THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 18, 1904.
'Wb March of the White Guard, by Sir Gilbert Parker
A Moving Story Whose Scene Is Laid in the Far North
i One Brave Man's Devotion.
SK Mr. Hume to come here for
a moment, Gosse," said Field,
the Chfef Factor, as he turned
from the frosty window of his office
at Fort Providence, one of .the Hud
son's Bay Company's posts. The serv
ant, or more properly. Orderly Sergeant
Gosse, late of the Scots Guards, de
parted on his errand, glancing: curious
ly at his master's face as he did so. The
'Chief Factor, as he turned round, un
clasped his hands from behind him,
took a few stops forward, then standing:
tetlll in the center of the room, read
carefully through a letter which he
had held In the fingers of his right
hand for the last ten minutes as ho
Ecanned the wastes of snow that
stretched away beyond Great Slave
Lake to the Arctic Circle and the Bar
ren Grounds. He meditated a moment,
went back to the window, looked out
again, shook his head negatively, and
with a sigh walked over to the huge
fireplace. He stood thoughtfully consid
ering the floor until the door opened
and Sub-factor Jaspar Hume entered.
'The Factor looked up and said: "Hume,
I've something here that's been worry
ing me a bit. This letter came in the
'monthly batch this morning. It Is from
c woman. The company sends another
commending the cause of the woman
and urging us to do all that is possible
to meet her wishes. It seems that her
husband Is a civil engineer of consider
able fame. He had a commission to ex
plore the Copper Mine region and a por
tion of the Barren Grounds. He was to
be gone six months. He has been gone
a year. He left Fort Good Hope, skirt
ed Great Bear Lake, and reached the
Copper Mine River. Then he sent back
all of the Indians who accompanied
him but two, they bearing the mes
eage that he would make the Great
Fish River and come down by Great
Blave Lake to Fort Providence. That
was nine months ago. He has not come
here, nor to any other of the forts, nor
has any word been received from him.
His wife, backed by the H. B. C, urges
that a relief party be sent to look for
hlm. They and she forget that this Is
sthe Arctic region, and that the task
lis a well-nigh hopeless one. He ought
Ito have been here six months ago. Now,
rhow can we do anything? Our fort is
email, and there Is always danger of
trouble with the Indians. We can't
force men to join a relief party like
this, and who will volunteer? "Who
would lead such a party and who will
make up the party to be led?"
The brown face of Jaspar Hume was
not mobile. It changed in expression
but seldom: it preserved a steady and
satisfying character of intelligence and
force. The eyes, however, were of an
Inquiring, debating kind, that moved
from one thing to another as if to get a
sense of balance before opinion or Judg
ment was expressed. The face had re
mained impassive, but the eyes had
kindled a little as the Factor talked.
To the factor's despairing question
there -was not an immediate reply. The
eves were debating. But they suddenly
Bteadicd and Jaspar Hume said sen
tentiously. "A relief party should go.
"Yes, yes; but who is to lead them?"
Again the eyes debated.
"Read her letter," said the Factor,
handing him it.
Jaspar Hume took it and mechanically
scanned It. , x A . ,
The Factor had moved toward the table
for his, pipe or he would have seen the
other start, and his nostrils slightly quiver
as his eyes grew conscious of what they
were looking at. Turning quickly, Jaspar
Hume walked toward the window as if
for more light, and with his back to his
superior he read 'the letter Then he
turned and said, "I think this thing should
be done."
The Factor shrugged his shoulders
Bllghtly: "WelL as to that, I think so
too, but thinking and doing are two dif
ferent things, Hume."
"Will you leave the matter in my hands
until the morning?"
"Yes, of course; and glad to do so. You
tare the only man who can arrange the
affair. If It Is to be done at all. But I
tell you, as you know, that everything
will depend upon a leader, even if you
secure the men. ... So you had bet
ter keep the letter for tonight. It may
help you to get the men together. A
woman's handwriting will do more than
a man's word any time."
Jaspar Hume's eyes had been looking
at the Factor, but they were studying
Bomethlng else. His face seemed not 'quite
bo fresh as it was a few minutes before.
"I will see you at 10 o'clock tomorrow
morning, Mr. Field," he said quietly.
"Will you let Gosse come to me in an
bour?"
"Certainly. Good-night."
Jaspar Hume let himself out. He walked
across a small square to a loghouse and
opened the door, which creaked and
shrieked with the frost. A dog sprang
upon him as he did so, and rubbed its
head against his breast. He touched the
head as if it had been that of a child,
and said, L!e down, Jacques."
It did so, but it watched him as he
doffed his dogskin cap and buffalo coat.
He looked round the room slowly once
as if he wished to fix it clearly and deeply
In his mind. Then he sat down and held
near the firelight the letter the Factor
had given him. His features grew set
and stern as he read it. Once he paused
in the reading and looked into the fire,
drawing his breath sharply between his
teeth. Then he read It to the end without
a sign. A pause, and he said, "So this is
how the lines meet again, Varre Lepage!"
Ho read the last sentence of the letter
aloud:
In the hoDe that you may soon give mo
rood news of my husband, I am. with alf
respect. Sincerely yours,
ROSE LEPAGE.
