take something out
of it--except those Holy Cross fellas. They came to bring something."

The Colonel had got the blankets out now, but where was the rubber
sheet? He wouldn't sleep on it in this weather, again, for a kingdom,
but when the thaws came, if those explorer fellas were right--

In his sense of irritation at a conscientious duty to perform and no
clear notion of how to discharge it, he made believe it was the
difficulty in finding the rubber sheet he didn't want that made him out
of sorts.

"It's bitter work, anyhow, this making beds with your fingers stiff and
raw," he said.

"Is it?"

Dignity looked at Impudence sitting in the shelter, smiling.

"Humph! Just try it," growled the Colonel.

"I s'pose the man over the fire cookin' supper does _look_ better off
than the 'pore pardner' cuttin' down trees and makin' beds in the snow.
But he isn't."

"Oh, isn't he?" It was all right, but the Big Chimney boss felt he had
chosen the lion's share of the work in electing to be woodman; still,
it wasn't _that_ that troubled him. Now, what was it he had been going
to say about the Jesuits? Something very telling.

"If you mean that you'd rather go back to the cookin'," the Boy was
saying, "_I'm_ agreeable."

"Well, you start in to-morrow, and see if you're so agreeable."

"All right. I think I dote on one job just about as much as I do on
t'other."

But still the Colonel frowned. He couldn't remember that excellent
thing he had been going to say about Romanists. But he sniffed
derisively, and flung over his shoulder:

"To hear you goin' on, anybody'd think the Jesuits were the only
Christians. As if there weren't others, who--"

"Oh, yes, Christians with gold shovels and Winchester rifles. I know
'em. But if gold hadn't been found, how many of the army that's invaded
the North--how many would be here, if it hadn't been for the gold? But
all this Holy Cross business would be goin' on just the same, as it has
done for years and years."

With a mighty tug the Colonel dragged out the rubber blanket, flung it
down on the snow, and squared himself, back to the fire, to make short
work of such views.

"I'd no notion you were such a sucker. You can bet," he said darkly,
"those fellas aren't making a bad thing out of that 'Holy Cross
business,' as you call it."

"I didn't mean business in that sense."

"What else could they do if they didn't do this?"

"Ask the same of any parson."

But the Colonel d