“I was told by Uraso, the Osaga chief,” responded the Professor, “that he could distinguish his foes, when all other tests failed, by their manner of gesticulating, or in their movements, and this explains why, at great distances, they are so frequently able to distinguish people, when they are so far distant that their dress does not betray them.”
“It is wonderful how the people here, ignorant as they are, will observe little things.”
“Yes; a wise man may know little, and a fool much.”
The boys laughed at the remark. “Well, isn’t a wise man the one who knows the most?”
“By no means. A man may have read and read all his life, and not be able to utilize any of the things he has crammed himself with. The most valuable thing to man is the ability to utilize what comes to him. The common mistake of people is endeavoring to learn too much. The proper course in which education should be directed is to grasp the value of observation.”
When morning came the scouts reported a tribe of warriors to their left. Neither Ralsea nor Uraso had returned, but a messenger came in very early in the morning with the news that they awaited the result of the conflict between the Brabos and the Illyas.
“Can you ascertain who the people are to the west of us?”
“No; but the scouts are now in that direction, and we may soon be able to tell you.”
“Send some messenger forward to find Uraso and Ralsea, and inform them of the force at our left.”
A runner was dispatched in all haste. When Uraso and Ralsea went forward the night before, they had with them two of the fleetest runners in the tribe, and they took a course immediately to the north, and in the direction of the firing, avoiding the Brabos who were in their front.