She knew what the red flag over Mukee's cabin meant. She knew that the
air of this world of hers had become filled with peril to those who
breathed it, and that people were dying out in the forests; that all
about them there was a terrible, unseen thing which her father called
the plague, and that Jan had gone forth to fight it, to breathe it,
and, perhaps, to die in it. Their own door was locked and bolted
against it. She dared not even thrust her head from the window which
was opened for a short time each day; and until Cummins assured her
that there was no danger in the sunshine, she shunned the few pale
rays that shot through the cabin-window at midday.
Unconsciously, Cummins added to her fears in more ways than one, and
as he answered her questions truthfully, her knowledge increased day
by day. She thought more and more of Jan. She watched for him through
the two windows of her home. Every sound from outside brought her to
them with eager hope; and always, her heart sank with disappointment,
and the tears would come very near to her eyes, when she saw nothing
but the terrible red flag clinging to the pole over Mukee's cabin.
In the little Bible which her mother had left there was written, on
the ragged fly-leaf, a simple prayer. Each night, as she knelt beside
her cot and repeated this prayer, she paused at the end, and added:
"Dear Father in Heaven, please take care of Jan!"
The days brought quick changes now.
Pages:
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115