BEHIND THE SCENES 299 



" A slow-combustion stove, fitted near the parti- 

 tion which divides our dwelling-rooms, is used for 

 heating both places, although we have an oil stove 

 to augment the heat when necessary. In the 

 kitchen we use an ' Eagle ' range with a heat indicator 

 fitted on the oven. This we have found a great 

 boon as we need not open the oven and so let in a 

 body of cold air. As every bit of coal and coke, 

 and every drop of paraffin oil must come out from 

 home, it is, of course, a matter of great importance 

 to obtain as much heat as possible with a moderate 

 consumption of fuel. We think we have gained 

 this desirable object in the stoves mentioned, as our 

 yearly consumption of coal for these does not 

 exceed seven tons." 



" We make our surroundings as bright and cheer- 

 ful as possible. Pictures, artificial flowers, bright 

 texts, photos of loved ones, adorn the walls of our 

 dwelling rooms, and it is indeed a striking and most 

 pleasant contrast to the desert waste outside." 

 We need not follow this description in the details 

 of daily routine and of food. For we already know 

 much about these matters. But it will be well for 

 us to think about Mr. Peck's words of caution con- 

 cerning the life which he has been depicting. " Want 

 of change, the sense of isolation, the hungering for 

 just a word of loved ones, continual contact with a 

 people whose lot is often one of extreme privation, 

 the possibility of magnifying little differences or 



