The evening world. Newspaper, December 24, 1904, Page 7

find it necessary to speak. His comrade had answered for hm. Ls nm held it inquisidvety for a moment, and then his jaws opened and shut as 'f ‘Were about f speak. But Defore he did so the SubePact sald It ts a long journey and a bard « Those whe go may never come back. But this man Was working for his country, and he has got a wife the letter. “Late Carscaiien wanis to knew who will lead you t you sai t me? I wil! give you a lealer that vou wl f +l ew tt Utacren Grounds To- Morrow you will know who he is Me are tra ' ‘ : Tle four rese. and Clevd-'n-the-Skhy nodded apr re gly B meme ° Sub-Factor held out his hand Fi man tiy? and he said: “Close up ranks for the H. B. «!"* $3. BB. « 2 Hudson Bay Company.) With a good man to tead them they wonld . net e * Heights of Bakkiava ee Once re Jaspar Hur «pt te G ind ; ° ” - 3 Morrow morn.n¢. Cloud<én e-sk . . ’ be loaded. Then m< : od f ‘ 1 night.” ® As they passed out Inte t ' \r t. Lat b 1 obstinacy, said. “Slow ma tee ‘ue is v : Lett ne Sub-Fact a ee prime , e m and, after a short he ! > write Yor rs} t ri z to put wood the fire. 7 ' It was three letters: t t neleare ltoa famous society London, one to a itor in Montreal * to Mr. Field, the 5 Chief Factor They were all sealed refully. Then Ja r r took out . his knife and went over to e box, as if to break the red seal, Me paused. how- , ever, sighed, and put the } ack sin. Aa he aid «9 he felt something tou his leg. It was the dog Ja Hume drew in a sharp breath and said, “It —_ all ready. Jacques; and in ther three months I shoukl have oeen in London with it. But it will go whet 1 go or not—whether I go or not, Jacques. The ad aganst bis master’s fre dog sprang up and put bis h “Good dog! good dog! it’s all right. Jacques, however it's all right . » bt Then the dog lay down and watched the man until he drew the Mankets to bis P ehin and sleep drew oblivion over a lighting bul masterly seu CHAPTER Il. Y March the Maren. T o'clock next morning Jaspar ifume » ° 1 ; rn = he ritten Onlef Factor’s off He bore with him the t the night before ma. = The Fuctor seid, Well, Frume, J a a — . ss letter was on nm vind al cht v a / = - a Se not,” he ted, doxp ly s he looked » the suppos rig face of the other ; a cr. “Yes, Mr. Ficld. I propose ts ha 5 ” ‘ “Shall—etari-—at ms to-day?” . “In two hours.” “Rut, whe a the party’ ; ; - eee. a “Jem Hyde, sepe Toulor te 4 1 and “and whe leads them. Hur “ “With your permission r. I es = ia “You, Hume! You! faut, ! ‘ : ‘ a. va cance ae ant Here eo three letters. If we do not come back tn “!l have conside brent = ye mcr Por ec tgp a gpa pe ee aan ae %y a 3 a this is wa In Montr 1 h yeu will also = rasa Pea esibie th a r yourseif, buat you wlll not open arctan rlapotinataes ararrseriet sed Have I your permission to lead these @t ‘until the three months have pas men vt without me.” * * oe —— a yon that, Hume. 1 Pmte to have you 9, but I can't say “s no sat, ’ ‘ and “i luck go with you no. Go, a po epee aoe old Factor turned away his head. He knew ¢hat Jaspar on done right. He knew the possible sacrifice this man was making of = ie . wf bis very life, and his sound Scotch heart appreciated the act a full But he aid pet know all. He did net know that Jaspar Hume was “ r :; 7 * f th and hope and B ho had robbed him of you pe monies starting to look for the man w sa letter that the w-fe has written to her husband in the ho cane 3 "pg You will take it with you, Hume. And@ the other she wrote to me, a ehall I keep tt? He hetd out his hand. : ? it. if you wilt allow me. It is my commission, you ll) keep , ; « “No, air, bette aft a emile hovered about Jaspar Hume's lps. rs, ee Factor smiled kindly as he replied, “Ah, yes, your commission—Capt. erof what Hume?” — em the oe opened and there entered the four men whom we saw Just Sub Factor’s fre the night before. They were dressed in white g@round the 5 ot seston head to foot, white woollen capotes covering the gray ~ cope Jaspar Hume ran his eye over them and then answered the caps Gestion: “Ot the Whtte Guard. sir. ? Fector’s ov the reply. “Men, you are going on a relief expedition—one in s “Good, sop ness You need a good leader. You have one in Capt. Jaspar see hers with a pleased I-told-you-so expres- ook hia head at the ot . a = ted his deep approval; and Late Carscallen smacked : — qner and rubbed his leg with a school-boy sense of on- s —' oe continued: “In the name