safe; and to go out of the far north for ever, to go back to Quebec"--he
had a kind of gaming fever in his veins. "If I win, you give up the
Church, leaving behind the prayerbook, the Bible and all, coming with me
to do what I shall tell you, for the passing of twelve moons. It is a
great stake--will you play it? Come"--he leaned forward, looking into the
other's face--"will you play it? They drew lots--those people in the
Bible. We will draw lots, and see, eh?--and see?"

"I accept the stake," said Sherburne, with a little gasp.

Without a word they went upon that platform, shaped like an altar, and
Pierre at once drew out a pack of cards, shuffling them with his mittened
hands. Then he knelt down and said, as he laid out the cards one by one
till there were thirty: "Whoever gets the ace of hearts first,
wins--hein?"

Sherburne nodded and knelt also. The cards lay back upwards in three
rows. For a moment neither stirred. The white, metallic stars saw it, the
small crescent moon beheld it, and the deep wonder of night made it
strange and dreadful. Once or twice Sherburne looked round as though he
felt others present, and once Pierre looked out to the wide portals, as
though he saw some one entering. But there was nothing to the
eye--nothing. Presently Pierre said: "Begin."

The other drew a card, then Pierre drew one, then the other, then Pierre
again; and so on. How slow the game was! Neither hurried, but both,
kneeling, looked and looked at the card long before drawing and turning
it over. The stake was weighty, and Pierre loved the game more than he
cared about the stake. Sherburne cared nothing about the game, but all
his soul seemed set upon the hazard. There was not a sound out of the