“Oh, ma’am, it’s about Mike! I am sure the Indians must have—— Oh, ma’am, I can’t spake it!” the girl answered, breaking off with a sob.
“My poor child, there is really no cause for such keen anxiety. Your brother and his party have gone far beyond the mail route in their search for silver. He cannot send a letter to you from his present camp, except by the chance of some one returning toward the mail routes. Be patient and hopeful, Judy.”
“I do try, ma’am; but it is awful to lose one’s brother in such a—void!”
“There is no void in which any creature can be lost, Judy; for the Creator is everywhere, and He is our Father as well, and none of His children can stray out of His presence. It must be dreadful to have any beloved one disappear mysteriously, but it is certain that the Lord knows where he or she is, and will take care of His child, living or dead!”
“I believe that, ma’am,” said Judy, trying to rally her spirits.
She returned to the study of her book; but her thoughts were too distracted for concentration, and her eyes wandered from the page to the open window. The great gates of the fort were directly in front of the colonel’s quarters and about a hundred yards distant.
Presently Judy, looking out toward them, dropped her book, started up and exclaimed:
“Why! What!”
And then she stopped and gazed through the window.
“What is it, my child?” inquired the lady.