Again he repeated, "With all respect,
sincerely yours. Rose Lepage."
The. dog Jacques looked up. Perhaps
it delected something unusual in the
voice. It rose, came over, and laid its
head on its master's knee. Jaspar Hume's
hand fell gently on the head, and he
said to the fire, "Rose Lepage, you can
write to Factor Field what you dare not
write to your husband If you knew! You
might say to him then, 'With all love,'
hut not, 'With all respect. "
He folded the letter and put it in his
pocket. Then he took the dog's head be
tween his hands and said: "Listen,
Jacques, and I will tell you a story." The
dog blinked, and pushed Its nose against
its master's arm.
"Ten years- ago two young men who
had studied and graduated together at
the same college were struggling together
in their profession as civil engineers. One
was Varre Lepage and the other was
Jaspar Hume. The one was brilliant
and persuasive, the other was persistent
and studious, varre Lepage could nave
succcded in any profession; Jaspar Hume
had only heart and mind for one. Only
for one, Jacques, you understand. He
lived in it, he loved it, he saw great things
to be achieved in It. He had got an idea.
He worked at it night and day, he thought
it out, he developed it, he perfected it,
he was ready to give it to the world.
But he was seized with illness, became
blind, and was ordered to a warm climate
for a year. He left his idea, his inven
tion, behind him his complete Idea. While
he was gone his bosom friend stole his
perfected idea yes, stole his perfected
idea, and sold it for $20,000. He was called
a genius, a great inventor. And then he
married her. You don't know her,
Jacques. You never saw pretty Rose
Varcoe, who, liking two men. chose the
one who was handsome and brilliant, and
whom the world called a genius. Why
"A
didn't Jaspar Hume expose him. Jacques ?4&nd
Proof is not always easy, and then he
had to think of her. One has to think of
a woman in such a-case, Jacques. Even a
dog can see that"
He was silent for a- moment, and then
JEFF HYDE.
he said, "Come, Jacques. You will keep
secret what I show you."
He went to a large box in the corner,
unlocked itf and took out a model made
of brass and copper and smooth but un
polished wood.
"After 10 years of banishment, Jacques,
he has worked out another idea, you see.
It should be worth ten tlmea the other,
and the world called the other the work of
a genius, dog."
Then he became silent, the animal
watching him the while. It had seen him
working at this model for many a day, but
had never heard him talk so much at a
time as he had done this last ten minutes.
Jaspar Hume was generally a silent man;
decisive even to severity, careless car
riers and shirking under-offlcers thought.
Yet none could complain that he was un
just He was simply straightforward, and
he had no "sympathy with those who were
not the same. He had carried a drunken
Indian on his back for miles, and from a
certain death by frost He had, for want
of a more convenient punishment, prompt
ly knocked down Jeff Hyde, the sometime
bully of the fort, for appropriating a bun
dle of furs belonging to a French half
breed, Gaspe Toujours. But he nursed
Jeff Hyde through an attack of pneu
monia, insisting at the same time that
Gaspe Toujours should help him. The re
sult of It all was that Jeff Hyde and
Gaspe Toujours became constant allies.
They both formulated their oaths by Jas
par Hume. The Indian, Cloud-ln-the-Sky,
though "by word never thanking his res
cuer, could not be Induced to leave the
fort, except on some mission with which
Jaspar Hume was connected. He pre
ferred living an undignified, an un-Indlan
life, and earning his food and shelter by
coarsely laboring with his hands. He
came at least twice a week to Jaspar
Hume's log-house, and, setting down silent
and cross-legged before the fire, watched
the Sub-factor working at his drawings
and calculations. Sitting so for perhaps
an hour or more, and smoking all the
time, he would rise, and with a grunt,
which was answered by a kindly nod,
would pass out as silently as he came.
And now as Jaspar Hume stood looking
at his "Idea," Cloud-ln-the-Sky entered,
let his blanket fall by the hearthstone and
sat down upon It If Jaspar Hume saw
him or heard him, he at least gave no sign
at first He said In a low tone to the
dog, "It Is finished, Jacques; It is ready
for the world."
Then he put it back, locked the box.
and turned toward Cloud-ln-the-Sky and
the fireplace. The Indian grunted; the
other nodded with the debating look again
dominant lh his eyes. The Indian met the
look with stoic calm. There was some
thing in Jaspar Hume's habitual reticence
and decisiveness In action which appealed
more to Cloud-ln-the-Sky than any free
dom of speech could possibly have done.
Jaspar Hume sat down, handed the In
dian a pipe and tobacco, and, with arms
folded, watched the fire. For half an hour
they sat so, white man, Indian, and dog.
Then Jaspar Hume rose, went to a cup
board, took out some sealing-wax and
matches, and In a moment melted wax
was dropping upon the lock of the box
containing his Idea, He had just finished
this as Sergeant Gosse knocked at the
door, and Immediately after entered the
room. ,
"Gosse," said the Sub-factor, "find Jeff
Hyde, Gaspe Toujours, and Late Carscal-.
len, and bring them here." Sergeant
Gosse immediately departed upon this er
rand. Jaspar Hume then turned to
Cloud-ln-the-Sky, and said, "Cloud-In-the-Sky,
I want you to go a long journey
hereaway to the Barren Grounds. Have
12 dogs ready by 9 o'clock tomorrow morn
ing." Cloud-in-tho-Sky shook his head
thoughtfully, and then after a pause said,
"Strong-back go too?" (Strong-back was
his name for Jaspar Hume.) But the
other either did not or would not hear.
