down into the valley where lay the lumber-camp.  He paused to gaze upon a scene of surpassing loveliness, and was for a moment absorbed by its beauty; but a sudden discovery startled and disturbed him.  There was no smoke curling from the chimneys.  There were no forms of men moving about in their brilliant woolen shirts; he listened in vain for voices; he could not even hear the yelp of the ever-watchful dogs.

“Can it be possible that I have been deceived by my vision?” he asked himself.

It was the first real skepticism of his life, and crowding it back into his heart as best he could, he pressed on, excited and curious.  As he approached the rude structure, the signs of its desertion became indubitable.  He called, but heard only the echo of his own voice.  He tried the door, and it opened.  Through it he entered the low-ceiled room.  On every hand were evidences of recent departure; living coals still glowed in the ashes and crumbs were scattered on the tables.  There could be no longer any doubt that the lumbermen had vanished.  The last and most incontrovertible proof was tacked upon the wall in the shape of a flat piece of board on which were written in a rude scrawl these words:  “We have gone to the Big Miami.”

The face so bright and clear a moment ago was clouded now.  He read the sentence over and over again.  He sat down upon a bench and meditated, then rose and went out, walking around the cabin and returning to read the message once more.  If he had spoken the real sentiment of his heart he would have said:  “I have been deceived.”  He did not speak, however, but struggled bravely to throw off the feelings of surprise and doubt; and so, reassuring his faith again and again by really noble efforts, took from his pocket the lunch his mother had prepared, and ate it hungrily although abstractedly.  As he did so, he felt the animal joy in food and rest, and his courage and confidence revived.

“It is plain,” he said to himself, “that God has sent me here to try my faith.  All he requires is obedience!  It is not necessary that I should understand; but it is necessary that I should obey!”

The idea of a probation so unique was not distasteful to his romantic nature, and he therefore at once addressed himself to the business upon which he had come.  He had been sent to preach, and preach he would.  Drawing from the inner pocket of his coat a well-worn Bible, he turned to the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John, rose to his feet and began to read.  It was strange to be reading to this emptiness and silence, but after a moment he adjusted himself to the situation.  The earnest effort he was making to control his mind achieved at least a partial success.  His face brightened, he conjured up before his imagination the forms and faces of the absent men.  He saw them with the eye of his mind.  His voice grew firm and clear, and its tones reassured him.