this country whose past is buried out of sight."

Mr. Britton then led the way to two smaller rooms,--a kitchen,
equipped with a small stove, table, and cooking utensils, and a
sleeping-apartment, its two bunks piled with soft blankets and
wolf-skins.

As Darrell proceeded to disrobe his attention was suddenly attracted by
an object in one corner of the room which he was unable to distinguish
clearly in the dim light. Upon going over to examine it more closely,
what was his astonishment to see a large crucifix of exquisite design
and workmanship. As he turned towards Mr. Britton the latter smiled to
see the bewilderment depicted on his face.

"You did not expect to find such a souvenir of old Rome in a mountain
cabin, did you?" he asked.

"Perhaps not," Darrell admitted; "but that of itself is not what so
greatly surprises me. Are you a----" He paused abruptly, without
finishing the question.

"I will answer the question you hesitate to ask," the other replied;
"no, I am not a Catholic; neither am I, in the strict sense of the word,
a Protestant, or one who protests, since, if I were, I would protest no
more earnestly against the errors of the Catholic Church than against
the evils existing in other so-called Christian churches."

Darrell's eyes returned to the crucifix.

"That," continued Mr. Britton, "was given me years ago by a beloved
friend of mine--a priest, now an archbishop--in return for a few
services rendered some of his people. I keep it for the lessons it
taught me in the years of my sorrow, and whenever my burden seems
greater than I can bear, I come back here and look at that, and beside
the suffering which it symbolizes my own is dwarfed to insignificance."

A long silence followed; then, as they lay down in the darkness, Darrell
said, in subdued tones,--

"I have never heard you say, and it never before occurred to me to ask,
what was your religion."

"I don't know that I have any particular religion," Mr. Britton
answered, slowly; "I have no formulated creed. I am a child of God and a
disciple of Jesus, the Christ. Like Him, I am the child of a King, a son
of the highest Royalty, yet a servant to my fellow-men; that is all."

The following morning Mr. Britton awakened Darrell at an early hour.

"Forgive me for disturbing your slumbers, but I want you to see the
sunrise from these heights; I think you will feel repaid. You could not
see it at the camp, you were so hemmed in by higher moun