HeopenedthedooramomentlaterandwhenJimGirtyandDeeringenteredheturnedtohisfriendswithadreaduncertaintyinhishaggardface。
　　Edwardslayonthebedwithwide—openeyesstaringattheintruders。Mr。Wellssatwithbowedhead。Zeisbergercalmlywhittledastick,andJimstoodboltupright,withahardlightinhiseyes。
　　Nellleanedagainstthesideofaheavytable。Wonderfulwasthechangethathadtransformedherfromatimid,appealing,fear—agonizedgirltoawomanwhoseonlyevidenceofunusualexcitementweretheflameinhereyesandthepeculiarwhitenessofherface。
　　Bennywasgone！
　　Heckewelder'sglancereturnedtothevisitors。Hethoughthehadneverseensuchbrutal,hideousmen。
　　"Wal,Ireckonapreacherain'tagoin'tolie。HevyouseenanyInjunChristiansroundhere？"askedGirty,wavingaheavysledge—hammer。
　　"Girty,wehavehiddennoIndianshere,"answeredHeckewelder,calmly。
　　"Wal,we'llhevalook,anyway,"answeredtherenegade。
　　Girtysurveyedtheroomwithwolfisheyes。Deeringwassodrunkthathestaggered。Bothmen,infact,reekedwiththevilefumesofrum。Withoutanotherwordtheyproceededtoexaminetheroom,bylookingintoeverybox,behindastoneoven,andinthecupboard。Theydrewthebedclothesfromthebed,andwithakickdemolishedapileofstovewood。Thentheruffianspassedintotheotherapartments,wheretheycouldbeheardmakingthoroughsearch。
　　Atlengthbothreturnedtothelargeroom,whenGirtydirectedDeeringtoclimbaladderleadingtotheloft,butbecauseDeeringwastoomuchundertheinfluenceofliquortodoso,hehadtogohimself。Herummagedaroundupthereforafewminutes,andthencamedown。
　　"Wal,Ireckonyouwasn'tlyin'aboutit,"saidGirty,withhisghastlyleer。
　　Heandhiscompanionstartedtogoout。DeeringhadstoodwithbloodshoteyesfixedonNellwhileGirtysearchedtheloft,andastheypassedthegirlontheirwaytotheopenair,therenegadelookedatGirtyashemotionedwithhisheadtowardher。Hisbesottedfaceexpressedsometerriblemeaning。
　　GirtyhadlookedatNellwhenhefirstentered,buthadnotglancedtwiceather。Asheturnednow,beforegoingoutofthedoor,hefixedonherhisbalefulglance。Hisaspectwasmorefullofmeaningthancouldhavebeenanywords。Ahorriblepower,ofwhichhewasboastfullyconscious,shonefromhislittle,pointedeyes。Hismerepresencewasdeadly。Plainlyasifhehadspokenwasthesignificanceofhislonggaze。Anyonecouldhavetranslatedthatlook。
　　OncebeforeNellhadfacedit,andfaintedwhenitsdreadmeaninggrewcleartoher。Butnowshereturnedhisgazewithoneinwhichflashedlightningscorn,andrepulsion,inwhichglowedawonderfuldefiance。
　　Thecruelfaceofthisman,theboastfulbarbarityofhismanner,thelong,dark,bloodyhistorywhichhispresencerecalled,was,indeed,terrifyingwithouttheaddedhorrorofhisintenttowardher,butnottheself—forgetfulnessofatruewomansustainedher。
　　GirtyandDeeringbackedoutofthedoor。Heckewelderclosedit,anddroppedthebarinplace。
　　Nellfelloverthetablewithalong,lowgasp。Thenwithonehandsheliftedherskirt。Bennywalkedfromunderit。Hisbigeyeswerebright。Theyoungwomanclaspedhimagaininherarms。Thenshereleasedhim,and,laboringunderintenseexcitement,rantothewindow。
　　"Therehegoes！Oh,thehorriblebeast！IfIonlyhadagunandcouldshoot！
　　Oh,ifonlyIwereaman！I'dkillhim。TothinkofpoorKate！Ah！heintendsthesameforme！"
　　Suddenlyshefelluponthefloorinafaint。Mr。WellsandJimliftedheronthebedbesideEdwards,wheretheyendeavoredtoreviveher。Itwassomemomentsbeforesheopenedhereyes。
