Page:The trail of the golden horn.djvu/165

Rh citedly at the girl. Owing to the dimness of the room, and failing sight, Mr. Norris bent down over the cot and peered at the girl’s face. Then a great cry of concern broke from his lips, and dropping upon his knees he reached out trembling hands.

“It’s Zell; it’s Zell!” he exclaimed. “It’s our own lost child come back again! Quick, Kate, remove her hood and let me have a good look at her. Light the candle, Tom, and bring it here.”

When his orders had been speedily obeyed, he took the candle in his left hand, and held it so that the light would shine upon the girl’s face. Catching one of Zell’s limp, cold hands in his, he felt her pulse.

“No, she is not dead, thank God. But she needs help at once. You will take good care of her, Kate.”

“Ah, ah, Gikhi, Kate will look well after the girl,” was the quiet reply. “Tom will carry her to our cabin.”

“No, no, she must stay here,” the missionary insisted. “She has come back home, and this is the place for her. My wife, were she alive, would want our child to remain here.”

“She is not with us now, Gikhi, remember,” Tom replied. “Kate knows what to do for Zell better than white men.”

“You are right, Tom,” the missionary agreed. “Zell shall go with Kate. She is the proper one to look after her.”

“Good, good,” Tom replied, as he stooped and lifted the girl in his arms. In another minute he was out of the house, with Kate following close at his heels.

The missionary stood watching them until they passed within their own abode. He then closed the door and came over to Hugo’s side.

“You are tired,” he said. “Let me get you some-