Page:The trail of the golden horn.djvu/292

288 Burial Service. But as she turned away from the grave and walked slowly back to the mission house, he told her all. It was the confession of a man who had fought a hard fight against his doubts, and had conquered. There was little of the sentimental about North, but his body trembled and his voice became somewhat husky as he talked. Among other things he told of the impression made upon him by the sight of the missionary maintaining his post at The Gap, and the thoughts which had come to him on the mountain trail. He had not finished his story when they reached the mission house and entered. Then it was that Marion threw her arms impetuously around his neck, and in words broken with emotion told him of her joy at the great change that had come into his life.

“It is almost too good to be true,” she said. “How I have longed and prayed that it might come some day, but I had no idea it would be so soon.”

“It is due in a large measure to you, sweetheart,” the sergeant acknowledged, giving her an affectionate kiss. “It was your love which first began to warm the coldness of my heart. I thought that such a thing was impossible until I met you. Then all that followed were like so many links in the wonderful chain of faith. I shall never forget that terrible night I spent with that raving maniac in that cabin. I comprehended then as never before the hopeless nature of unbelief and disobedience to the higher life of the Master. I shall tell you sometime of the wonderful thoughts that came to me as I watched by that wretched man. They are almost too sacred to mention, but I shall reveal them to you some day. Then when we reached The Gap in time to attend that service, and listened to the missionary’s farewell words, and later looked upon his