If Any Man Sin

by H. A. Cody

Dick was also troubled about the church, as he feared that he would not have it finished before winter. He was doing all he possibly could, and he worked hard every day. It was always a comfort for him to slip over in the evening to see Nance. Her presence cheered him when most depressed. She looked upon the bright side, and he always went back to his task the next morning with renewed courage.

Martin was often a silent listener as Dick talked about the church, and the fear which was tugging at his heart lest it would not be completed in time to be used that season.

"There are men on the creeks," the missionary explained one evening, "who would be glad of a job if I only had some money to give them." He was sitting gazing absently into the fire as he spoke, with Nance and Martin seated near. "They have had bad luck, and are about stranded. The stores will not trust them, so I understand, and what will become of them is hard to tell. It is a pity that they didn't go out on the last steamer. They were urged to do so, but they were determined to stay to make good."

"Won't the rest of the miners help them?" Nance asked. "The ones who have done well will surely not allow them to starve."

"Oh, no. I believe that they will share with them, or at least some will. But many of the men who are hard up will not ask for help. They will live in their lonely shacks far up on the creeks. They will roam the forest for game, and subsist on half a meal a day. They will brood and worry all through the winter, and when the long nights come their position will be about unbearable. I have heard of such cases before. Some will starve to death, while others will go out of their minds. I fear that we shall have many sad cases on our hands before spring."

"Are the stores well supplied with provisions?" Martin asked. "I have never been over to find out."

"Yes, I believe there is plenty to last all through the winter if it could be equally distributed among the miners. But those who are able to buy will get most of it, while others will get very little."

"Will the prices go up later, do you think?" Martin queried.

"I am sure they will. The storekeepers will wait until navigation closes, and then they will jump the prices. They always do that, so I understand. I call it a mean business."

Four days after this conversation Martin returned from a trip up the creeks. Nance, who was preparing supper as he entered the house, noted the buoyancy of his step, and the new expression which shone in his eyes. He appeared to her like a man who had been groping for something for a long time and at last had found it. A smile even spread over his face as Nance greeted him with cheerful words of welcome.