dness on the part of our fleshly
bodies that, for a while longer, they would not return to the dust
whereof they were made. Through our meal he sat gravely silent, yet with
so sweet and so tender an expression upon his gentle face that in his
silence there was no suggestion of reproof. And when our meal was ended,
and we were for stretching out upon our blankets before the fire and
smoking our pipes comfortably, he reminded us, with no touch of
harshness in his voice, that a last duty was claimed of us by our dead
companion.

And, truly, the funeral ceremonies over Dennis in that strange place of
burial made the most curious ending of a man that ever I saw. In the
fine dry sand wherewith the cave was bedded, directly in front of the
altar on which was the heathen idol, we dug his grave--toilsomely and
with pain, for all of our bodies were hurt and sore. While we labored,
two great torches flared upon the altar, propped against the idol; and
long, flickering rays of light shot out to us across the mummied bodies
of the dead Indians--striking across their gleaming teeth, so that they
seemed to smile at us--from the huge blaze of the fire.

From our stores Fray Antonio took out a little salt, and from the clear
spring that bubbled up within the cave a cup of water, which elements
he blessed and mingled as the rites of his Church prescribed; and with
the water thus consecrated he sprinkled the body lying before the
heathen altar, while his strong, sweet voice chanted the _De Profundis_
so that all the cave rang with the rich melody of the holy strain, and
our own breasts were thrilled by it. Gently we bore the body of poor
Dennis from its resting-place before the altar to its last resting-place
in the grave that we had dug there, while Fray Antonio said the
_Miserere_; and as with our pack-ropes we lowered the body into the
earth, the priest sang the _Benedictus_, with its promise of a better
life to come; and then a prayer ended all, and we filled in the grave.

"I'm Congregational, myself," Young said, when our work was finished;
"at least I was brought up that way; an' I'm down on th' Scarlet Woman
from first t' last. But I go in for lettin' folks believe what they've
got a mind to; an' when it cornea t' buryin' 'em it's only square t'
give 'em th' sort of send-off that they'd really like. For a Catholic, I
guess Dennis was a pretty good one; an' I must say I think it would 'a'
done him good to see th' way we've given