The Delta independent., 1916-06-09


outcry. the noisy reception Of one who
amused and interested them. rather
than of one they disliked or despised
Challenger smiled with weary and tol
Grant contempt, as kindly man would
meet the yapping of litter of pup
pies. He sat slowly down. blew Out
his chest, passed his hand caressingly
down his beard and looked with droop
ing eyelids and supercilious eyes at the
crowded hall before him. The uproai
of his advent had not yet died away
when Professor Ronald Murray. the
chairman, and Mr.. Waldron. the lee
turer, threaded their way to the front
and the proceedings began.
Professor Murray will. am sure ex
cuse me II say that he has the com
mon fault of most Englishmen OF be
ing inaudible Why on earth people
who have something to say which is
worth hearing should not take the
slight trouble to learn how to make II
heard is one of the strange mysteries
of modern life. Their methods are as
reasonable as to try to pour some pre-
cious stuff from the spring to the reser
which could by the least effort be open
ed Professor Murray made several
profound remarks to his white tie and
to the water carafe upon the table. with
a humorous. twinkling aside to the sill
yer candlestick upon his right Then
he sat down, and Mr.. Waldron, the
famous popular lecturer, rose amid n
general murmur of applause. He was
a stern, gaunt man, with n harsh voice
and an aggressive manner. but he had
the merit of knowing how to assimi-
late the ideas OF other men and to pass
them ON In way which was intelligi-
BILE and even interesting to the lay pub
lie, with happy knack of being funny
about the most unlikely objects. so
that the procession OF the equinox or
the foundation of vertebrate became
a highly humorous process as treated
by him.
1t was birdseye view of creation.
as interpreted by science. which. In
language always clear and sometimes
picturesque. he unfolded before us.
He told us of the globe. n huge mass
Of flaming gas fiaring through the
heavens. Then he pictured the solidii.
cation. the cooling. the wrinkling
which formed the mountains. the
steam which turned to water. the slow
preparation of the stage upon which
was to be played the inexplicable
drama OF life. On the origin OF life
Itself he was discreetly vague. That
the germs of II could hardly have sur
vived the original roasting was. he de
clared. fairly certain. Therefore 1t had
come later. Had 1t built itself out of
the cooling. inorganic elements of the
globe? Very likely. Had the germs
of 1t arrived from outside upon me
teor? 1t was hardly conceivable. On
the whole, the wisest man was the
least dogmatic upon the point We
could not, or at least we had hot sue
ceded up to date In making organic
life in our laboratories out of inorganic
materials. The gulf between the dead
and the living was something which
our chemistry could not as yet bridge
But there was a higher and subtler
chemistry OF nature. which. working
with great forces over long epochs.
might well produce results which were
impossible for us. There the matter
must be left.
"Question!" doomed voice from the
platform.
Mr.. waldron was a strict disciplinari-
an with n gift of acid humor, as had
been exemplifled on many and varied
occasions. which made 1t perilous to
interrupt him. But this interJection
appeared to him so absurd that he was
Mt loss how to deal with 1t. So looks
the Shakespearean who Is confronted
by rancid Baconian or the astrono-
mer who Is assailed by n fiat earth
fanatic He paused for n moment and
then. raising his voice. repeated slow
ly the last words OF his speech.
Question doomed the voice once
more.
waldron looked with amazement
along the line of professors upon the
platform until his eyes fell upon the
figure OF Challenger. who leaned back
In his chair with closed eyes and an
amused expression. as II he were smil
ing In his sleep.
II see" said Waldron. with n shrug
1T Is my friend Professor Challenger"
and amid laughter he renewed his lee
tnre as II this was n final explanation
and no more need be said.
But the incident was far from being
closed. Whatever path the lecturer
took amid the wilds of the past seem
cd Invariably to lead him to some as
sertioD as to extinct or prehistoric life
which instantly brought the same
bulls below from the professor. The
audience began to anticipate It and to
ronr with delight when 1t came. The
packcd benches of students Joined In.