And then--it happened.
"It was a terrible fight; and when it was over the beast lay on the
floor, bleeding and dead. Gentlemen, the Supreme Arbiter BROKE A
PIPE-STEM, and sent the husband back in time!"
No one spoke as Father Charles drew his coat still closer about him.
Above the tumult of the storm another sound came to them--the distant,
piercing shriek of a whistle.
"The husband dug a grave through the snow and in the frozen earth,"
concluded Father Charles; "and late that afternoon they packed up a
bundle and set out together for the settlement. The storm overtook them.
They had dropped for the last time into the snow, about to die in each
other's arms, when I put my light in the window. That is all; except that
I knew them for several years afterward, and that the old happiness
returned to them--and more, for the child was born, a miniature of its
mother. Then they moved to another part of the wilderness, and I to still
another. So you see, gentlemen, what a snow-bound train may mean, for if
an old sea tale, a broken pipe-stem--"
The door at the end of the smoking-room opened suddenly. Through it there
came a cold blast of the storm, a cloud of snow, and a man. He was
bundled in a great bearskin coat, and as he shook out its folds his
strong, ruddy face smiled cheerfully at those whom he had interrupted.
Then, suddenly, there came a change in his face.
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