　　JimsatholdingNell'shand。Mr。Wellsagainbowedhishead。Zeisbergercontinuedtowhittleastick,andHeckewelderpacedthefloor。Christystoodbywitheveryevidenceofsympathyforthisdistractedgroup。Outsidetheclamorincreased。
　　"Justlisten！"criedHeckewelder。"Didyoueverhearthelike？Alldrunk,crazy,fiendish！TheydrankeverydropofliquortheFrenchtradershad。
　　Cursesonthevagabonddealers！Rumhasmadetheserenegadesandsavageswild。
　　Oh！mypoor,innocentChristians！"
　　Heckewelderleanedhisheadagainstthemantle—shelf。Hehadbrokendownatlast。Rackingsobsshookhisframe。
　　"Areyouallrightagain？"askedJimofNell。
　　"Yes。"
　　"Iamgoingout,firsttoseeWilliamson,andthentheChristians,"hesaid,risingverypale,butcalm。
　　"Don'tgo！"criedHeckewelder。"Ihavetriedeverything。Itwasallofnouse。"
　　"Iwillgo,"answeredJim。
　　"Yes,Jim,go,"whisperedNell,lookingupintohiseyes。Itwasanearnestgazeinwhichafainthopeshone。
　　Jimunbarredthedoorandwentout。
　　"Wait,I'llgoalong,"criedZeisberger,suddenlydroppinghisknifeandstick。
　　Asthetwomenwentoutafearfulspectaclemettheireyes。TheclearingwasalivewithIndians。ButsuchIndians！Theywerepainteddemons,maddenedbyrum。Yesterdaytheyhadbeensilent;iftheymovedatallithadbeenwithdeliberationanddignity。To—daytheywereayelling,running,blood—seekingmob。
　　"Awful！Didyoueverseehumanbeingslikethese？"askedZeisberger。
　　"No,no！"
　　"Isawsuchafrenzyoncebefore,but,ofcourse,onlyinasmallbandofsavages。ManytimeshaveIseenIndianspreparingforthewar—path,insearchofbothwhitemenandredskins。Theywerefiercethen,butnothinglikethis。
　　Everyoneofthesefrenziedfiendsishonest。Thinkofthat！EverymanfeelsithisdutytomurdertheseChristians。Girtyhasleduptothisbycunning,andnowthetimeiscometoletthemloose。"
　　"Itmeansdeathforall。"
　　"Ihavegivenupanythoughtofescaping,"saidZeisberger,withthecalmnessthathadcharacterizedhismannersincehereturnedtothevillage。"Ishalltrytogetintothechurch。"
　　"I'lljoinyouthereassoonasIseeWilliamson。"
　　JimwalkedrapidlyacrosstheclearingtothecabinwhereCaptainWilliamsonhadquarters。Thefrontiersmenstoodingroups,watchingthesavageswithaninterestwhichshowedlittleornoconcern。
　　"IwanttoseeCaptainWilliamson,"saidJimtoafrontiersmanonguardatthecabindoor。
　　"Wal,he'sinside,"drawledtheman。
　　Jimthoughtthevoicefamiliar,andheturnedsharplytoseethesun—burntfeaturesofJeffLynn,theoldrivermanwhohadtakenMr。Wells'partytoFortHenry。
　　"Why,Lynn！I'mgladtoseeyou,"exclaimedJim。
　　"Purtyfairtomiddlin',"answeredJeff,extendinghisbighand。"Say,how'stheotherone,yourbrotheraswuscalledJoe？"
　　"Idon'tknow。HeranoffwithWetzel,wascapturedbyIndians,andwhenI
　　lastheardofhimhehadmarriedWingenund'sdaughter。"
　　"Wal,I'llbedog—goned！"Jeffshookhisgrizzledheadandslappedhisleg。"I
　　jestknowedhe'draisesomethin'。"
　　"I'minahurry。DoyouthinkCaptainWilliamsonwillstandstillandletallthisgoon？"
　　"I'mafeerdso。'
　　Evidentlythecaptainheardtheconversation,forheappearedatthecabindoor,smokingalongpipe。
　　"CaptainWilliamson,IhavecometoentreatyoutosavetheChristiansfromthisimpendingmassacre。"
　　"Ican'tdonuthin',"answeredWilliamson,removinghispipetopuffforthagreatcloudofsmoke。
　　"Youhaveeightymenhere！"
　　"IfweinterferedPipewouldeatusaliveinthreeminutes。Youpreacherfellowsdon'tunderstandthisthing。You'vegotPipeandGirtytodealwith。
