“Do you like that man, my girl?” he asked with exceeding tenderness.
“I don’t, and never shall,” Kasba replied firmly. “And oh, father, I never want to leave you. You are the best father any girl ever had.” Then with a laugh she kissed him.
He put his hand up and stroked her cheek.
“When the time comes, little girl, and the right man asks, your father won’t refuse him,” Delgezie assured her in his slow, thoughtful way. “But in God’s name let it be a man of your own kind, an Indian. You were trained in the white man’s ways, and taught to read and write English, but you are still an Indian, my dear; nothing could alter that. You are what the good God intended you should be—a Chipewyan Indian girl; and to be ashamed of it would be to doubt His wisdom. But there,” he added hastily, trying to hide his emotion, “you are going to the ‘big hill’ to-morrow, so must be off to bed. Give me the books.” He drew the lamp toward him as if to obtain more light to read by, but in reality his poor old eyes were dim with tears.
Kasba sprang to her feet and brought two Chipewyan books, a hymn and a prayer book. These she handed to her father, who fumbled at the leaves of the hymn-book for some moments with a thoughtful frown. Then suddenly, “A Neolt ye sesal naothat da” (Abide with me), he sang in a thin, tremulous voice. Kasba joined in the hymn, but in subdued tones, fearing to wake David, who moved uneasily.
The pair then fell on their knees and Delgezie read the “general confession,” concluding with “Neta Yaka thenda nese” (Our Father, who art).
Long after her father’s deep breathing told her that he was asleep, Kasba lay gazing at a shaft of moonlight that pierced the small window. Her mind dwelt with bitterness on the harshness of her situation: Broom’s persistent attentions; Roy’s indifference to her love; and her promise to Sahanderry necessitated important changes in her life. In future she must no longer roam the Fort unattended; no longer spend the quiet hours thinking of Bekothrie. Instead, she must always be accompanied in her ramblings, must think of Bekothrie no more, and accept Sahanderry as her lover.
CHAPTER V.
AN ESKIMO CONJURER AND A PUGILISTIC ENCOUNTER.
Early next morning Roy was in the inner room making a protracted search for the store key, which had mysteriously disappeared from the nail on which it had hung the night before. Suddenly discontinuing his efforts, he strode into the kitchen.
Sahanderry was standing near the door in earnest conversation with Kasba, who had apparently just arrived with a message from her father. Squatted beside the stove was the Eskimo, Ocpic.