第12章

"I,too,sufferwiththatthought;morethanthat,Iammorbidanddepressed。

Ifeelasifsomecalamityawaitedushere。Ihaveneverbeensuperstitious,norhaveIhadpresentiments,butoflatetherearestrangefearsinmymind。"

AtthisjunctureMr。WellsandHeckeweldercameoutoftheadjoiningcabin。

"Ihadwordfromatrustworthyrunnerto—day。GirtyandhiscaptiveshavenotbeenseenintheDelawaretowns,"aidHeckewelder。

"Itismostunlikelythathewilltakethemtothetowns,"repliedEdwards。

"WhatdoyoumakeofhiscapturingJim？"

"ForPipe,perhaps。TheDelawareWolfissnappinghisteeth。PipeisparticularlyopposedtoChristianity,and——what\'sthat？"

Alowwhistlefromthebushesnearthecreekbankattractedtheattentionofall。Theyoungermengotuptoinvestigate,butHeckewelderdetainedthem。

"Wait,"headded。"Thereisnotellingwhatthatsignalmaymean。"

Theywaitedwithbreathlessinterest。Presentlythewhistlewasrepeated,andaninstantlaterthetallfigureofamansteppedfrombehindathicket。Hewasawhiteman,butnotrecognizableatthatdistance,evenifafriend。Thestrangerwavedhishandasifaskingthemtobecautious,andcometohim。

Theywenttowardthethicket,andwhenwithinafewpacesofthemanMr。Wellsexclaimed:

"It\'sthemanwhoguidedmypartytothevillage。ItisWetzel！"

Theothermissionarieshadneverseenthehunterthough,ofcourse,theywerefamiliarwithhisname,andlookedathimwithgreatcuriosity。Thehunter\'sbuckskingarmentswerewet,torn,andcoveredwithburrs。Darkspots,evidentlybloodstains,showedonhishunting—shirt。

"Wetzel？"interrogatedHeckewelder。

Thehunternodded,andtookastepbehindthebush。Bendingoverheliftedsomethingfromtheground。Itwasagirl。ItwasNell！Shewasverywhite——butalive。Afaint,gladsmilelightedupherfeatures。

Notawordwasspoken。WithanexpressionoftendercompassionMr。Wellsreceivedherintohisarms。Thefourmissionariesturnedfearful,questioningeyesuponthehunter,buttheycouldnotspeak。

"She\'swell,an\'unharmed,"saidWetzel,readingtheirthoughts,"onlywornout。I\'vecarriedherthesetenmiles。"

"Godblessyou,Wetzel！"exclaimedtheoldmissionary。"Nellie,Nellie,canyouspeak？"

"Uncledear——I\'m——allright,"camethefaintanswer。

"Kate？What——ofher？"whisperedGeorgeYoungwithlipsasdryascornhusks。

"Ididmybest,"saidthehunterwithasimpledignity。Nothingbuttheagonizedappealintheyoungman\'seyescouldhavemadeWetzelspeakofhisachievement。

"Tellus,"brokeinHeckewelder,seeingthatfearhadstrickenGeorgedumb。

"Wetrailed\'eman\'gotawaywiththegolden—hairedlass。ThelastIsawofJoehewasbracedupaginarockfightin\'likeawildcat。ItriedtocutJimlooseasIwasgoin\'by。Is\'pectthewustferthebrothersan\'theotherlass。"

"Canwedonothing？"askedMr。Wells。

"Nothin\'！"

"Wetzel,hasthecapturingofJamesDownsanysignificancetoyou？"inquiredHeckewelder。

"Ireckonso。"

"What？"

"Pipean\'hiswhite—redskinalliesareaginChristianity。"

"Doyouthinkweareindanger？"

"Ireckonso。"

"Whatdoyouadvise？"

"Packupafewofyourtraps,takethelass,an\'comewithme。I\'llseeyoubackinFortHenry。"

Heckeweldernervouslywalkeduptothetreeandbackagain。YoungandEdwardslookedblanklyatoneanother。TheybothrememberedEdward\'spresentiment。Mr。