　　Ifyoudon'tknowthem,you'llbebetteracquaintedbysundown。"
　　"Idon'tcarewhotheyare。Drunkenruffiansandsavages！That'senough。Willyouhelpus？Wearemenofyourownrace,andwecometoyouforhelp。Canyouwithholdit？"
　　"Iwon'thevnuthin'todowiththisbizness。Thechiefshevcondemnedthevillage,an'it'llhevtogo。Ifyoufellarshedbeencareful,nowhitebloodwouldhevbeenspilled。Iadviseyoualltolaylowtillit'sover。"
　　"Willyouletmespeaktoyourmen,totryandgetthemtofollowme？"
　　"Heckewelderaskedthatsamething。Hewaspersistent,andItookavoteferhimjusttoshowhowmymenstood。Eighteenofthemsaidthey'dfollowhim;
　　therestwouldn'tinterfere。"
　　"Eighteen！MyGod！"criedJim,voicingthepassionwhichconsumedhim。"Youarewhitemen,yetyouwillstandbyandseetheseinnocentpeoplemurdered！
　　Man,where'syourhumanity？Yourmanhood？TheseconvertedIndiansaresavagesnolonger,theyareChristians。Theirchildrenareasgood,pure,innocentasyourown。Canyouremainidleandseetheselittleonesmurdered？"
　　Williamsonmadenoanswer,themenwhohadcrowdedroundwereequallysilent。
　　Notoneloweredhishead。manylookedattheimpassionedmissionary;othersgazedatthesavageswhowerecirclingaroundthetreesbrandishingtheirweapons。IfanypitiedtheunfortunateChristians,noneshowedit。Theywereindifferent,withtheindifferenceofmenhardenedtocruelscenes。
　　Jimunderstood,atlast,asheturnedfromfacetofacetofindeverywherethatsameimperturbability。ThesebordermenwerelikeWetzelandJonathanZane。TheonlygoodIndianwasadeadIndian。Yearsofwarandbloodshed,ofmercilesscrueltyatthehandsofredmen,ofthehard,borderlifehadrenderedthesefrontiersmenincapableofcompassionforanysavage。
　　Jimnolongerrestrainedhimself。
　　"Bordermenyoumaybe,butfrommystandpoint,fromanyman's,fromGod's,youarealotofcoldlyindifferentcowards！"exclaimedJim,withwhite,quiveringlips。"Iunderstandnow。FewofyouwillriskanythingforIndians。YouwillnotbelieveasavagecanbeaChristian。Youdon'tcareiftheyareallmurdered。Anymanamongyou——anyman,Isay——wouldstepoutbeforethosehowlingfiendsandboldlydemandthattherebenobloodshed。Acourageousleaderwithabandofdeterminedfollowerscouldavertthistragedy。Youmightreadilyintimidateyonderhordeofdrunkendemons。CaptainWilliamson,Iamonlyaminister,farremovedfromamanofwarandleader,asyouclaimtobe,but,sir,Icurseyouasamiserablecoward。IfIevergetbacktocivilizationI'llbrandthisinhumancoldnessofyours,asthemostinfamousanddastardlycowardicethateverdisgracedawhiteman。YouareworsethanGirty！"
　　Williamsonturnedasicklyyellow;hefumbledasecondwiththehandleofhistomahawk,butmadenoanswer。Theotherbordermenmaintainedthesamecarelesscomposure。Whattothemwastheravingofamadpreacher？
　　Jimsawitandturnedbaffled,fiercelyangry,andhopeless。AshewalkedawayJeffLynntookhisarm,andaftertheywereclearofthecrowdoffrontiersmenhesaid:
　　"Youngfeller,yougivehimpepper,an'nomistake。An'mebbeyou'rerightfromyoursidethefence。Butyoucan'tseetheInjunsfromourside。Wehuntershevn'tmuchhumanity——Ireckonthat'swhatyoucalledit——butwe'velostsomanyfriendsan'relatives,an'hearnofsomanymurdersbythereddysthatwelookonallof'emaswildvarmintsthatshouldbekilledonsight。