The Indian, however, appeared satisfied,
for he smoked harder afterward, and
grunted to himself many times. A few
moments passed, and then Sergeant
Gosse entered, followed by Jeff Hyde,
Gaspe Toujours and Late Carscallen.
Late Carscallen had got his name
"Late" from having been called "The
Late Mr. Carscallen" by the Chief Fac
tor because of his slowness. Slow as
he was, however, the stout Scotsman
had more than once proved himself
sound and true according to Jasper
Hume's ideas. He was, of course, the
last to enter.
The men grouped themselves about
the fire. Late Carscallen getting 'the
coldest corner. Each man drew his to
bacco from his pocket, and, cutting it,
waited for Sub-factor Hume to speak.
His eyes were debating as they rested
on the four Then he took out Rose
Lepage's letter, and, with the group
looking at him now, he read it aloud.
When it was finished Cloud-ln-the-Sky
gave a guttural assent, and Gaspe Tou
jours, looking at Jeff Hyde, said: "It
is cold in the Barren Grounds. We
shall need much tabac" These men
could read without difficulty Jasper
Hume's reason for summoning them.
To Gaspe Toujours' remark Jeff Hyde
nodded affirmatively, and then all
looked at Late Carscallen. He opened
his heavy jaws once or twice with an
animal-like sound, and then he said, in
a general kind of way:
"To the Barren Grounds. But who
leads?"
Jaspar Hume was writing on a slip
of paper, and he did not reply. The
fatfes of three of the men showed lust
a shade of anxiety. They had their
opinions, but they were not sure.
Cloud-in-the-Sky. however, grunted at
them, and raised the bowl of his dIdo
toward the Sub-factor. The anxiety
then seemed to oe dispelled.
For 10 minutes more they sat so, all
silent. Then Jaspar Hume rose, hand
ed the slip of paper to Sergeant Gosse,
said: "Attend to that at once.
Gosse. Examine the food and blankets
closely.
The five were left alone
Then Jaspar Hume spoke: "Jeff
Hyde, Gaspe Toujour. Late
"With His Sack to Hi Superior, ha , Read
the Letter."
and Cloud-in-the-Sky, this man, alive
or dead. Is between hero and the Bar
ren Grounds. He must be found for
his wife's sake." He handed Jeff Hyde
her letter. Jeff Hyde rubbed, his fingers
before he touched the delicate and
perfumed missive. Its delicacy seemed
to bewilder him. He said in a rough
but kindly way," "Hope to die if I
don't and passed it on to Gaspe Tou
jours, who did not find it necessary to
speak. His comrade had answered for
him. Late Carscallen held It Inquis
itively for a moment, and then his Jaws
opened and shut as If he were about
to speak. But before he did so the
Sub-factor said: "It Is a long journey
and a hard one.. Those who go may
never come back. But this man was
working for his country, and ho has
got a wife a good wife!" He held up
the letter. "Late Carscallen wants to
know who will lead you. Can you
trust me? I will give you a leader that
you will follow to the Barren Grounds.
Tomorrow you will know who he -is.
Men, are you satisfied? Will you do
it?"
The four rose, and Cloud-in-the-Sky
nodded approvingly many times. The
Sub-factor held out his hand Each
man shook it Jeff Hyde first; and ho
said: ''Close up ranks for the H. B.
C!" (IL B. C meaning, of course, Hud
son's Bay Company.)
With a good man to lead them they
would have stormed, alone, the Heights
of Balaklava.
Once more Jaspar Hume spoke: "Go
to Gosse and get your outfits at 9 to
morrow morning. Cloud-in-the-Sky,
havo your sleds at the store at 8 o'clock
to be loaded. Then all meet me at
10:15 at the office of the Chief Factor.
Good night"
As they passed out Into the semi
Arctic night Late Carscallen with an
unreal obstinacy said: "Slow march to
the Barren Grounds but who leads?"
Left alone, the Sub-factor sat down
to the pine table at one end of tho
room, and after a short hesitation be
gan to write. For hours he sat there,
rising only to put wood on the fire.
The result was three letters the larg
est addressed to a famous society in
London, one to a solicitor in Montreal,
and one to Mr. Field, the Chief Factor.
They were all sealed carefully Then
Jaspar Hume rose, took out his knife
and went over to the box as if to
break the red seal. He paused, howev
er, sighed, and put the knife back
again. As he did so he felt something
touch his leg. It was the dog. Jaspar
Hume drew In a sharp breath and
said: "It was all ready, Jacques; and
in another three months I should have
been in London with It But it will
go whether I go or not whether I go
or not, Jacques." The dog sprang up
and put his head against his master's
breast
"Good dog! good dog! It's all right,
Jacques; however, it goes, it's all
fight!"
' Then the dog lay down and watched
the man until he drew the blankets to
his chin, and sleep drew oblivion over
a fighting but masterly soul.
II.
