t was difficult
for her to eat, though the tea stimulated her temporally, and she
began presently to speak again, in a scarcely audible voice:

"The Spirit--of Hunger--followed us. The Gaunt
Gray--Wolf--was--always--behind--us.
The--Spirit--of--Death--stood--at--the--door--of the--lodge. The
spirits--were--strong--and cunning--like--the
wolverine--Manikawan--was--weak--like a rabbit."

She was out of breath again and had to rest, and Bob held the cup of
tea to her lips. With renewed strength she continued:

"Manikawan--killed--two ptarmigans--with--her--arrow.
She--ate--the--entrails--but she--gave--the meat--to the friend--of
White Brother of--the Snow. She was--not afraid--to die.
She--could--not say to--White Brother--of the Snow--when he came--'The
Spirit--of Death--has--entered--the lodge--and--taken--your--friend.'"

There was another pause. Bob could see, and Ed and Dick could see that
the Spirit of Death was even then in the lodge, and that his cold hand
was upon Manikawan's brow. Tears trickled down Bob's cheeks. He could
not check them.

"White--Brother--of--the--Snow--must--not--feel--bad.
He--must--be--strong. Manikawan--is--happy.
She--is--warm--as--when--the--sun--grows--brave--in--summer--and--
comes--to--warm--the--earth."

A smile played upon her lips.

"Manikawan--is--very--happy.
She--sees--a--light--like--the--rising--sun.
White--Brother--of--the--Snow--"

That was the end. Bob's cheeks were wet as he laid the lifeless form
upon its couch of boughs, and gently covered it with a deerskin robe;
and tears streamed down the weather-beaten cheeks of the two rough
trappers standing at his side.

Manikawan was not a Christian. She had never heard of Christ and His
saving grace. But dare any say He did not welcome her to His Father's
house?

She had renounced her own hope of life by remaining behind in the
lodge when Mookoomahn left them. In the name of love and duty she had
made the supreme sacrifice--she had laid down her life for
another--and Christ hath said: "Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends."

And, after all, did Manikawan not worship the same God that you and I
worship? Standing upon the high pinnacle of rock, looking toward the
rising sun, she offered a silent prayer to the Great Mystery, that she
might be made nobler, braver, and more generous--worthy to stand in
the presence of the Great Mystery--the Maker of heaven and earth and
all