Toward evening there came a change. The fever left the child's cheeks.
Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep. Through the night Cummins sat
near the door, but in the gray dawn, overcome by his long vigil, his
head dropped upon his breast, and he slumbered.
When he awoke the cabin was filled with light He heard a sound, and,
startled, sprang to his feet. Melisse was at the stove building a
fire!
"I'm better this morning, father. Why didn't you sleep until breakfast
was ready?"
Cummins stared. Then he gave a shout, made a rush for her, and
catching her up in his arms, danced about the cabin like a great bear,
overturning the chairs, and allowing the room to fill with smoke in
his wild joy.
"It's what you saw through the window that made you sick, Melisse," he
cried, putting her down at last. "I thought--" He paused, and added,
his voice trembling: "I thought you were going to be sick for more
than one day, my sweet little woman!"
He opened one of the windows to let in the fresh air of the morning.
When Croisset returned, he did not find a red flag over Cummins'
cabin; nor did he bring word of Jan. For three days he had followed
the trails to the south without finding the boy. But he brought back
other news. Williams was sick with the plague in a Cree wigwam on the
lower Porcupine.
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