g as he put on his skis:

A hundred men were riding,
A-hunting for Pierre.
They rode and rode, but nothing could they find.
They rode around by moonlight;
They rode around by day;
They rode and rode, but nothing could they find.

Then came the sharp scraping of his runners across the surface of the
snow on a level with the buried roof. It lessened from a hissing speech
to a hissing whisper. It sighed away. Bella sat down abruptly on a
chair, pulled in her chin like an unhappy child; her bosom lifted as
though a sob would force its way out.

"If he doesn't come back!" she murmured. "If he doesn't come back!" She
was speaking to God.

CHAPTER II

Pete blinked, swallowed hard and began to talk fast and hopefully.

"He'll come back. I don't believe he'll get halfway there, Bella," he
reassured the woman. "He'll come to his senses. You know how moody he
is. Come over here and doctor up my ankle, please. 'Make a fuss over me,
Bell.' Isn't that what I used to say?"

He coaxed until at last she came and knelt before him and removed his
moccasin and heavy woolen sock. The strong white foot was like marble,
but the ankle was swollen and discolored. Bella clicked her tongue. "He
_is_ a brute, you know!" She laughed shortly. Since Garth's departure
she had become almost a human being. The deaf-mute look had melted from
her, and a sardonic humor emerged; her eyes cleared; she could even
smile. "Why do we care so much for him, Pete--the two of us?"

Pete winced under her touch and puckered his brows. "Because he's such a
kid, I guess. He's always fretting after the moon."

"Don't you ever get angry with him, Pete? He does treat you shameful
sometimes."

"N-no. Not often. He's always sorry and ashamed afterward. He'd like to
be as kind as God. I believe if he could only fool us into thinking he
_was_ God, he could act like Him--ouch, Bella! Go easy."

"You're an awful smart boy, Pete. It's a sin you've never had any
schooling."

"Schooling! Gosh! I've had all the schooling I could digest. Hugh beat
it into me. He's taught me all he had in his head and a whole lot he
never ought to have had there, I guess. But _you've_ taught me most,
Bella--that's the truth of it."

"_Me_! I never knew anything. They saw to that. They never did anything
for me at home but abuse me. Hugh Garth was the only relation I ever had
in the world that spoke kind to me. Remember how I used to run over from
my folks to tuck