A PROVIDENTIAL CHECK 



terrific roar. How the men found their way I do 

 not know, but suddenly we went bumping up a 

 bank and left the storm behind us. In another 

 minute we heard the howling of dogs, and when 

 the sledge went grinding over a patch of wood- 

 chippings I knew that a house must be near. Sure 

 enough the dogs stopped on the sheltered side of 

 a wooden house nearly buried in snow, and one 

 of the men shouted to me "Go in John's house." 

 I thumped the thick of the snow off my shoulders 

 and made for the porch, which was, of course, full 

 of dogs ; but when I " shooed " them out of the way 

 I was astonished to find that they were all in their! 

 harness. I pulled the seal-hide thong that lifted 

 the latch, and went into the house. There sat* 

 John, clad in all his travelling furs, with a dejected 

 head bowed upon his hands. He looked up in an 

 apathetic sort of way, but his look changed in an 

 instant to one of utter consternation. Then hd 

 jumped to his feet and shouted for his daughter, 

 and the two of them stared, and wrung my hand, 

 and asked how ever I had managed to get there. 

 My side of the story was soon told, and then came 

 John's : one of his household had just met with 

 an accident, and he had harnessed his team to gc 

 to Hebron, the nearest Mission station, for help 

 when the storm came up and drove him indoors, 

 Between us we managed to set things to rights 

 and all the evening John sat ruminating over the 

 strange happenings of the day; and he put m) 

 own thoughts into words when he said, "The 

 Hand of God is very near us on the Labrador.' 

 It is only a travelling incident, but I coulc 

 not help thinking of his words as we toilec 



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