Murder by Reflection (24 page)

“God only knows,” concluded Kermit.

“I guess that's it,” responded the other. “As long as there's time, nature will be carrying on and ‘carrying forward.'”

“And that's only another way of saying, ‘While there's life there's hope.'”

“Yes, you'd be surprised how that works out. Time and again I've seen an animal that's lost a foot or an eye and I've thought ‘Better put it out; it's not got a chance now.' But as often as not it's adapted and gone on with a sort of roused vitality.

“But the oddest case I've seen about the forest in that respect wasn't an animal, it was human, it was a man. I sighted him some time back, living on a small patch which touches the forest boundary, on the other side. But when I'd pass actually near the place he'd always be out of sight. But he kept a fine small garden around his one-room shack. There's a real recluse for you. I'd never sighted a real hermit before, though some of the other boys tell me that they've heard of such becoming not uncommon these days—men who just wouldn't stand any longer for what we are still calling civilization. But this was the first I'd ever found the track of.

“Then one day I actually had a close-up of him. I suppose we rangers can move pretty quietly when we want and I wanted to get a good view of him. It was obvious that he was a shy bird, and that always lures a naturalist. He was working his land and as he worked he came across to the side where I was seated in a bush Then I saw why I'd thought he looked a little skewed, when I'd seen him in the distance. He was bare to the waist and as tough as an old tree-root, and as twisted, too. Would you believe it, that man was working that soil in a way that'd shame most lumber jacks, and yet he was doing it all with one arm, his left arm. His right looked all withered and I couldn't see even a hand on it.”

“Pruning,” remarked Kermit.

“That's what I say,” remarked the ranger. “Pruning doesn't apply merely to plants. It's just as true of animals, just as true of us.”

About the Author

Henry FitzGerald “Gerald” Heard (1889–1971) was an English philosopher, lecturer, and author. The BBC's first science commentator, he pioneered the study of the evolution of consciousness, which he explored in his definitive philosophical work
The Ascent of Humanity
(1929). A prolific writer, Heard was also the author of a number of fiction titles, including mysteries and dystopian novels. He is best known for his beloved Mycroft Holmes mystery series.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1942 by The Vanguard Press, Inc.

Cover design by Andrea Worthington

ISBN: 978-1-5040-3782-2

This edition published in 2016 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

180 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

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