AT 10 o'clock next morning Jaspar
Hume presented himself at the
Chief Factor's office. He bore with him
the letters he had written the night
before.
The Factor said, "Well, Hume, I am
glad to see you. The woman's letter
was on my mind all night Have you
Mr. Dooley
it
ELL, Charles Wagner has been
havln' th' fine old time over
here," said Mr. Dooley.
"Is that th' man that wrote th music?"
asked Mr. Hennessy.
"No," said Mr. Dooley, "that was Cai.
This Is Charles Wagner an he's th' au
thor Iv th' two hundherd thousandth book
that Prisldlnt Rosenfelt had read since th
first iv Novimber. 'TIs called 'Th' Simple
Life.' He cudden't find it In France so
he come lookin' f'r-it among th' simple
an pastbral people In this counthry. Ho
found it He come over in a large but
simple ship Iv twinty thousan' . simple
horse power an landed in th simple vil
lage iv New York, where he was met by
a comity iv simple little village lads an
lasses an' escorted to th' simple Wal
dorf an Installed In a room simply deco
rated in purple plush. That avenln he
attlnded a meetln iv th' Fifth-Avnoo Fe
male Simplicity Club. A lady wearln a
collar iv dimon's whose value was simply
fabulous recited passages fr'm 'Th Sim
ple Life. Afther this a simple supper iv
terrapin an champagne was served. He
thin took a simple Pullman thrafca to
Wash'nton where he attlnded a rayclp
tlon at which a lady iv th diplomatic
core, which is all that Is left iv diplo
jnacy nowadays, poked th' wife lv a Con
gressman with a lorgnette f'r goln into
supper ahead iv her. Later he was ray
celved be th simple Prlsidint, who said
to him: 'Charles, he says, Tve been
preachln ye'er book to me counthrymen,'
he says. 'Simplicity an a sthrong navy
is th' watchword iv this Administration,"
he says.
"Since thin Charles has been whoopln
up th simple life. They've showed him
Ivrythlng simple we have. He's seen th'
subway, th dhralnage canal, th stock
exchange. Tom Lawson. Jawn D. Rocke
fellar an Mrs. Chadwick. He's looped th
loops, shot th shoots, bad a ride in a
pathrol wagon, played th races an met
Dave Hill. Th las seen iv him ho was
anything to propose? I suppose noj,"
he added despairingly, as he looked j
closely Into, the face of the other.
"Yes, Mr' Field, I propose this: that i
the expedition shall start at noon to- ;
day."
"Shall start at noon today?"
"In two hours."
"But, who are the party?"
"Jeff Hyde, Gaspe Toujours, Lato ;
Carscallen and Cloud-in-the-Sky."
"And who leads them, Hume? Who i
leads?"
"With your permission, sir, I do."
"You, Hume! You! But man, con
sider the danger! And then there is
there is, your invention.
"I have considered all. Here are
three letters. If we do not come back
in three months, you will please send
this one, with the box in my room, to
the address on the envelope; this is for
a solicitor In Montreal, which you will
also forward as soon as possible; this
last one Is for yourself; but you will
not open It until the three months have
passed. Have I your permission to lead
these men? They would not go with
out me."
"I know that, I know that, Hume. I
hate to have you go, but I can't say
no. Go, and good luck go with you."
Here the manly old Factor turned
his head. He knew that Jaspar Hume
had done right He knew the possible
sacrifice this man was making of all
his hopes, of his very life; and his
sound Scotch heart appreciated the act
to the fulL But he .did not know all.
He did not know that Jaspar Hume
was starting to look for the man who
had robbed him of youth and hope and
genius and home.
"Here is a letter that the wife has
written to her husband In the hope that
he Is alive. You will take it with you,
Hume. And the other she wrote to me,
shall I keep it?" He held out his hand.
"No. sir, I will keep it, if you will
allow me. It Is my commission, you
know." And the shadow of a smile
hovered about Jaspar Hume's lips.
The Factor smiled kindly as he re
plied, "Ah, yes. your commission Cap
tain Jaspar Hume of of what, Hume?"
Just then the door opened and there
entered the four men whom we saw
around the Sub-factor's fire the night
before. They were dressed in white
blanket costumes from head to foot
white woolen capotes covering the gray
fur caps they wore. Jaspar Hume ran
his eye over them and then answered
the Factor's question: "Of the White
Guard, sir."
"Good," was the reply. "Men, you are
going on a relief expedition one in which
there Is danger. You need a good leader.
You have one In Captain Jaspar Hume."
Jeff Hyde shook his head at the others
with a pleased I-told-you-so expression;
Cloud-in-the-Sky grunted his deep ap
proval; and Late Carscallen smacked his
lips In a satisfied manner and rubbed his
leg with a schoolboy sense of enjoyment
The Factor continued: "In the name of
the Hudson's Bay Company I will say
that If you come back, having done your
duty faithfully, you shall be well re
warded. And I believe you will come
back, if it is in human power to do so."
Here Jeff Hyde said: "It. isn't for re
ward we're doln' it Mr. Field, but be
cause Captain Hume wished It because
we bellevd he'd lead us; and for the lost
fellow's wife. We wouldn't have said,
we'd do it If It wasn't for him that's
just called us the White Guard."
