with a look of such murderous fury on his
face that I was glad the doctor was too drunk to appear.

His wife hearing his curses, and understanding the cause, broke out into
wailing hard to bear.

'Ah! mon petit ange! It is dat wheeskey dat's keel mon baby. Ah! mon
cheri, mon amour. Ah! mon Dieu! Ah, Michael, how often I say that
wheeskey he's not good ting.'

It was more than Slavin could bear, and with awful curses he passed
out. Mrs. Mavor laid the baby in its crib, for the convulsion had
passed away; and putting her arms about the wailing little Frenchwoman,
comforted and soothed her as a mother might her child.

'And you must help your husband,' I heard her say. 'He will need you
more than ever. Think of him.'

'Ah oui! I weel,' was the quick reply, and from that moment there was no
more wailing.

It seemed no more than a minute till Slavin came in again, sober, quiet,
and steady; the passion was all gone from his face, and only the grief
remained.

As we stood leaning over the sleeping child the little thing opened its
eyes, saw its father, and smiled. It was too much for him. The big man
dropped on his knees with a dry sob.

'Is there no chance at all, at all?' he whispered, but I could give
him no hope. He immediately rose, and pulling himself together, stood
perfectly quiet.

A new terror seized upon the mother.

'My baby is not--what you call it?' going through the form of baptism.
'An' he will not come to la sainte Vierge,' she said, crossing herself.

'Do not fear for your little one,' said Mrs. Mavor, still with her arms
about her. 'The good Saviour will take your darling into His own arms.'

But the mother would not be comforted by this. And Slavin too, was
uneasy.

'Where is Father Goulet?' he asked.

'Ah! you were not good to the holy pere de las tam, Michael,' she
replied sadly. 'The saints are not please for you.'

'Where is the priest?' he demanded.

'I know not for sure. At de Landin', dat's lak.'

'I'll go for him,' he said. But his wife clung to him, beseeching him
not to leave her, and indeed he was loth to leave his little one.

I found Craig and told him the difficulty. With his usual promptness, he
was ready with a solution.

'Nixon has a team. He will go.' Then he added, 'I wonder if they would
not like me to baptize their little one. Father Goulet and I have
exchanged offices before now. I remember how he came to one of my people
in my absence, when she was dying, read