　　Now,mebbeit'llinterestyoutoknowIwasthefellerwhotookthevoteWilliamsontoldyouabout,an'Ididit'causeIhadaninterestinyou。Iwuswatchin'youwhenEdwardsandtheothermissionarygotshot。Ilikegritinaman,an'Iseenyouhaditclearthrough。SowhenHeckeweldercomesoverI
　　talkedtothefellers,an'allIcouldgitinterestedwaseighteen,buttheywantedtofightsimplyferfightin'sake。Now,oleJeffLynnisyourfriend。
　　Youjustlaylowuntilthisisover。"
　　Jimthankedtheoldrivermanandlefthim。Hehardlyknewwhichwaytoturn。
　　Hewouldmakeonemoreeffort。Hecrossedtheclearingtowheretherenegades'
　　teepeestood。McKeeandElliottweresittingonalog。SimonGirtystoodbesidethem,hishard,keen,rovingeyesonthescene。Themissionarywasimpressedbythewhiteleader。Therewasadifferenceinhisaspect,awilderlookthantheotherswore,asifthemanhadsuddenlyawakenedtothefuryofhisIndians。Neverthelesstheyoungmanwentstraighttowardhim。
　　"Girty,Icome———"
　　"Gitout！Youmeddlin'preacher！"yelledtherenegade,shakinghisfistatJim。
　　SimonGirtywasdrunk。
　　Jimturnedfromthewhitefiends。Heknewhislifetothemwasnotworthapinchofpowder。
　　"Lost！Lost！Alllost！"heexclaimedindespair。
　　Ashewenttowardthechurchhesawhundredsofsavagesboundingoverthegrass,brandishingweaponsandwhoopingfiendishly。TheywereconcentratingaroundGirty'steepee,wherealreadyagreatthronghadcongregated。OfalltheIndianstobeseennotonewalked。TheyleapedbyJim,andranoverthegrassnimbleasdeer。
　　Hesawtheeager,fireintheirduskyeyes,andthecruellyclenchedteethlikethoseofwolveswhentheysnarl。Hefeltthehissingbreathofmanysavagesastheyracedbyhim。MorethanonewhirledatomahawkclosetoJim'shead,andutteredhorribleyellsinhisear。Theywereliketigerslustingforblood。
　　Jimhurriedtothechurch。NotanIndianwasvisiblenearthelogstructure。
　　Eventhesavageguardshadgone。Heenteredtheopendoortobeinstantlystruckwithreverenceandawe。
　　TheChristiansweresinging。
　　MiserableandfullofsickeningdreadthoughJimwas,hecouldnotbutrealizethatthescenebeforehimwasoneofextraordinarybeautyandpathos。ThedoomedIndianslifteduptheirvoicesinsong。Neverhadtheysungsofeelingly,soharmoniously。
　　WhenthesongendedZeisberger,whostooduponaplatform,openedhisBibleandread:
　　"InalittlewrathIhidmyfacefromtheeforamoment,butwitheverlastingkindnesswillIhavemercyonthee,saiththeLord,thyRedeemer。"
　　Inavoicelowandtremulousthevenerablemissionarybeganhissermon。
　　TheshadowofdeathhoveredovertheseChristianmartyrs;itwasreflectedintheirsombereyes,yetnotonewassullenorsad。Thechildrenwhoweretooyoungtounderstand,butinstinctivelyfeelingthetragedysoontobeenactedthere,coweredclosetotheirmothers。
　　Zeisbergerpreachedatouchingandimpressive,thoughshort,sermon。Atitsconclusionthewholecongregationroseandsurroundedthemissionary。Themenshookhishands,thewomenkissedthem,thechildrenclungtohislegs。Itwasawonderfulmanifestationofaffection。
　　SuddenlyGlickhican,theoldDelawarechief,steppedontheplatform,raisedhishandandshoutedoneIndianword。
　　Along,lowwailwentupfromthechildrenandyouths;thewomenslowly,meeklybowedtheirheads。Themen,duetothestoicismoftheirnatureandtheChristianitytheyhadlearned,stoodproudlyerectawaitingthedeaththathadbeendecreed。
　　Glickhicanpulledthebellrope。
　　Adeep,mellowtonepealedout。
　　ThesoundtransfixedalltheChristians。Noonemoved。
　　GlickhicanhadgiventhesignalwhichtoldthemurdererstheChristianswereready。
