‘But God will never forgive me now,’ replied Martha hopelessly; ’I see how wicked I have been, but the chance is gone by.  God will not forgive me now; nor Stephen.’

‘We will not talk about Stephen,’ said Miss Anne; ’but I will tell you about God.  When He gave His commandments to mankind that they might obey them, He proclaimed His own name at the same time.  Listen to His name, Martha:  “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.”  If you would not go to Him for mercy when you did not feel your need of it, He was keeping it for you against this time; saving and treasuring it up for you, “that He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus.”  He is waiting to pardon your iniquity, for Christ’s sake.  Do you wish to be forgiven now?  Do you feel that you are a sinful girl, Martha?’

‘I have thought of nothing else all day long,’ whispered Martha; ’I have helped to kill little Nan by my sins.’

‘Yes,’ said Miss Anne mournfully; ’if, like Stephen, you had opened your heart to the gentle teaching of the Holy Spirit, if you had looked to Jesus, trusted in Him, and followed Him, this grief would not have come upon you and upon all of us.  For Bess would not have persuaded you to leave your own duties, and little Nan would have been alive still.’

‘Oh, I knew I’d killed her!’ cried a voice behind them; and, looking round, Miss Anne saw that the door had been softly opened, and Bess had crept in unheard.  Her face was swollen with weeping, and she stood wringing her hands, as she cast a fearful glance at the white-covered table in the corner.

‘Come here, Bess,’ said Miss Anne; and the girl crept to them, and sat down on the ground at their feet.  Miss Anne talked long with them about little Nan’s death, until they shed many tears in true contrition of heart for their sinfulness; and when they appeared to feel their own utter helplessness, she explained to them, in such simple and easy language as Bess could understand, how they could obtain salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  After which they all knelt down; and Miss Anne prayed earnestly for the weeping and heart-broken girls, who, as yet, hardly knew how they could frame any prayers for themselves.

When Miss Anne left the cabin the night was quite dark but the snow which lay unmelted on the mountains showed their outlines plainly with a pale gleaming of light though the sky was overcast with more snow-clouds.  Her heart was full of sadness for Stephen, who was wandering, no one knew whither, among the snowdrifts on the solitary plains.  She knew that he must be passing through a terrible trial and temptation, but she could do nothing for him; her voice could not reach him, nor her eye tell him by a silent look how deeply she felt for him.  Yet Miss Anne knew who it is that possesseth ‘the shields of the earth,’ and in her earnest thanksgiving to God for Martha and Bess Thompson, she prayed fervently that the boy might be shielded and sheltered in his great sorrow, and that when he was tried he might come forth as gold.