int two of the Indians came over to
speak to the missionary. Their respectful but cordial manner could not
well have been put on and was an answer to his unspoken question.

"Are these men Catholics?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not yet," said the priest, "although I believe they are
influenced strongly. They observe some of the practices of the Church
and cling to others of their own."

"Their own what?"

"Well, I may say their own Church," said the father.

"Church? You call theirs a Church?" exclaimed Jim.

"Why not? Their best teachers inculcate cleanness, courage, kindness,
sobriety, and truth; they tell of one Great Spirit who is the creator
and ruler of all things and to whom they pray. Surely, these things are
truth and all light comes from God; and, even though they have not
learned the great story of the redemption, we must respect their faith
so far as it goes."

"And these are the 'beasts of heathen' I have always heard about."

"Oh, yes," said the missionary, "they have many habits that I hope to
see stamped out; but I have learned that my Church was wise when it sent
me, not to antagonize and destroy, but to seek for the good in these
people and fortify that as a foundation on which to build the true
faith."

"Well, this is all a great surprise to me," said Hartigan; and again his
deepest astonishment lay in the new knowledge of the papist, rather than
of the Indian.

They were several hours together. The missionary and his Indian friends
finally left the train at a station nearest their home in Pine Ridge and
Jim was left alone with some very new ideas and some old-time prejudices
very badly shaken.

The rest of the journey he sat alone, thinking--thinking hard.

* * * * *

There was no one to meet him at the Cedar Mountain station when he
stepped out of the car--the last passenger from the last car, in the
last station--for at that time this was the north end of the track. All
his earthly belongings, besides the things he wore, were in a valise
that he carried in his hand; in his pocket he had less than five dollars
in money, and his letter of introduction to the Rev. Dr. Jebb of Cedar
Mountain.

In all his life, Jim had never seen a mountain, nor even a high hill;
and he stood gazing at the rugged pile behind the town with a sense of
fascination. It seemed so unreal, a sort of pretty thing with pretty
little trees on it. Was it near and little, or far and big?