IN THE NORTH 55

late in the evening of that last day but one. Then the
head chief, who had been working hard on those lines
with his council, came to tell the missionary, just as he
was retiring after an exceptionally hard day’s work,
that he could do nothing with Francois, who refused to
take back Marianne to whom he was legally married,
and asked that the priest himself try his hand at the
job of bringing him to more Christian sentiments.

The latter was terribly tired and sleepy; but how
could he refuse? He called to himself the recalcitrant
party, to whom he spoke as convincingly as he could,
reminded him that, contrary to the bulk of the Babine
tribe, he was baptized and legally married, even
according to the law of the whites; recalled to his
mind the good he had done and the happiness he had
experienced when, in former years, he had been acting
as the right arm of the priest, and, bringing up the
question of the premature death without the consola-
tions of religion of the petty chief who had brought in
his pastor, seriously admonished him not to deserve
such an unfortunate end. Finally, the culprit, who
had all this while been on his knees, took the hand of
his exhorter and promised to do what he was told.

At about two a.m., as the priest was sleeping
soundly, he was suddenly awakened by the excited
shouting of a woman outside, who was vigorously
shaking the door of his unfinished cabin by the edge
of the forest, and endeavoured to break it open. At
the same time, the female intruder was crying out:

“Patrick, come out quick. They are coming to
kill the priest; they may kill you with him!”

It was the mother of a boy whom Father Morice
kept according to custom, sleeping in his shack at
night. At the same time, it seemed as if, some
distance off, all the furies of hell had been set loose and

F.M.—5