Under the bronze of the Sub-factor's
face there spread a glow more red than
brown, and he said simply: "Thank you.
Remarks on
Dooley "He's th' author iv trie two hundred thousandth hook
that Prlsidint Rosenfelt has Tead since th' first iv November."
" They've showed "Wagner ivry thing simple we have. He's seen
the subway, the stock exchange, Tom Lawson, Jawn D. Rockefeller
an' Mrs. Chadwick. Whin he goes home to his simple life in Paris,
he's goin' to have a ticker put in his study. He is undherstood to
favor sellui' copper on bulges."
"Was the wurruld iver anny more simple thin it is today? IJjet
ye there was a good dale iv talk about Adam an' Eve dhressin.' os
tentatiously an' havin' th' King iv Belgim's ancestor to supper with
thim."
climbln Into a private car in a fur-lined
coat an' a plug hat Whin he goes home
to his simple life In Paris, he's goin to
have a ticker put In hlsstudy. He i3
undershtud to favor sellln copper on
bulges.
"I haven't read his book, but Hogan says
it's a good wan an I'm goin' to read it
afther Tve read th Bible an Emerson,
which Mike Ah earn rlcommended to me
th. year lv th big fire. Th Idee is that
-no matther what ye ar-re, ye must be
simple . If ye're rich, be simply rich; If
ye're poor, be simply poor; If ye're nay
ther, be nayther, but be simple about It
Ye don't have to be gln'rous to be simple.
He makes a sthrong pint lv that (Re
gards to Russell Sage.) It isn't nlclssary
to open ye'er purse, says Charles. If
ye're a miser, be a simple miser. It ain't
tsslntlal to be poor to be simple. A poor
man walkln th sthreet is far less simple
thin a rich man lollla back In his car
riage an' flgurln' out simple inthrest on
his cuff. Th' poor man is envious iv th'
rich man, but th' rich man Is not envious
iv th' poor man. If ye're a flower, says
he, be a flower; if ye're a bur-rd, bo a
bur-rd; if a horse, a horse; If a mule, a
mule; If a hummin' bur-rd, a hummln'
bur-rd; if a polecat, a polecat; If a man,
a man. But always be simple, be it aver
so complex. '
"Th on'y thing Hogan an I can't make
GLOUD-Df-THE-SKY.
men" for they had all nodded assent to
Jeff Hyde's words "Come with me to
the store. We will start at noon."
And at noon the White Guard stood
in front of tho store on which the Brit
ish flag was hoisted with another under
It bearing the magic letters, H. B. C:
magic, because they have opened to the
world regions that seemed destined never
to know the touch of civilization. The
few Inhabitants of the Fort had gath-,
ered; the dogs and loaded sleds were at
the door. The White Guard were there
too all but their leader. It lacked but
two minutes to 12 when Jaspar Hume
came from his house, dressed also in the
white blanket costume, and followed by
his dog, Jacques. In a moment more he
had placed Jacques at the head of the
first team of dogs. They were to havo
their leader too; and they testified to the
fact by a bark of approval. Punctually
at noon, Jaspar Hume shook hands with
the Factor, said a quick good-bye to tho
rest, called out a friendly "How!" to the
Indians standing near, and to the sound
of a hearty cheer, heartier perhaps be
cause none had a confident hope that the
five would come back, the March of the
White Guard began.
III.
IT IS 18 days after. In the shadow
of a little island of. pines, that lies in
a shivering waste of ice and snow, the
White Guard camp. They are able to
do this night what they have-not done
for days dig a great grave of snow, and
building a fire of plno wood at each end
of this strange house, get protection and
something like comfort They sit close
to the fires. Jaspar Hume Is writing with
numbed fingers. The extract that fol
lows is taken from hl3 diary. It tells that
day s life, and so gives an Idea of harder.
sterner days that they have spent and
win spena, on tni3 weary journey.
"December 25 This Is Christmas day
and Camp Twenty-seven. We have
marched only five miles today. We are
SO miles from Great Fish River, and the
worst yet to do. We have discovered no
signs. Jeff Hyde has had a bad two
days with his frozen foot Gaspe Tou
Jours helps him nobly. Ono of the dogs
died this morning. Jacques is a great
leader. This night's shelter is a god
send. Cloud-ln-the-Sky has a plan where
by some of us will sleep well. We are In
latitude 63 deg. 47 mln., and longitude
112 deg. 32 mln. 14 sec. Have worked
out lunar observations. Have- marked a
tree JH-27, and raised cairn No. 3. We
are able to celebrate Christmas day jvith
a good basin of tea, and our standby of
beans cooked In fat I was right about
them; they have great sustaining power.
Tomorrow we will start at 10 o'clock."
The writing done. Jaspar Hume puts
his book away and turns toward the rest
Cloud-ln-the-Sky and Late Carscallen are
smoking. Little can be seen of their
faces; they are muffled to the eyes.
Gaspe Toujours Is drinking a basin of
tea, and Jeff Hyde is fitfully dozing by
tho fire. The dogs are above In the tent,
all but Jacques, who tonight is permitted
to be near his master.. The Sub-factor
rises, takes from a knapsack a small tin
pall, and puts It near the fire. This, ope
ration Is watched, by the others. Then
he takes five little cups that fit snugly
Into each other, separates them, and puts
them also near the fire. None of tho
party speaks. A change seems to pass
over the faces of all except Cloud-In-the-Sky.
