first. Take it or leave it. If you stop here, you'll be cut off in the
midst of your labors. And not you alone, but your men, Bill, my wife--"

"Who is a daughter of Belial and hearkeneth not to the true Gospel."

"And myself. Not only do you bring trouble upon yourself, but upon us. I
was frozen in with you last winter, as you will well recollect, and I
know you for a good man and a fool. If you think it your duty to strive
with the heathen, well and good; but, do exercise some wit in the way you
go about it. This man, Red Baptiste, is no Indian. He comes of our
common stock, is as bull-necked as I ever dared be, and as wild a fanatic
the one way as you are the other. When you two come together, hell'll be
to pay, and I don't care to be mixed up in it. Understand? So take my
advice and go away. If you go down-stream, you'll fall in with the
Russians. There's bound to be Greek priests among them, and they'll see
you safe through to Bering Sea,--that's where the Yukon empties,--and
from there it won't be hard to get back to civilization. Take my word
for it and get out of here as fast as God'll let you."

"He who carries the Lord in his heart and the Gospel in his hand hath no
fear of the machinations of man or devil," the missionary answered
stoutly. "I will see this man and wrestle with him. One backslider
returned to the fold is a greater victory than a thousand heathen. He
who is strong for evil can be as mighty for good, witness Saul when he
journeyed up to Damascus to bring Christian captives to Jerusalem. And
the voice of the Saviour came to him, crying, 'Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?' And therewith Paul arrayed himself on the side of
the Lord, and thereafter was most mighty in the saving of souls. And
even as thou, Paul of Tarsus, even so do I work in the vineyard of the
Lord, bearing trials and tribulations, scoffs and sneers, stripes and