CHAPTER X
THE CAPTURE OF THE PROFESSOR
There is nothing more trying than to wait during the long watches of the night, knowing there is an enemy at your door, who awaits the morn before attacking. Light and darkness are wonderful things to contemplate. Every variety of subject was discussed, the moon and the stars, plants, trees and flowers, the habits of people, the seasons, and kindred topics, but the one absorbing topic that always had a leading place was the savage.
“There is one thing I must admire in them,” said Blakely, “and that is persistency.”
“That is one of the four cardinal principles in nature,” answered the Professor.
George was at the front at once. “What are the other three?”
“Resistance, reciprocity, and equalization.”
“That is something new to me, and I do not know whether I understand the meaning of it.”
“Well, in nature, everything persists in doing and in continuing to do just what it started out to do. For instance, a ball at rest will continue at rest forever, and if it is moving it will continue to move, unless in either case it is acted on by some external force.”
“Now every object in nature also has resistance. It objects to a change of form or direction.”
“I can understand that, but I do not see where the other two come in.”