He smokes on unmoved. At length
the Sub-factor speaks cheerily: "Now,
men, before we turn In we'll do some
thing in honor of the day. Liquor we
none of us have touched since we started;
the Simple Life
out fr'm th' book is what Is simplicity.
I may be a simpleton. Hinnlssy, but I
don't know. Father Tom Burke was 40
years wrltln a book on 'Simplicity,' an'
he nlver got beyond th' first slntlnce,
which was: It Is simply Impossible to de
fine simplicity.' It ain't simple to-be poor;
it ain't simple to be without clothes; It
ain't simple to be pious or sober. Ye're
pretty simple to believe all I tell ye, but
ye may not be as simple as I think an'
hope. A lie may be as simple as th
thruth. Th' fact lv th' matther is that
th' rale thruth is nlver simple. What wo
call thruth an' pass around fr'm hand to
hand Is on'y a kind iv a currency that we
use f'r convanlence. There are a good
manny counterfeiters an a lot Iv th
counterfeits mus' be In circulation. I
haven't anny question that I take in
manny iv thim over me intellechool bar
ivry day an pass out riot a few. Some
iv th' counterfeits has as much precious
metal In thim as th' rale goods, on'y they
don't bear th Govermlnt stamp.
"What th dlvvle is simplicity, anny
how? Simple is a foolish worrud whin
ye come to think it over. Simple, sim
ple, simple. It's a kind lv a mixture iv
silly an dimple. I don't know how to
go about bein simple. Th Lord didn't
make me that way. I can imagine sim
plicity, but I can't just put me hand on
but back there In tho fort, and maybe
In other places too, they will be think
ing of us; so we'll drink a health to
them, though it's but a spoonful, and to
the day when we see them again W
The cups were passed around, xne
Sub-factor measured out a very small
portion to each. They were not men of
uncommon sentiment; their lives were
rigid and Isolated and .severe. Fireside
comforts under fortunate conditions tnej
saw but seldom, and they were not given
to expressing their feelings demonstra
tively. But each man then, save Cloud-
ln-the-Sky, had some memory worth a
resurrection, and hearts are hearts even
under all uncouthness. Jasper Hume
raised his cup: the rest followed his ex
ample. "To absent friends and the day
when we see them again!" ho said; and
they all drank. Gaspe Toujours solemnly.
and as if no one was near, made the
sign of the cross: for his memory was
with a dark-eyed, soit-cheeKea peasant
girl of the parish of Saint Gabrlelle, whom
he had left behind five years before, and
had never seen since. Word had come
from the parish priest that she was dy
ing, and. though he wrote back In his
homely patois of his grief, and begged
that the good father would write again.
no word had ever come, and ho thought
of her now as one for whom the candles
had been lighted and masses had been
said.
But Jeff Hyde's eyes were bright, and,
suffering as he was the heart In him was
Drave ana nopeiui. ne wus uuuwas j
a glorious Christmas day upon the Mada
waska River three years agone; of Adam
Henry, the blind fiddler; of bright, warm
hearted Pattie Chown, the hlle of tho
ball, and the long drive home in the frosty
night
Late Carscallen was thinking of a
brother whom he had heard preach his
first sermon in Edinburgh ten years be
fore. And Late Carscallen, slow of speech
and thought had been full of pride and
love of that brilliant brother. But they,
in the natural course of things, drifted
apart: the slow and uncouth one to make
his home at last not far from the Arctic
Circle, and to be this night on his way to
the Barren Grounds. But as he stood
with the cup to his lips ho recalled the
words of a newspaper paragraph of a few
months before. It made reference to the
fact that "the Reverend James Carscal
len, D. D., preached before Her Majesty
on Whitsunday, and had the honor of
lunching with Her Majesty afterward."
And Late Carscallen rubbed his left hand
Joyfully against his blanketed leg and
drank.
Cloud-ln-the-Skys thoughts were with
the present, and his "Ugh!" of approval
was one of tho senses purely. Instead of
drinking to absent friends he looked at
the Sub-factor and said "How!" He
drank to the Sub-factor.
And Jaspar Hume, the Sub-factor, what
were his thoughts?
His was a memory of childhood; of a
house beside a swift-flowing river, where
a gentle widowed mother braced her
heart against misfortune and denied her
self and slaved that her son might bo
educated. He had said to her that some
day he would be a great man, and she
would be paid back a hundred-fold. And
he worked hard at school, very hard.
But one cold day of Spring a message
came to the school, and he sped home
ward to the house beside the dark river
down which the ice was floating he
would remember that floating ice to his
dying day and entered a quiet room
where a white-faced woman was breath
ing away her life. And he fell at her
side and kissed her hand and called to
her; and she waked for a moment only
and smiled on him, and sald:r "Be good,
my boy, and God will make you great."
And then she said she was cold. And
some one felt her feet a kind old soul
who shook her head sadly at the mother
and looked pityingly at him; and a voice
rising out of a strange smiling langour
murmured "I'll away, I'll away to the
Promised Land to tho Promised Land!