Wellsutteredanangryexclamation。

"Youaskustofailinourduty？No,never！TogobacktothewhitesettlementsandacknowledgewewereafraidtocontinueteachingtheGospeltotheIndians！YoucannotunderstandChristianityifyouadvisethat。Youhavenoreligion。YouareakillerofIndians。"

Ashadowthatmighthavebeenoneofpainflittedoverthehunter\'sface。

"No,Iain\'taChristian,an\'IamakillerofInjuns,"saidWetzel,andhisdeepvoicehadastrangetremor。"Idon\'tknownothin\'much\'ceptthewoodsan\'fields,an\'ifthere\'saGodfermeHe\'souttharunderthetreesan\'

grass。Mr。Wells,you\'rethefirstmanasevercalledmeacoward,an\'I

overlookitbecauseofyourcallin\'。IadviseyoutogobacktoFortHenry,becauseifyoudon\'tgonowthechancesareaginstyourevergoin\'。

ChristianityornoChristianity,suchmenasyouhevnobisnessinthesewoods。"

"Ithankyouforyouradvice,andblessyouforyourrescueofthischild;butIcannotleavemywork,norcanIunderstandwhyallthisgoodworkwehavedoneshouldbecalleduseless。WehaveconvertedIndians,savedtheirsouls。

Isthatnotbeingofsomeuse,ofsomegoodhere？"

"It\'saccordin\'tohowyoulookatit。NowIknowthebarkofanoakisdifferentaccordin\'tothesideweseefrom。I\'llallow,hatin\'InjunsasI

do,isnoreasonyououghtn\'ttotryan\'convert\'em。Butyou\'rebringin\'onawar。TheseInjunswon\'tallowthisVillageofPeaceherewithitsbigfieldsofcorn,an\'shopsan\'workin\'redskins。It\'sagintheirnature。You\'reonlysacrificin\'yourChristianInjuns。"

"Whatdoyoumean？"askedMr。Wells,startledbyWetzel\'swords。

"Enough。I\'mreadytoguideyoutoFortHenry。"

"I\'llnevergo。"

Wetzellookedattheothermen。Noonewouldhavedoubtedhim。NoonecouldhavefailedtoseeheknewthatsometerribleangerhoveredovertheVillageofPeace。

"Ibelieveyou,Wetzel,butIcannotgo,"saidHeckewelder,withwhiteface。

"Iwillstay,"saidGeorge,steadily。

"AndI,"saidDave。

Wetzelnodded,andturnedtodepartwhenGeorgegraspedhisarm。Theyoungmissionary\'sfacewasdrawnandhaggard;hefixedanintensegazeuponthehunter。

"Wetzel,listen;"hisvoicewaslowandshakenwithdeepfeeling。"IamateacherofGod\'sword,andIamasearnestinthatpurposeasyouareinyourlife—work。Ishalldiehere;Ishallfillanunmarkedgrave;butIshallhavedonethebestIcould。Thisisthelifedestinyhasmarkedoutforme,andI

willliveitasbestImay;butinthismoment,preacherasIam,IwouldgiveallIhaveorhopetohave,allthelittlegoodImayhavedone,allmylife,tobesuchamanasyou。ForIwouldavengethewomanIloved。Totorture,tokillGirty！Iamonlyapoor,weakfellowwhowouldbelostamilefromthisvillage,andifnot,wouldfallbeforetheyoungestbrave。Butyouwithyourgloriousstrength,yourincomparablewoodcraft,youarethemantokillGirty。

Ridthefrontierofthisfiend。Killhim！Wetzel,killhim！Ibeseechyouforthesakeofsomesweetgirlwhoevennowmaybeonherwaytothisterriblecountry,andwhomayfallintoGirty\'spower——forhersake,Wetzel,killhim。

Trailhimlikeabloodhound,andwhenyoufindhimremembermybrokenheart,rememberNell,remember,oh,God！rememberpoorKate！"

Young\'svoicebrokeintodrysobs。Hehadcompletelyexhaustedhimself,sothathewasforcedtoleanagainstthetreeforsupport。

