"What is steel, father?"
"It's made out of iron refined and hardened, so as to give it temper."
"What do they do to it?"
"I don't know; it's done in England."
"Will the temper stay there forever?"
"Yes; you can draw it most all out if you heat it, but if you put it in cold water it will come back again."
"What makes you, when you want to burn the handle out of your axe, put wet cloths all over the edge of it?"
"Because I don't want to heat the steel and start the temper."
"What if you did? couldn't you put it into cold water and make it come back?"
"Perhaps I shouldn't get the same temper: if the axe cuts well, I prefer to let well enough alone; if I spoiled it, I should have to go clear to the village to get John Drew to temper it over."