It is cold so cold God keep my boy!"
And the voice ceased, and the kind old
soul who had looked at him pityingly
folded her arms about him and drew his
brown head to her breast and kissed him
with flowing eyes and whispered "Come
away, dear, come away."
But he came back in the night and sat
beside her, and would not go away, but
remained there till the sun grew bright,
and then through another day and night
until they bore her out of the little house
by the riyer to the frozen hill-side. And
the world was empty and the Icy river
seemed warmer than his heart
And sitting here in this Winter desola
tion Jaspar Hume beholds these scenes of
twenty years before and follows himself,
a poor dispensing clerk in a doctor's of
fice, working for that dream of achieve
ment in which his mother believed; for
which she hoped. And following further
the boy that was himself, he saw a
friendless first-year man at college, soon,
however, to make a friend of Varre Le
page, and to see always the best of that
friend, being himself so true. And the
day came when they both graduated to
gether in science, a bright and happy day,
succeeded by one still brighter, when they
b'oth entered a great firm as junior part
ners. Then came the meeting with Rose
Varcoe; and he thought of how he praised
his friend Varre Lepage to her, and
brought that friend to be introduced to
her. He recalled all those visions that
came to him when, his professional
Some Confusion in the Irish Philosopher's Mind
as to the Exact Meaning of Simplicity.
It No more can Charles Wagner. -Tell
me, Charles, how to lead th simple life.
Tell me. Thaydore Rosenfelt, simple
sowl, what I must do. I'll go as far as
ye like. Hand out th raycelpt I'll
make mesllf a simple man if I have to
balce in a slow oven to do it What'll
I do? Throw away th superfiooitles,
says Hogan, out lv Charles, his book.
But what ar-re th superflooties? Til
turn out th' lllcthric light, shut off th'
furnace an' desthroy th cash raygls
ter be which complex roacheen I keep
mesllf fr'm robbln mesilf. But am I
anny moro simple because I'm holding'
out on mesilf with frozen fingers be a
tallow dip? Was the worruld iver anny
more simple than it is today? I doubt
It I bet ye there was a good dale iv
talk about Adam an' Eve dhressin os
tentatiously an' havin' th King iv
Beljlum's ancesthor to supper with
thim. Hogan was readin me out iv a
book th' other day about th' simple
fathers lv th' counthry. It was a tur
rblo shock to me. This fellow says that
Robert Morris, who I supposed sacri
ficed his fortune fr liberty, injooced
th Govermlnt to pay good money f'r
bad; Jawn Adams wanted to make a
kingdom iv th' counthry; while as f'r
Georgo Wash'nton, he acted like a coal
oil Jawnny whin he wint to th' White
House, an' his wife put on insuffrable
airs an' had such bad table manners
that this here pathrlte was compelled
to leave th room an run home to put
It down in his diary.
"An there ye ar-re. Th' more I think
th less simple simplicity becomes. Says
Wagner, via Hogan, a man shud bo
like a lamp, an' th more light he sheds
th betther man he Is. That's th
throuble with lvrybody that thrios to
advise mo to bo" something I ain't Whin
I run him into a corner an' say: 'Com
on, now, an make good-' 'Show me th
way, he tells mo I'm a lamp, or a three,
or a snowflake blown be th' winds, or
a bur-rd in a gilded cage, or a paint
brush or a ship, or something else. Bu
says I: 'I'm none iv these fine thing.
I'm a kind iv a man an' I'm not min
tioned in th botany or th mail ordnor
list Tell me what I must do. An' h
looks me in th' eye anr says he: 2e a
man.' And' there ye ar-re. If a man'
triumphs achieved, he should have a
happy home, and a happy face, and faces,
by his fireside. And the face was to be
that of Rose Varcoe, and the others, faces
of those who should be like her and like
himself. He saw,f or rather felt, that face
clouded and anxious when he went away
ill and blind for health's sake. He did
not write. The doctors forbade him that
He did not ask her to write, for his was
so strong and steadfast a nature that he
did not need letters to keep him true;
and he thought If she cared for him sho
must be the same. He did not under
stand a woman's heart how it needs re
membrances and needs to give remem
brances. Looking at Jaspar Hume's faco in tho
light of this fire It seems calm and cold,
yet behind it is an agony of memory, the
memory of tho day when ho discovered
that Varre Lepage was married to Rose
Varcoe, and that tho trusted friend had
grown famous and well-to-do on the off
spring of his brain. His first thought had
,been ono of fierce anger and determina
tion to expose this man who had falsified
all trust But then came tho thought of
the girl, and, most of all, there came tho
words of his dying mother: "Bo good, my
boy, and God will make you great," and
for his mother's sake ho had compassion
on the girl, and sought no revenge upon
her husband. Rare type of man, in a
sordid, unchlvalrlc world! And now, ten
years later, he did not regret-that he had
stayed his hand. The world had ceased
to call Varre Lepage a genius. He had
not fulfilled the hope that was held of
him. This Jaspar Hume knew from oc
casional references in scientific journals.