Wetzelspokeneveraword。Hestretchedouthislong,brawnyarmandgrippedtheyoungmissionary\'sshoulder。Hisfingersclaspedhard。Simple,withoutwordsastheactionwas,itcouldnothavebeenmorepotent。Andthen,ashestood,thesofterlookfadedslowlyfromhisface。Arippleseemedtorunoverhisfeatures,whichfroze,asitsubsided,intoacold,stonerigidity。

Hisarmdropped;hesteppedpastthetree,and,boundinglightlyasadeer,clearedthecreekanddisappearedinthebushes。

Mr。WellscarriedNelltohiscabinwhereshelayforhourswithwanfaceandlistlesslanguor。SheswallowedthenourishingdrinkanoldIndiannurseforcedbetweenherteeth;sheevensmiledweaklywhenthemissionariesspoketoher;butshesaidnothingnorseemedtorallyfromherterribleshock。A

darkshadowlayalwaysbeforeher,consciousofnothingpresent,livingoveragainherfrightfulexperience。Againsheseemedsunkindullapathy。

"Dave,we\'regoingtolooseNell。She\'sfadingslowly,"saidGeorge,oneevening,severaldaysafterthegirl\'sreturn。"Wetzelsaidshewasunharmed,yetsheseemstohavereceivedahurtmorefatalthanaphysicalone。It\'shermind——hermind。Ifwecannotbrightenheruptomakeherforget,she\'lldie。"

"We\'vedoneallwithinourpower。Ifshecouldonlybebroughtoutofthistrance！Sheliestherealldaylongwiththosestaringeyes。Ican\'tlookintothem。Theyaretheeyesofachildwhohasseenmurder。"

"Wemusttryinsomewaytogetheroutofthisstupor,andIhaveanidea。

HaveyounoticedthatMr。Wellshasfailedverymuchinthelastfewweeks？"

"IndeedIhave,andI\'mafraidhe\'sbreakingdown。Hehasgrownsothin,eatsverylittle,anddoesn\'tsleep。Heisold,youknow,and,despitehiszeal,thisborderlifeistellingonhim。"

"Dave,Ibelieveheknowsit。Poor,earnestoldman！Heneversaysawordabouthimself,yethemustknowheisgoingdownhill。Well,weallbegin,soonerorlater,thatdescentwhichendsinthegrave。IbelievewemightstirNelliebytellingherMr。Wells\'healthisbreaking。"

"Letustry。"

Ahurriedknockonthedoorinterruptedtheirconversation。

"Comein,"saidEdwards。

Thedooropenedtoadmitaman,whoenteredeagerly。

"Jim！Jim！"exclaimedbothmissionaries,throwingthemselvesuponthenewcomer。

Itwas,indeed,Jim,butnoansweringsmilelightedhisworn,distressedfacewhilehewrunghisfriends\'hands。

"You\'renothurt？"askedDave。

"No,I\'muninjured。"

"Tellusall。Didyouescape？Didyouseeyourbrother？DidyouknowWetzelrescuedNell？"

"Wingenundsetmefreeinspiteofmanydemandsformydeath。HekeptJoeaprisoner,andintendstokillhim,fortheladwasWetzel\'scompanion。Isawthehuntercomeintothegladewherewecamped,breakthroughthelineoffightingIndiansandcarryNelloff。"

"Kate？"falteredYoung,withashenface。

"George,IwishtoGodIcouldtellyousheisdead,"answeredJim,nervouslypacingtheroom。"ButshewaswellwhenIlastsawher。SheenduredthehardjourneybetterthaneitherNellorI。Girtydidnotcarryherintotheencampment,asSilvertipdidJoeandme,buttherenegadeleftusontheoutskirtsoftheDelawaretown。Therewasarockyravinewithdenseundergrowthwherehedisappearedwithhiscaptive。Isupposehehashisdensomewhereinthatravine。"

Georgesankdownandburiedhisfaceinhisarms;neithermovementnorsoundbetokenedconsciousness。

"HasWetzelcomeinwithNell？Joesaidhehadacavewherehemighthavetakenherincaseofillnessoraccident。"

