n back
and forth before the warrior souls of the north. Tremendous fan-shaped
shafts of opalescent fire shot toward the zenith and like search-lights
moved to and fro across the sky. The clouds became illumined with an
interior flame and glowed like diaphanous mists of gold half concealing
the vague faces of the beauteous spirits of the dead. Their billowing
edges palpitated with a tremor as of quicksilver. Within and through
this empyreal web of light marvellous scenes were simultaneously woven.
They lasted a moment's space and vanished. The natives, dancing
unrestrainedly, saw heavenly mountain slopes covered with grass of
emerald fire and glittering with starry flowers. They saw the gigantic
shadows of celestial _ahmingmah_ passing behind the clouds . . . and
here and there were the cyclopean adumbrations of great caribou, and
creatures for which they did not have a name. A tossing sea of
rippling waves of light was presently unfolded, and over it they saw
millions of birds, with wings of fire, soaring with bewildering
rapidity from horizon to zenith . . . This faded . . . Monstrous and
gorgeous flowers of living rainbow tints burst into bloom--fields of
them momentarily covered the heaven. These the natives regarded with
only half accustomed wonder, for they knew there were strange flowers
in the land of the dead.

As they danced, the colored imageries steadily faded in the growing
intensity of the great banded coronas that rose from the north. A
light of cold electric fire increasingly blazed over the heavens until
a frigid silver day, brighter than any day of sunshine, reached its
brief noon upon the earth.

Rocking their bodies and singing, the natives dispersed to their
respective igloos. Sitting on his sledge by Annadoah, Ootah dimly
heard their voices echoing into silence; he experienced terrible pains
again in his limbs and the fever in his head. Everything became dizzy,
and with a sick feeling of faintness he crept into Annadoah's igloo and
fell upon her couch.

It was in his heart to ask her once again to be his, to repeat the
protestation of his love; he felt that he had shown he deserved to win
her. But his utter weakness, and the very enthralling delight of her
soft hands on his forehead, kept him still. He lay in a semi-delirium
suffering greatly, but at heart very happy. A new peace possessed him.
Never had Annadoah caressed him before, never had he felt the tingling
thrill of her t