And he was making this journey
to save, if he could, Varre Lepage's
life. And he has no regret Though
Just on the verge of a new
era in his career to give to the world
the fruit of ten years thought and la
bor, he had set all behind him that he
might be true to tho friendship of his
youth, that he might be loyal to his
manhood, that he might be clear of the
strokes of conscience to the last hour
of his life.
Looking round him now, the debating
look comes again into his eyes. He
places his hand in his breast and lots it
rest there for a moment, the look be
comes certain and steady, the hand Is
drawn out, and In it Is a Book of Com
mon Prayer. Upon the fly-leaf Is writ
ten, "Jane Hume, to her dear son Jaspar,
on his 12th birthday."
These men of the White Guard are not
used to religious practices whatever their
past has been in that regard, and at any
other time they might have been sur
prised at this action of Jaspar Hume.
Under some circumstances it might have
lessened their opinion of him, but his in
fluence over them now was complete.
They knew they were getting nearer to
him than they had ever done; even Cloud-ln-the-Sky
appreciated that He spoke no
word to them, but looked at them and
stood up. They all did the same. Jeff
Hyde, leaning on the shoulders of Gaspo
Toujours. He read first, four verses of
tho 31st Psalm, then followed the prayer
of St Chrysostom, and the beautiful col
lect which appeals to the Almighty to
mercifully look upon the infirmities of
men, and to stretch forth his hand to
keep and defend them all In dangers and
necessities. Lato Carscallen, after a
long pause, said "Amen," and Jeff Hyde
said in a whisper to Gaspo Toujours,
"That's to thex point Infirmities and dan
gers and necessities is what troubles us."
Immediately after, at a sign from tho
Sub-factor, Cloud-ln-the-Sky began to
transfer the burning wood from one fire
to the other until only hot ashes were
left where a great blaze had been. Over
these ashes pine twig3 and branches were
spread, and over them again blankets.
The word was then given to turn In, and
Jeff Hyde, Gaspe Toujours, and Late
Carscallen lay down m this comfortable
bed. Each wished to give way to their
Captain, but he would not consent and ho
and Cloud-in-the-Sky wrapped them
selves In their blankets like mummies,
covering their heads completely, and
under the arctic sky they -slept alone
in an astuere and tenantless world.
They never knew how loftily sardonic
Nature can be who have not seen that
land where the mercury freezes in the
tubes, and there is light but no warmth
in the smile of the sun. Not Sturt in
the heart of Australia with the mer
cury bursting the fevered tubes, with
the finger-nails breaking like brittle
glass, with the Ink drying constantly
on the pen, with the hair falling off
and fading, would, If he could, have
exchanged his lot for that of the
White Guard. They are in a frozen end
lessness that stretches away to a world
where never vdice of man or clip of
wing or trend of animal Is heard. It
is the threshold to the undiscovered
country, to that untouched north
whose fields of white arc only furrowed
by the giant forces of the elements;
on whose frigid hearthstone no fire Is
ever lit; a place where the electric
phantoms of a nightless land pass and
repass, and are never still; where the
magic needle points not toward tho
north, but darkly downward, down
ward! where the sun never stretches
warm hands to him who dares confront
the terrors of eternal snow.
The White Guard sleeps!
(To be continued.)
(Thl3 story will be concluded in the next
two Issues of The Sunday Oregonlan.)
a lamp, it's because he smokes, don't
show up well in th' sunlight, an will
wan day be blown out There ar-r
other simple uses f'r lamps besided
glvin light, which is wan iv th poor
est things they do nowadays. Roths
child thrades in thim, th German Im
pror thinks, thoy ar-re on'y useful tt
throw at hi s lnimies, an' my business
is to fill thlrri with karosene.
".No, sir, they ain't anny simple life.
There's on'y life. It's a kind iv an ob
stacle race. Slnnin', repintln', slnn
in repintln. Some can jump hi?h;
some can't jump at all. Thim that jump
highest have farthest to fall. Thosa
that go farthest are ruled off f'r foulin'.
A man's no more thin a man an' h has
as manny things in him, anny wan iv
thim liable to go wrong without a mo
ment's notice, as all th' lnjlnes, tools,
lamps an other hardware figures lv
speech in a prize pome. He has to
make his clumsy repairs while undher
full headway. Lucky man If he stag
gers into port without havin caused
too manny shipwrecks on th way over.
It Isn't th' most succissf ul passage that
has caused th most shipwrecks. Ye
see, Hinnlssy, I'm a kind iv a Charle3
Wagner mesllf, on'y betther. He gets
his out iv a Fr-ronch head an' I got
mine out iv th third reader that a
little boy left in here who come f'r a
pint iv simple refrishmint fr his fath
er's complex thirst"
"I ,don't think ye know such a lot
about it" said Mr. Hennessy.
"I know more about th' simple life."
said Mr. Dooley. (Copyright, 1904, by
McClure, Phillips & Co.)
A Convenient Memory.
Mrs. B., who has passed the meridian
of life and Is ambling down its western
slope, had occasion to consult her doctor.
Before he diagnosed her illness he asked
her age.
"Doctor," said the old lady, with some
asperity. "I am just one year older than
I was this time last year when you vis
ited me professionally and asked the
same question."
"How old were you then?" asked the
doctor, "I have forgotten."
"So have L"