"Yes,hebroughtherback,"answeredEdwards,slowly。

"Iwanttoseeher,"saidJim,hishaggardfaceexpressingakeenanxiety。

"She\'snotwounded？hurt？ill？"

"No,nothinglikethat。It\'sashockwhichshecan\'tgetover,can\'tforget。"

"Imustseeher,"criedJim,movingtowardthedoor。

"Don\'tgo,"repliedDave,detaininghim。"Wait。Wemustseewhat\'sbesttobedone。WaittillHeckeweldercomes。He\'llbeheresoon。Nellthinksyou\'redead,andthesurprisemightbebadforher。"

Heckeweldercameinatthatmoment,andshookhandswarmlywithJim。

"TheDelawarerunnertoldmeyouwerehere。IamoverjoyedthatWingenundfreedyou,"saidthemissionary。"Itisamostfavorablesign。IhaveheardrumorsfromGoshockingandSanduskythathaveworriedme。Thisgoodnewsmorethanoffsetsthebad。Iamsorryaboutyourbrother。Areyouwell？"

"Well,butmiserable。IwanttoseeNell。Davetellsmesheisnotexactlyill,butsomethingiswrongwithher。PerhapsIoughtnottoseeherjustyet。"

"It\'llbeexactlythetonicforher,"repliedHeckewelder。"She\'llbesurprisedoutofherself。Sheismorbid,apathetic,and,tryaswemay,wecan\'tinteresther。Comeatonce。"

HeckewelderhadtakenJim\'sarmandstartedforthedoorwhenhecaughtsightofYoung,sittingbowedandmotionless。TurningtoJimhewhispered:

"Kate？"

"Girtydidnottakeherintotheencampment,"answeredJim,inalowvoice。

"Ihopedhewould,becausetheIndiansarekind,buthedidn\'t。Hetookhertohisden。"

JustthenYoungraisedhisface。Thedespairinitwouldhavemeltedaheartofstone。Ithadbecomethefaceofanoldman。

"Ifonlyyou\'dtoldmeshehaddied,"hesaidtoJim,"I\'dhavebeenmanenoughtostandit,but——this——thiskillsme——Ican\'tbreathe！"

Hestaggeredintotheadjoiningroom,whereheflunghimselfuponabed。

"It\'shard,andhewon\'tbeabletostandupunderit,forhe\'snotstrong,"

whisperedJim。

Heckewelderwasamild,piousman,inwhomnoonewouldeverexpectstrongpassion;butnowdepthswerestirredwithinhisheartthathadeverbeentranquil。Hebecamelivid,andhisfacewasdistortedwithrage。

"It\'sbadenoughtohavetheserenegadesplottingandworkingagainstourreligion;tohavethemsowdiscontent,spreadlies,maketheIndiansthinkwehaveaxestogrind,toplanttheonlyobstacleinourpath——allthisisbad;

buttodoomaninnocentwhitewomantoworsethandeath！WhatcanIcallit！"

"Whatcanwedo？"askedJim。

"Do？That\'stheworstofit。Wecandonothing,nothing。Wedarenotmove。"

"IstherenohopeofgettingKateback？"

"Hope？None。Thatvillainissurroundedbyhissavages。He\'lllielownowforawhile。I\'veheardofsuchdeedsmanyatime,butitneverbeforecamesoclosehome。KateWellswasapure,lovingChristianwoman。She\'llliveanhour,aday,aweek,perhaps,inthatsnake\'sclutches,andthenshe\'lldie。

ThankGod！"

"WetzelhasgoneonGirty\'strail。Iknowthatfromhismannerwhenheleftus,"saidEdwards。

"Wetzelmayavengeher,buthecanneversaveher。It\'stoolate。Hello———"

TheexclamationwascalledforthbytheappearanceofYoung,whoenteredwitharifleinhishands。

"George,whereareyougoingwiththatgun？"askedEdwards,graspinghisfriendbythearm。

"I\'mgoingafterher,"answeredGeorgewildly。Hetotteredashespoke,butwrenchedhimselffreefromDave。

