56 THE LOG OF A TIMBER CRUISER 



It was curious to note, as each one's individual at- 

 titude was revealed, how variously the facts and 

 phenomena of life were interpreted. Bob and Bert 

 and Brown were frankly materialists. A lifetime of 

 labour, a constant struggle with men and circum- 

 stances, had dealt them the strength and limitations 

 of their type. Courage, energy, self-reliance these 

 they possessed to an admirable degree. But be- 

 yond the world of obvious things, into the realm of 

 the abstract or the spiritual, they had no conscious 

 desire to penetrate. Of such matters they would 

 not even argue, but remained indifferent if those 

 subjects were broached, smilingly intrenched behind 

 the seeming invulnerability of sense experience. 



Horace, when permitted, gave us the conventional 

 theories concerning any subject upon the tapis. But 

 his ideas were so obviously second-hand, mere re- 

 productions of the thoughts of others, that we made 

 use of his knowledge more as a matter of reference 

 or as a basis for argument than for any intrinsic 

 value it might possess. 



Wallace and Ewing seldom joined in the talk. 

 Wallace was far more interested in a girl back East 

 than in any entertainment we could offer. All his 

 time outside working hours was devoted to a silent 

 contemplation of her excellencies. [We never looked 

 for much from him, therefore, save a smiling, ab- 

 sent-minded acquiescence whenever directly ap- 

 pealed to. 



Nor did Ewing enter extensively into any of our 



