
a coffin shaped thing from which only
her tiny white face peered out at him,
and Jan knew that this was Maballa's
surprise Melissa was in papoose
slingl
"Melisse. l say you shall be no pa.
poose!' he cried. running to the table.
You ees ceevilize. You shall be no
papoose, not if TWEEN t'ous'nd devil
come tax Jan Thoreauw
And he snatched her from her prison,
flung Maballa's handiwork out into
the snow and waited patiently for
the return OF John Cummins
Cummtns returned the next day, not
that his work among the wild trap
pers to the south was finished. but be-
cause he had suffered a hurt In falling
| from a slippery ledge. When Jan.
from his wood chopping in the edge OF
the forest, saw the team race up to the
little cabin and strange Cree half
! carry the wounded man through the
door, he sped swiftly across the open
with visions Of new misfortune before
him,
But the injury was not serious and
Jan lost no time In revealing his fears
after Maballa had been sent to the fac
tors wife. With graphic gesture he
told OF what had happened Cummins
hObbled to the door to look upon the
wallow in the snow and hobbled back
to the table when Jan ran there in
excited imitation OF the way In which
he had found the little Melissa In Ma
balla's sling.
"She ees ceevilize" finished Ian hot.
". "She ees not papoose! She mus
be lak-her" His great eyes shone.
and Cummins felt thickening In bis
! throat as he looked into them and saw
what the boy meant. ".iaballa max
papoose out of Melissa. She grow
know noting lax papoOse. talk lax pa.
posse
Yes. she must be like her. Jan-just
as good and just as sweet and just as
beautiful" Interrupted Cummins gen.
tly.
There was quick intaking Of his
breath as he hobbled back to his own
cot. leaving Jan at play with the baby.
That night. IN the dim. suffering
glow of an oil lamp John Cummins and
Jan Thoreau solemniy set to work to
thrash out the great problem that had
suddenly entered into their existence
TO these two there was no element Of
humor in what they were doing. for
into their keeping had been given a
thing for which God had not schemed
them.
So far as Cummins knew. there was
not q white woman nearer than Fort
| Churchill. 200 miles away. In all that
region he knew of only two full white
men. and they were Williams and him.
self. The baby Melissa was hopelessly
lost in world Of savagery-honest.
loyal, big souled savagery-but savage
~ for all that. aud the thought of It
brought the shadows of fear and fore
boding to the two into whose lives the
problem had just come.
Long into the nil they talked ser1-
Ously OF the matter. while Melissa
slept; and the longer they talked the
greater doomed the problem before
them. Cummins fancied that he al
ready began to see signs of the trans
formation in Melissa. She was pas.
sionately fond Of the gaudy things Ma
balla gave her. which was sign Of
savagery. She was charmed by con.
fnement In the papoose sling. which
was another sign of 1t. and she had
not died In the snow wallows. which
was still another.
So far back as he could remember,
Cummins had never come into finger
touch Of a white baby. Jan was as
blissfully ignorant. So they deter
mined upon immediate and strenuous
action. Maballa would be ceaselessly
watched and checked at every turn.
The Indian children would not be al
lowed to come near Melissa. They two
John Cummins and Jan Thoreau-
would make her like the woman who
slept under the sentine' spruce.
"She ees ceevilize." said Jan with
q n har