"Come,George,listen,listentoreason,"interposedHeckewelder,layingholdofYoung。"Youarefranticwithgriefnow。Soareallofus。Butcalmyourself。Why,man,you\'reapreacher,notahunter。You\'dbelost,you\'dstarveinthewoodsbeforegettinghalfwaytotheIndiantown。Thisisterribleenough;don\'tmakeitworsebythrowingyourlifeaway。Thinkofus,yourfriends;thinkofyourIndianpupilswhorelysomuchonyou。ThinkoftheVillageofPeace。Wecanpray,butwecan\'tpreventthesebordercrimes。

Withcivilization,withthespreadofChristianity,theywillpassaway。Bearupunderthisblowforthesakeofyourwork。Rememberwealonecanchecksuchbarbarity。Butwemustnotfight。Wemustsacrificeallthatmenholddear,forthesakeofthefuture。"

HetooktherifleawayfromGeorge,andledhimbackintothelittle,darkroom。ClosingthedoorheturnedtoJimandDave。

"Heisinabadway,andwemustcarefullywatchhimforafewdays。"

"ThinkofGeorgestartingouttokillGirty！"exclaimedDave。"Ineverfiredagun,butyetI\'dgotoo。"

"Sowouldweall,ifwedidasourheartsdictate,"retortedHeckewelder,turningfiercelyuponDaveasifstung。"Man！wehaveavillagefullofChristianstolookafter。Whatwouldbecomeofthem？Itellyouwe\'veallwecandoheretooutwittheseborderruffians。SimonGirtyisplottingourruin。

Ihearditto—dayfromtheDelawarerunnerwhoismyfriend。Heisjealousofourinfluence,whenallwedesireistosavethesepoorIndians。And,Jim,Girtyhaskilledourhappiness。CanweeverrecoverfromthemiserybroughtuponusbypoorKate\'sfate？"

Themissionaryraisedhishandasiftoexhortsomepowerabove。

"CursetheGirty\'s！"heexclaimedinasuddenburstofuncontrollablepassion。

"Havingconqueredallotherobstacles,mustwefailbecauseofwickedmenofourownrace？Oh,cursethem！"

"Come,"hesaid,presently,inavoicewhichtrembledwiththeefforthemadetobecalm。"We\'llgointoNellie。"

ThethreemenenteredMr。Wells\'cabin。Theoldmissionary,withbowedheadandhandsclaspedbehindhisback,waspacingtoandfro。HegreetedJimwithgladsurprise。

"WewantNellietoseehim,"whisperedHeckewelder。"Wethinkthesurprisewilldohergood。"

"Itrustitmay,"saidMr。Wells。

"Leaveittome。"

TheyfollowedHeckewelderintoanadjoiningroom。Atorchflickeredovertherudemantle—shelf,lightinguptheroomwithfitfulflare。Itwasawarmnight,andthesoftbreezecominginthewindowalternatelypaledandbrightenedtheflame。

JimsawNelllyingonthebed。Hereyeswereclosed,andherlong,darklashesseemedblackagainstthemarblepalenessofherskin。

"Standbehindme,"whisperedHeckeweldertoJim。

"Nellie,"hecalledsoftly,butonlyafaintflickeringofherlashesansweredhim。

"Nellie,Nellie,"repeatedHeckewelder,hisdeep,strongvoicethrilling。

Hereyesopened。TheygazedatMr。Wellsononeside,atEdwardsstandingatthefootofthebed,atHeckewelderleaningoverher,buttherewasnorecognitionorinterestinherlook。

"Nellie,canyouunderstandme？"askedHeckewelder,puttingintohisvoiceallthepowerandintensityoffeelingofwhichhewascapable。

Analmostimperceptibleshadowofunderstandingshoneinhereyes。

"Listen。Youhavehadaterribleshock,andithasaffectedyourmind。Youaremistakeninwhatyouthink,whatyoudreamofallthetime。Doyouunderstand？Youarewrong！"

Nell\'seyesquickenedwithapuzzled,questioningdoubt。Theminister\'smagnetic,penetratingvoicehadpiercedherdulledbrain。