　　"Come,man,myGod！Wecan'tstayhere！"criedJimtoZeisberger。
　　Astheywentoutbothmenturnedtolooktheirlastonthemartyrs。ThedeathknellwhichhadrungintheearsoftheChristians,wastothemthevoiceofGod。Stern,darkvisagesofmenandthesweet,submissivefacesofwomenwereupliftedwithraptattention。AlightseemedtoshinefromthesefacesasifthecontemplationofGodhadilluminedthem。
　　AsZeisbergerandJimleftthechurchandhurriedtowardthecabins,theysawthecrowdofsavagesinablackmassroundGirty'steepee。Theyellingandleapinghadceased。
　　Heckewelderopenedthedoor。Evidentlyhehadwatchedforthem。
　　"Jim！Jim！"criedNell,whenheenteredthecabin。"Oh—h！Iwasafraid。Oh！I
　　amgladyou'rebacksafe。See,thisnobleIndianhascometohelpus。"
　　Wingenundstoodcalmanderectbythedoor。
　　"Chief,whatwillyoudo？"
　　"Wingenundwillshowyouthewaytothebigriver,"answeredthechieftain,inhisdeepbass。
　　"Runaway？No,never！Thatwouldbecowardly。Heckewelder,youwouldnotgo？
　　Noryou,Zeisberger？Wemayyetbeofuse,wemayyetsavesomeoftheChristians。"
　　"Savetheyellow—hair,"sternlysaidWingenund。
　　"Oh,Jim,youdon'tunderstand。ThechiefhascometowarnmeofGirty。Heintendstotakemeashehasothers,ashedidpoorKate。didyounotseethemeaninginhiseyesto—day？Howtheyscorchedme！Ho！Jim,takemeaway！Saveme！Donotleavemeheretothathorriblefate？Oh！Jim,takemeaway！"
　　"Nell,Iwilltakeyou,"criedJim,graspingherhands。
　　"Hurry！There'sablanketfullofthingsIpackedforyou,"saidHeckewelder。
　　"Losenotime。Ah！hearthat！MyHeavens！whatayell！"Heckewelderrushedtothedoorandlookedout。"Theretheygo,ablackmobofimps;apackofhungrywolves！JimGirtyisinthelead。Howheleaps！Howhewaveshissledge！Heleadsthesavagestowardthechurch。Oh！it'stheend！"
　　"Benny？Where'sBenny？"criedJim,hurriedlylacingthehuntingcoathehadflungabouthim。
　　"Benny'ssafe。I'vehiddenhim。I'llgethimawayfromhere,"answeredyoungChristy。"Go！Now'syourtime。Godspeedyou！"
　　"I'mready,"declaredMr。Wells。"I——have——finished！"
　　"TheregoesWingenund！He'srunning。Followhim,quick！Good—by！Good—by！Godbewithyou！"criedHeckewelder。
　　"Good—by！Good—by！"
　　JimhurriedNelltowardthebusheswhereWingenund'stallformcoulddimlybeseen。Mr。Wellsfollowedthem。OntheedgeoftheclearingJimandNellturnedtolookback。
　　Theysawablackmassofyelling,struggling,fightingsavagescrowdingaroundthechurch。
　　"Oh！Jim,lookback！Lookback！"criedNell,holdinghardtohishand。"Lookback！SeeifGirtyiscoming！"
　　ChapterXXVII。
　　Atlastthefugitivesbreathedfreeunderthegoldandredcoverofthewoods。
　　Neverspeaking,neverlookingback,theguidehurriedeastwardwithlongstrides。Hisfollowerswerealmostforcedtoruninordertokeephiminsight。Hehadwaitedattheedgeoftheclearingforthem,and,relievingJimoftheheavypack,whichheswungslightlyoverhisshoulder,hesetapacethatwasmostdifficulttomaintain。Theyoungmissionaryhalfled,halfcarriedNelloverthestonesandroughplaces。Mr。Wellslaboredintherear。
　　"Oh！Jim！Lookback！Lookback！Seeifwearepursued！"criedNellfrequently,withmanyaearfulglanceintothedensethickets。
