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"How!" he repeated, and a strange sivin' you rides an' climbs to beautiful places An' then, if you're interested,' to show you how little so-called civilized people know of nature"

Helen realized then that whatever his calling, hunter or wanderer or hermit, he was not uneducated, even if he appeared illiterate

"I'll be happy to learn from you," she said

"Me, too!" chimed in Bo "You can't tell too much to any one from Missouri"

He smiled, and that warmed Helen to him, for then he seemed less rean to be so of the very nature of which he spoke--a stillness, aloofness, an unbreakable tranquillity, a cold, clear spirit like that in thenot unlike the tath of the pines

"I'll bet I can tell you more 'n you'll ever remember," he said

"What 'll you bet?" retorted Bo

"Well, ainst--say somethin' nice when you're safe an' home to your uncle Al's, runnin' his ranch"

"Agreed Nell, you hear?"

Helen nodded her head

"All right We'll leave it to Nell," began Dale, half seriously "Now I'll tell you, first, for the fun of passin' time we'll ride an' race my horses out in the park An' we'll fish in the brooks an' hunt in the woods There's an old silvertip around that you can see hts So much for that Now, if you really want to learn--or if you only want me to tell you--well, that's no matter Only I'll win the bet! You'll see how this park lies in the crater of a volcano an' was once full of water--an' how the snos in on one side in winter, a hundred feet deep, when there's none on the other An' the trees--how they grow an' live an' fight one another an' depend on one another, an' protect the forest from storm-winds An' how they hold the water that is the fountains of the great rivers An' how the creatures an' things that live in theood for them, an' neither could live without the other An' then I'll show you my pets tame an' untamed, an' tell you how it's man that makes any creature wild--how easy they are to tame--an' how they learn to love you An' there's the life of the forest, the strife of it--how the bear lives, an' the cats, an' the wolves, an' the deer You'll see how cruel nature is how savage an' wild the wolf or cougar tears down the deer--hoolf loves fresh, hot blood, an' how a cougar unrolls the skin of a deer back from his neck An' you'll see that this cruelty of nature--this work of the wolf an' cougar--is what makes the deer so beautiful an' healthy an' swift an' sensitive Without his deadly foes the deer would deteriorate an' die out An' you'll see how this principle works out a all creatures of the forest Strife! It's the meanin' of all creation, an' the salvation If you're quick to see, you'll learn that the nature here in the wilds is the saht to live--birds fight--aniht They all live off one another An' it's this fightin' that brings them all closer an' closer to bein' perfect But nothin' will ever be perfect"