"See,IhavebroughtyouJim！"

HeckeweldersteppedasideasJimfellonhiskneesbythebed。Hetookhercoldhandsinhisandbentoverher。Forthemomenthisvoicefailed。

ThedoubtinNell\'seyeschangedtoawondrousgladness。Itwasliketherekindlingofasmolderingfire。

"Jim？"shewhispered。

"Yes,Nellie,it\'sJimaliveandwell。It\'sJimcomebacktoyou。"

Asoftflushstainedherwhiteface。Sheslippedherarmtenderlyaroundhisneck,andheldhercheekclosetohis。

"Jim,"shemurmured。

"Nellie,don\'tyounowme？"askedMr。Wells,trembling,excited。Thiswasthefirstwordshehadspokeninfourdays。

"Uncle！"sheexclaimed,suddenlylooseningherholdonJim,andsittingupinbed,thenshegazedwildlyattheothers。

"Wasitallahorribledream？"

Mr。Wellstookherhandsoothingly,buthedidnotattempttoanswerherquestion。HelookedhelplesslyatHeckewelder,butthatmissionarywasintentlystudyingtheexpressiononNell\'sface。

"Partofitwasadream,"heanswered,impressively。

"Thenthathorriblemandidtakeusaway？"

"Yes。"

"Oh—h！butwe\'refreenow？Thisismyroom。Oh,tellme？"

"Yes,Nellie,you\'resafeathomenow。"

"Tell——tellme,"shecried,shudderingly,assheleanedclosetoJimandraisedawhite,imploringfacetohis。"WhereisKate？——Oh！Jim——say,sayshewasn\'tleftwithGirty？"

"Kateisdead,"answeredJim,quickly。Hecouldnotendurethehorrorinhereyes。Hedeliberatelyintendedtolie,ashadHeckewelder。

ItwasasifthetensionofNell\'snerveswassuddenlyrelaxed。Therelieffromherworstfearwassogreatthathermindtookinonlytheoneimpression。Then,presently,achokingcryescapedher,tobefollowedbyaparoxysmofsobs。

ChapterXX。

EarlyonthefollowingdayHeckewelder,astridehishorse,appearedatthedoorofEdwards\'cabin。

"HowisGeorge？"heinquiredofDave,whenthelatterhadopenedthedoor。

"Hehadabadnight,butissleepingnow。Ithinkhe\'llbeallrightafteratime,"answeredDave。

"That\'swell。Neverthelesskeepawatchonhimforafewdays。"

"I\'lldoso。"

"Dave,Ileavemattersheretoyourgoodjudgment。I\'mofftoGoshockingtojoinZeisberger。Affairstheredemandourimmediateattention,andwemustmakehaste。"

"Howlongdoyouintendtobeabsent？"

"Afewdays;possiblyaweek。IncaseofanyunusualdisturbanceamongtheIndians,theappearanceofPipeandhistribe,oranyoftheopposingfactions,sendafleetrunneratoncetowarnme。MostofmyfearshavebeenallayedbyWingenund\'sattitudetowardus。HisfreeingJiminfaceoftheoppositionofhischiefsisasuresignoffriendliness。MorethanonceIhavesuspectedthathewasinterestedinChristianity。Hisdaughter,WhisperingWinds,exhibitedthesameintensefervorinreligionashasbeenmanifestedbyallourconverts。ItmaybethatwehavenotappealedinvaintoWingenundandhisdaughter;buttheirhighpositionintheDelawaretribemakesitimpoliticforthemtorevealachangeofheart。Ifwecouldwinoverthosetwowe\'dhaveeverychancetoconvertthewholetribe。Well,asitiswemustbethankfulforWingenund\'sfriendship。Wehavetwopowerfulalliesnow。Tarhe,theWyandotchieftain,remainsneutral,tobesure,butthat\'salmostashelpfulashisfriendship。"

"I,too,takeahopefulviewofthesituation,"repliedEdwards。

"We\'lltrustinProvidence,anddoourbest,"saidHeckewelder,asheturnedhishorse。"Good—by。"

