OUT IN THE COLD 



was glad to know that physical research in our 

 day was unlocking some of the benign secrets of 

 the cold and putting ice on the hypotheses of our 

 fathers. There was priceless knowledge to be 

 drawn from the zero of the ether, when men got 

 through digging for the central fires. 



Then the Doctor, who, when he touched upon 

 the secrets of his own profession, always took on 

 a little hush, as if there were some dire mysteries 

 in it that must not be betrayed to lay ears, bent 

 down and said softly: &quot;Invalids die of heat, not 

 of cold. Life is never congealed, it is burnt out; 

 and when at last the fires are extinguished, all 

 the combustible stuff has been purged away, and 

 if there is any ethereal life it begins in the cold.&quot; 



&quot; Nevertheless, Doctor,&quot; I said, &quot; I should not 

 like to be caught on a prairie in a blizzard.&quot; 



&quot; I have been,&quot; he replied. &quot; It is one of the 

 most beautiful lessons of the august Mother.&quot; 



&quot; What is ? &quot; 



&quot; To be caught on the plains in a blizzard, if 

 you have with you one or two primitive heathen 

 who obey Nature instead of defying her.&quot; 



&quot; Oh, of course, if you have trained guides to 

 bring you out in spite of the benign Mother.&quot; 



&quot; That is just what the guide does not do. The 

 arrogant intelligence of the godlike man would 

 wrestle with it and get thrown. We hugged it; 

 lay down in it like good children, and were cov 

 ered up with warm blankets and tucked in, and 

 when morning broke we gave thanks and pursued 

 our journey on a crystal highway.&quot; 



215 



