A JOURNEY TO NATURE 



&quot; We ought to have deer s horns and skins 

 nailed up,&quot; said Charlie. 



What a gap between us ! I drew him a little 

 closer. &quot; No,&quot; I said. &quot; Deer s horns and furs 

 would not make it more secure and abiding. In 

 the early days of man, when he hunted and killed, 

 he learned gradually to come and sit down beside 

 his fire and rest and hope. But it wasn t the fire, 

 Charlie. By and by he hung his weapons over 

 the mantle changed them into ornaments but 

 it wasn t the fire. I think men would get tired 

 of living alone together. There must be some 

 thing else.&quot; 



&quot; I know,&quot; said Charlie, &quot; more dogs, and a 

 pony, and snow-shoes.&quot; 



&quot; Can t you think of anything else ? &quot; 



He racked his imagination. &quot; It would be nice 

 if there was a circus in the woods, with monkeys 

 and hyenas, and you didn t have to pay to go in.&quot; 



Dear little ambitions, travelling their own round 

 in spite of me ! I gave it up, pulled him closer 

 and touched his soft cheek, but there was some 

 kind of invisible space between us, and I wondered 

 if it would grow larger and deeper in spite of our 

 clasped hands. 



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