　　TheIndiantookastraightcoursethroughthewoods。Heleapedthebrooks,climbedtheroughridges,andswiftlytrodthegladesthatwerefreeofwindfalls。Hishurryandutterdisregardfortheplaintrailleftbehind,provedhisbeliefinthenecessityofplacingmanymilesbetweenthefugitivesandtheVillageofPeace。Evidentlytheywouldbefollowed,anditwouldbeawasteofvaluabletimetotrytoconcealtheirtrail。Graduallythegroundbegantorise,thewaybecomemoredifficult,butWingenundneverslackenedhispace。Nellwasstrong,supple,andlightoffoot。SheheldherownwithJim,buttimeandtimeagaintheywereobligedtowaitforheruncle。Oncehewasfarbehind。Wingenundhaltedforthemattheheightofaridgewheretheforestwasopen。
　　"Ugh！"exclaimedthechieftain,astheyfinishedtheascent。Hestretchedalongarmtowardthesun;hisfalconeyegleamed。
　　Farinthewestagreatblackandyellowcloudofsmokerolledheavenward。Itseemedtorisefromouttheforest,andtohanglowoverthetrees;thenitsoaredaloftandgrewthinneruntilitlostitsdistinctlinefarintheclouds。Thesettingsunstoodyetanhourhighoveradistanthill,andburneddarkredthroughthegreatpallofsmoke。
　　"Isitaforestfire？"askedNell,fearfully。
　　"Fire,ofcourse,but———"Jimdidnotvoicehisfear;helookedcloselyatWingenund。
　　Thechieftainstoodsilentamomentaswashiswontwhenaddressed。Thedullglowofthesunwasreflectedinthedarkeyesthatgazedfarawayoverforestandfield。
　　"Fire,"saidWingenund,anditseemedthatashespokeasternershadowflittedacrosshisbronzedface。"Thesunsetsto—nightovertheashesoftheVillageofPeace。
　　Heresumedhisrapidmarcheastward。Withneverabackwardglancethesaddenedpartyfollowed。NellkeptclosebesideJim,andtheoldmantrampedafterthemwithbowedhead。Thesunset,butWingenundneverslackenedhisstride。
　　Twilightdeepened,yethekepton。
　　"Indian,wecangonofurtherto—night,wemustrest,"criedJim,asNellstumbledagainsthim,andMr。Wellspantedwearilyintherear。
　　"Restsoon,"repliedthechief,andkepton。
　　DarknesshadsettleddownwhenWingenundatlasthalted。Thefugitivescouldseelittleinthegloom,buttheyheardthemusicofrunningwater,andfeltsoftmossbeneaththeirfeet。
　　Theysankwearilydownuponaprojectingstone。Themosswasrestfultotheirtiredlimbs。Openingthepacktheyfoundfoodwithwhichtosatisfythedemandsofhunger。Then,closeunderthestone,thefugitivessankintoslumberwhilethewatchfulIndianstoodsilentandmotionless。
　　Jimthoughthehadbutjustclosedhiseyeswhenhefeltagentlepressureonhisarm。
　　"Dayishere,"saidtheIndian。
　　Jimopenedhiseyestoseethebrightredsuncrimsoningtheeasternhills,andstreaminggloriouslyoverthecoloredforests。Heraisedhimselfonhiselbowtolookaround。Nellwasstillasleep。Theblanketwastuckedclosetoherchin。Herchestnuthairwastumbledlikeaschoolgirl's;shelookedasfreshandsweetasthemorning。
　　"Nell,Nell,wakeup,"saidJim,thinkingthewhilehowhewouldlovetokissthosewhiteeyelids。
　　Nell'seyesopenedwide;asmilelaydeepintheirhazelshadows。
　　"WhereaI？Oh,Iremember,"shecried,sittingup。"Oh,Jim,Ihadsuchasweetdream。IwasathomewithmotherandKate。Oh,towakeandfinditalladream！Iamfleeingforlife。But,Jim,wearesafe,arewenot？"
　　"Anotherday,andwe'llbesafe。"
　　"Letusfly,"shecried,leapingupandshakingouthercrumpledskirt。
　　"Uncle,come！"
　　Mr。Wellslayquietlywithhismildblueeyessmilingupather。Heneithermovednorspoke。
　　"Eat,drink,"saidthechief,openingthepack。
　　"Whatabeautifulplace,"exclaimedNell,takingthebreadandmeathandedtoher。"Thisisalovelylittleglade。Lookatthosegoldenflowers,theredandpurpleleaves,thebrownshiningmoss,andthoselichen—coveredstones。Why！
　　Someonehascampedhere。Seethelittlecave,thescreensofplaitedferns,andthestonefireplace。"