"Godspeed！"calledEdwards,ashischiefrodeaway。

Themissionaryresumedhisworkofgettingbreakfast。Heremainedindoorsallthatday,exceptforthefewmomentswhenheranovertoMr。Wells\'cabintoinquireregardingNell\'scondition。Hewasrelievedtolearnshewassomuchbetterthatshehaddeclaredherintentionofmovingaboutthehouse。DavekeptaclosewatchonYoung。He,himself,wassufferingfromthesameblowwhichhadprostratedhisfriend,buthisphysicalstrengthandfortitudeweresuchthathedidnotweaken。HewasoverjoyedtoseethatGeorgerallied,andshowednofurtherindicationsofbreakingdown。

Trueitwas,perhaps,thatHeckewelder\'searnestprayeronbehalfoftheconvertedIndianshadsunkdeeplyintoGeorge\'sheartandthuskeptitfrombreaking。Nostrongerpleacouldhavebeenmadethantheallusiontothosegentle,dependentChristians。Noonebutamissionarycouldrealizethesweetness,thesimplicity,thefaith,theeagerhopeforagood,truelifewhichhadbeenimplantedintheheartsoftheseIndians。Tobearitinmind,tothinkofwhathe,asamissionaryandteacher,wastothem,relievedhimofhalfhisburden,andforstrengthtobeartheremainderhewenttoGod。Forallworrythereisasovereigncure,forallsufferingthereisahealingbalm;itisreligiousfaith。Happinesshadsuddenlyflashedwithameteor—likeradianceintoYoung\'slifeonlytobesnuffedoutlikeacandleinawindygloom,buthiswork,hisdutyremained。Soinhistrialhelearnedthenecessityofresignation。Hechaffednomoreatthemysterious,seeminglybrutalmethodsofnature;hequestionednomore。HewonderednomoreattheapparentindifferenceofProvidence。Hehadonehope,whichwastobetruetohisfaith,andteachittotheend。

Nellmasteredhergriefbyanastonishingreserveofstrength。Undoubtedlyitwasthatmarvelouslymercifulpowerwhichenablesaperson,fortheloveofothers,tobearupunderacross,oreventofightdeathhimself。AsYounghadhisbright—eyedIndianboysandgirls,whohadlearnedChristianityfromhim,andwhosefuturedependedonhim,soNellhadheragedandweakeninguncletocareforandcherish。

Jim\'sattentionstoherbeforethedeepafflictionhadnotbeenslight,butnowtheyweresomarkedastobeunmistakable。InsomewayJimseemedchangedsincehehadreturnedfromtheDelawareencampment。Althoughhewentbacktotheworkwithhisoldaggressiveness,hewasnotnearlysosuccessfulashehadbeenbefore。Whetherornotthiswashisfault,hetookhisfailuredeeplytoheart。TherewasthatinhistendernesswhichcausedNelltoregardhim,inonesense,asshedidheruncle。Jim,too,leaneduponher,andsheacceptedhisdevotionwhereonceshehadrepelledit。Shehadunconsciouslybetrayedagreatdealwhenshehadturnedsotenderlytohiminthefirstmomentsafterherrecognition,andherememberedit。Hedidnotspeakoflovetoher;heletathousandlittleactsofkindness,aconstantthoughtfulnessofherpleadhiscause。

ThedayssucceedingHeckewelder\'sdeparturewereremarkableforseveralreasons。Althoughtheweatherwasenticing,thenumberofvisitingIndiansgraduallydecreased。Notarunnerfromanytribecameintothevillage,andfinallythedaydawnedwhennotasingleIndianfromtheoutlyingtownswaspresenttohearthepreaching。

Jimspoke,asusual。AfterseveraldayshadpassedandnonebutconvertedIndiansmadeupthecongregation,theyoungmanbegantobeuneasyinmind。

YoungandEdwardswereunabletoaccountfortheunusualabsencefromworship,yettheydidnotseeinitanythingtocauseespecialconcern。OftentherehadbeendayswithoutvisitationtotheVillageofPeace。