er been no love lost 'twixt you an' me, but I 'low I might have
been more juster than I was. I think you're--you're as good as ary
white women I ever see, savin' our Kit, of course; an'--an'--I--I wish
you well."

There was a moment's hesitation on Wahneenah's part; then her slim
brown hand was extended and closed upon Mercy's fat palm with a
friendly pressure.

"In the light of the Unknown Beyond, the little hates and loves of
earth must disappear. You have judged according to the wisdom that was
in you, and if I bore you a grudge, it is forgotten. Farewell."

Then the foster-mother slipped her arm about the waist of her beloved
Sun Maid and supported her firmly as the oxen moved slowly forward,
the heavy wheels creaking and the three children shouting and clapping
their hands in innocent glee, quite unconscious of the tragedy of the
parting they had witnessed.

Abel gee-ed and haw-ed indiscriminately and confusingly, then
belabored his patient beasts because they did not understand
conflicting orders. Mercy sat twisted around upon the buffalo-covered
seat, her arms holding each a child as in a vise and her neck in
danger of dislocation, as long as her swimming eyes could catch one
glimpse of the two white-robed women left on the dusty road.

"They look as pure as some them Sisters of Charity I've seen in Boston
city. And they won't spare themselves no more, neither. Poor Gaspar
boy! How'll he ever stand it without his Kit, and if--ah, if--she
should catch--Oh, my soul! oh--my--soul! I wonder if he's takin' it
terrible hard!"

But though she brought her body back to a normal poise, her morbid
curiosity was doomed to disappointment, for Tempest had already borne
his master out of sight at a mad pace across the prairie.

The enemy which had come with the infantry over the great water was
the most terrible known,--a disease so dread and devastating that men
turned pale at the mere mention of its name--the Asiatic cholera.

When it appeared, the garrison was crowded with the settlers who had
fled before the anticipated attacks of the Indians and, as has been
said, every roof in the community sheltered all it could cover. But
when the soldiers began to die by dozens and scores the refugees were
terrified. Death by the hand of the red man was possible, even
probable; but death of the pestilence was certain.

The town was now emptied far more rapidly than it had filled; and
early in this new disaster Gaspar had has