Ruth smiled. She was sitting very still, her elbow on her knee, her chin in the hollow of her hand. A great content made her face beautiful. Her grey eyes dwelt lovingly upon the little world, which held so many worlds in its circle. The laughter of the children came again across the field. Then she began to talk.
“It is so wonderful,” she said. “I can hardly yet believe it can be true, which is so foolish, because the truth undoubtedly is wonderful beyond our conceiving. We only see such little bits of it here, even the wisest of us. And we will think it is the whole. When we do see the whole, I think what will be the most wonderful thing about it will be its amazing simplicity. We shall wonder how we ever groped about among so many seeming complications, so much dirt and darkness.”
She stopped for a few moments, and North waited. He felt he was shrinking back into himself, away from whatever might be coming. Like many very intellectual persons, he was inclined to resent what he could not account for, and to be wholly unsympathetic, if not a little brutal, towards it.
Psychical investigation always had repelled him. Repelled him only less, and in a different way, than the search for knowledge among the tortured entrails of friendly dogs. With the great forces of nature he could fight cleanly, and courageously, to harness them to the service of man. They were enormously interesting, amazingly beautiful. Powerful enough to protect themselves if necessary. One wrested their secrets from them at one’s own peril. And the scientist who strives with the great forces of nature has the mark of his craft branded into his very soul. Its name is Truth. To that mark, if he be a true scientist, he is faithful absolutely, unswervingly. Indeed it must be so. And, ever seeking the truth, the true scientist knows that his discoveries are ever only partial; that soon, even before his own little day here is ended, will come new discoveries which shall modify the old. So that he will never say “I know,” only “I am learning.” And now for the first time psychic investigation was making its appeal to him, by the mouth of Ruth Seer, in the name of Truth.
“Very well, tell me,” he said, struggling with his dislike. “I will cast from me, as far as possible all preconceived objections, and, possibly, prejudices. I will bring an open mind.”
Ruth turned, her whole face alight. “Ah, that is just what I want! Only be as critical as you will. I want that too. That is why I wanted so much to tell you, because you will bring a trained mind to bear on it all. Because of that, and also because you are his friend, I can speak about it to you. It would be very difficult to anyone else.”
She stopped, gathering herself up as it were, before she started.
“You remember the day you first came? To fetch Larry?”
North nodded.
“We all forgathered together at the gate, you and I and the dogs. I told you about Larry, how he had come the night before, tired and miserable, and hunted everywhere, and early in the morning he had gone again, so far as I knew. And just before you came I had found him down by the stream, quite happy apparently, with a man. I think I told you?”