of the Hudson Bay Company i 3 one i back, having done your duty faithfully, a ay that And I believe you will come back. if it ts in human the White Guard stood in front hoisted with another beneath it bearing the magic letters, C.; magic, because they have opened to the world regions that seemed . never to know the touch of civilization. The few inhabitants . thered; the dogs and loaded sieds were at the door. The ward were there, too—all but their leader. Tt wanted but two minutes to 12 when Jespar Hume came from nis house, Greased also In the white blanket zz costume, and followed by his deg. Jacques. In a moment more he had placed : Jacques at the head of the first team of Gogs. They were to have their leader, too; and they testifed to the fact by a bark of approval. Punctually at noon. Jaspar Hume shook tmnds with the Factor, said a quick good-by to the rest. called out a friendly “How!” t+ the Indians standing near, and to the sound of @ hearty cheer, heartier perhaps because none had a confident hope that the five would come back. the March of the White Guurd began. It ts eighteen days after. In the shadow of a little island of pimes, that lies fm a shivering waste of ice and snow, the White Guard camp. They are able to @o this night what they have not dene for days—dig a great grave of snow, and bullding a fire of pine wood at each end of this strange house. get protection and something like comfort. They sit close to the ftres. Jaspar Hume is writing with numbed fingers. The extract that follows is taken from his diary. It tells that Gay's life. and so gives an idea of harder, sterner days that they have spent and wi!!! spend, on this weary journey. “Dec. &.-—This is Christmas day and Camp Twenty-seven. We have marched only five miles to-day. We are eighty miles fown Great Fish River, and the worst yet to do. We have discovered no signs. Jeff Myde has had a bad two days with his frozen foot. Gaspe Toujours helps him nobly. One of the dogs q @ie@ this morning. Jacques is a great leader. This night's shelter is a godsend. “ Cloud-in-the-Sky has 4 plan whereby some of us will sleep well. We are tn lati- tude @* 47 and longitude 112° 2’ i”. Have warked out lunar observations. Have marked a tree JH—27, and raised cairn No. 3. We are able to celebrate Christ- mas Day with a goed basin of tea and our standby of beans cooked in fat. I was right about them; they have great sustaining power. To-morrow we will start at 10 o'clock.” The writing done, Jaspar Hame puis his book away and turns toward the rest. Cloud-in-the-Sky and Late Carscallen are smoking. Little can be seen of their faces; they are muffled to the eyes. Gaspe Toujours is drinking a basia of ten. and Jeff Hyde is ftfully dozing by the fre. The dogs are above in the g = ‘ a THE MARCH OF THE We: G | Ti RO. — . tent, all but Jacques, w t rit is permitted to be near his maste The Sub- Factor rises, takes from b 5 email tin pail, and puts it near the fire, This operati is w dremel ’ . hers Then he takes five little cups that fit snugly into ex ether, seqeer nm and puts them also near the fire. None of the party speaks \ : eoms to pas ver the faces of all ex pt Cloud- in-the-Skey em ik y ® At ten the Sub-Factor sp Now, me before y = a ats : r ” Rune f wu i b mack there f al maybe in I w t f us; so we'l ‘ t= » them we . calla . ps w I Sul- I re 1 out a 1 bb bor ; r r w Figgied 1 . a : - aw Dut t pre t fue = : “ ad sor 1 ¥ . 2 J jiam x I s friends and ivy ‘ x rank = i pac Hume b . ¢ ‘ ' ot di ens = « rc a ra ” . rt 1 w h nm . ! 4 hoped “ r ‘ y that wa n t ‘ ' z*. 200n, how r. to make a friend of Var 1 to ss of that fr = himse@ro troe. And t la <a it w he t - ec tu € ¢ r fonee a bricht nd h . 2 ded t . r > ow the entered a great fir s ‘ r I r he meet ng with Ro« Vare nd he thought of ot his friend Varre Lepage to her, and br that friend to be uced to her He re« Yall thase visions 't came to him when his pre ssional triumphs achieved. he should have a harpy home a-d a happy face, and) faces, by his frees And the face wos to he thet of Nese Varenoe. and the others faces of these whe s nid be lke her like himself. He saw. or rather felt. that face clouded and anxiowm 1 he went away [] and blind for health’s tke. He Md not writ: The decturs forbade him that. He did not ask her to Tite, for Was so « d steadfast a nature that he @id not need te urut } ong? if she cared for him she mus? the tand a wom # heart. how 2 needs remembrances, and