CHAPTER XXI 



Henrietta's visit 



I THINK that of all shy visitors, the shyest was the 

 one who came up the front-door steps one moonlight 

 January night. In England visitors knock at the 

 door and wait, or, if they are on very friendly terms 

 with the people of the house, tap at the door and 

 walk in. In Labrador we dispense with all ceremony ; 

 we follow the Eskimo custom in our visiting ; we 

 open the door and walk in, with never a knock and 

 no need of an apology. 



But this was a shy somebody. 



I heard the front steps creak, as front steps will 

 creak on a frosty winter night in Labrador : some- 

 body was climbing slowly to the door. It was quite 

 a flight of steps that our visitors had to climb, six 

 or seven, to be as accurate as may be ; it reminded 

 me of the flights of steps up to the tall old town 

 houses that I knew when I was a child, only in 

 Labrador our steps are made of wood. Creak, creak, 

 creak went the steps, and I waited for the opening 

 of the door. 



Nothing happened ; the creaking came to an end, 

 and that was all. It was not that the door could be 

 opened silently, for I knew well enough that it was 

 stuck with the frost, as is the way with doors in 

 Labrador ; and visitors have quite a habit of thrust- 



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