　　"Itseemstomethisdarkspringandthosegracefullyspreadingbranchesarefamiliar,"saidJim。
　　"BeautifulSpring,"interposedWingenund。
　　"Yes,Iknowthisplace,"criedNellexcitedly。"IrememberthisgladethoughitwasmoonlightwhenIsawit。HereWetzelrescuedmefromGirty。"
　　"Nell,you'reright,"repliedJim。"Howstrangeweshouldrunacrossthisplaceagain。"
　　Strangefate,indeed,whichhadbroughtthemagaintoBeautifulSpring！Itwasdestinedthatthegreatscenesoftheirlivesweretobeenactedinthismossyglade。
　　"Come,uncle,youarelazy,"criedNell,atouchofheroldroguishnessmakingplayfulhervoice。
　　Mr。Wellslaystill,andsmiledupatthem。
　　"Youarenotill？"criedNell,seeingforthefirsttimehowpallidwashisface。
　　"DearNellie,Iamnotill。Idonotsuffer,butIamdying,"heanswered,againwiththatstrange,sweetsmile。
　　"Oh—h—h！"breathedNell,fallingonherknees。
　　"No,no,Mr。Wells,youareonlyweak;youwillbeallrightagainsoon,"
　　criedJim。
　　"Jim,Nellie,Ihaveknownallnight。Ihavelainherewakeful。Myheartneverwasstrong。Itgaveoutyesterday,andnowitisslowlygrowingweaker。Putyourhandonmybreast。Feel。Ah！yousee！Mylifeisflickering。God'swillbedone。Iamcontent。Myworkisfinished。MyonlyregretisthatIbroughtyououttothisterribleborderland。ButIdidnotknow。IfonlyIcouldseeyousafefromtheperilofthiswilderness,athome,happy,married。"
　　Nellbentoverhimblindedbyhertears,unabletoseeorspeak,crushedbythislastoverwhelmingblow。Jimsatontheothersideoftheoldmissionary,holdinghishand。Formanymomentsneitherspoke。Theyglancedatthepaleface,watchingwitheager,wistfuleyesforasmile,orlisteningforaword。
　　"Come,"saidtheIndian。
　　Nellsilentlypointedtowardheruncle。
　　"Heisdying,"whisperedJimtotheIndian。
　　"Go,leaveme,"murmuredMr。Wells。"Youarestillindanger。"
　　"We'llnotleaveyou,"criedJim。
　　"No,no,no,"sobbedNell,bendingovertokisshim。
　　"Nellie,mayImarryyoutoJim？"whisperedMr。Wellsintoherear。"Hehastoldmehowitiswithhim。Helovesyou,Nellie。I'ddiehappierknowingI'dleftyouwithhim。"
　　Evenatthatmoment,withherheartalmostbreaking,Nell'sfairfaceflushed。
　　"Nell,willyoumarryme？"askedJim,softly。Lowthoughitwas,hehadheardMr。Wells'whisper。
　　NellstretchedalittletremblinghandoverheruncletoJim,whoincloseditinhisown。Hereyesmethis。Throughhertearsshonefaintlyalight,which,butfortheagonythatmadeitdim,wouldhavebeamedradiant。
　　"Findtheplace,"saidMr。Wells,handingJimaBible。Itwastheonehealwayscarriedinhispocket。
　　WithtremblinghandJimturnedtheleaves。Atlasthefoundthelines,andhandedthebookbacktotheoldman。
　　Simple,sweetandsadwasthatmarriageservice。NellandJimkneltwithhandsclaspedoverMr。Wells。Theoldmissionary'svoicewasfaint;Nell'sresponseswerelow,andJimansweredwithdeepandtenderfeeling。BesidethemstoodWingenund,adark,magnificentfigure。
　　"There！MayGodblessyou！"murmuredMr。Wells,withahappysmile,closingtheBible。
　　"Nell,mywife！"whisperedJim,kissingherhand。
　　"Come！"brokeinWingenund'svoice,deep,strong,likethatofabell。
　　Notoneofthemhadobservedthechiefashestooderect,motionless,poisedlikeastagscentingtheair。Hisdarkeyesseemedtopiercethepurple—goldenforest,hiskeenearseemedtodrinkinthesingingofthebirdsandthegentlerustlingofleaves。Nativetothesehauntsaswerethewildcreatures,theywerenoquickerthantheIndiantofeeltheapproachoffoes。Thebreezehadbornefaint,suspicioussounds。