nm nee Jaspar Hos face In the Neht of this calm and it is coo¥ of memory. the memory teens = vas married to Fase Varcoe, © trusted f d@ well-to-do on the offspring « Ha Srat — mger and determination to expose this man wie ~ rehet ff the girl, 1 er: * g701, my boy x s he had compas $ Rare ty »* mar nas n “ bow ' r. he did not reer-t that is : his . sod to Varre Lepase a genius. He } , 1 e rr Jaspar Hume knew f 1 & “ a a ; y to sive, if he eould, Varve Lepag fe ruit of Years’ t iz and lat i t : 1 to ¢ friendship of ' ' I at ht be ar of rokes « , t 2 him now, tt ? ti Places his > d t his br . align 7 “25 look becumes certain and ste i . a ; . es f Common Prayer. Upon the ¢ es sas San ie ai ramos Jarpar, on his twelfth birthday ese eee eae a These men of the Wi ; ale pent fee hanes tim then ass ~ — relic ee practi ne wt er surprised at this action of Jaspar Hume vc os ade have lessened thelr opinion of him, but his in . a . a plete. They knew they were fetting nannae es poe . ited nen oii! even Cloud-in-the-Sky appreciated that He apcke isinmdoie Ce le no ward to them, but looked at them and stood up. They all did the same of Gagpe Toujours. He read £ : : . ene rst. four verses - a sexy? lowed the Prayer of St. ¢ hrysostom, espe Sa Penta. s the Almighty to mercifully bwok + Jeff Hyde leaning on tne shoulders en fol- in the beuntiful collect Which appeals to Pon the infirmities of me str His hand to keep and defend them in all dangers and grmtonccs neon callen, after a long pause, said “Amen,” : eee Gaspe Toujours, “That's to the point is what troubles us.” Immediately after, at a « transfer the burning wood from one fire to the left where a great blaze had bee n Ove spread, and over them again blankets. Jef Hyde, Gaspe Toujours and Late Ca h forth Late Cars- and Jef! Hyde mid in a whisper to Infirmitkes and dangers and necessities ign from the Sub-Factor, Cond-in-the-Sky began to other, until only hot ashes were T these ashes Dine twigs and branches were The word was then siven ¢o turn in, and rscallen lay down { “ms : m this comf: bed Each wished to give way to their captain, but he would not scmneek, sacantes and Cloud-in-the-Sky wrapped themselves 5 in their biankets lk 2 their heads completely, and under the Arctic sky they tna ee covering and tenantless world. They never know how loftily sa. Nature can er rdonic who dares confront the terrors of eternal snow. The White Guard sleeps! . CHAPTER iii. Face to Face with Death. O, Captain; leave me here and push on to the Manitou Mountain. You ought to make it in two days. I'm just as sure here as on the sieds and less trouble; a blind man’s no good. Irll have a good rest while you're gone, and then perhaps my eyes will come out right. My foot is nearly well now.” Yes, Jeff. Hyde was snow-blind. This, the giant of the party, ee had suffered most. But Jaspar Hume said, “I won't leave you alone, my man. The dogs can carry you, as they’ve done for the last ten daya.”” But Jeff replied, “i'm as safe here as marching, and safer. When the dogs @re nat carrying me, nor any one leading me, you can get on faster; and that means everything to us: now don't it?” Jasper Tiume met the eyes of Gaspe Toujours. He read them. Then he maid to Jeff Hyde. “It shall be as you wish. Late Carscallen, Choud-in-the-Sky and myself will push on te Manitou Meuntain. Kou and Gaspe Toujours will re- main here.’ ‘ Jeff Hyde's blind ¢yes turned toward Gaspe Toujours, and Gaspe Toujours said, “Yea. We have vienty of tabac.” A tent was set up, provisions were put in #, @ sptrit-lamp and matches were added, and the simple menage was complete. Not quite. Jaspar Hume Wwoked round. There was no: a tres In sight. He etooped and cut away @ pole that was used for strengthering the runners of the sleds: fastened # firmly in the ground. and tied to it a red woollen scarf which he had used for tightening his white blankets round him. Then he said: “Be sure and keep that fying, men.” Je@® Hyde's face was turned toward the north. The blind man’s instinct was coming to him. Far off white eddying drifts were rising over long hillocks of snow. When Jeff turned round again his face was slightly troubled, BB ” grew more troubled, then It brightened up again, and he said to Jaspar “Captain, would you leave that book with me tih you come back—thag tmfirmities, dangers end necessities? I knew a river-boss who used to an old apeliing-book round with him for luck. It had belonged € a | | | |