back to man again after long transmigration, or goes
to a Happy Hunting Ground as our Indians, makes no
difference with the fact that he enters this world
with belief in after life of some kind. We see
material evidence in increase that man is not defeated
in his desire to reproduce himself; we have advanced
to something better than tom-toms and pow-wows for
music and dance; these desires are fulfilled before
us, now tell me why the very strongest of all, the
most deeply rooted, the belief in after life, should
come to nothing. Why should the others be real,
and that a dream?”
“I don’t think it is,” said Robert.
“It’s my biggest self-evident fact,”
said Kate, conclusively. “I never heard
any one else say these things, but I think them, and
they are provable. I always believed there was
something; but since I saw Mother go, I know there
is. She stood in full evening light, I looked
straight in her face, and Robert, you know I’m
no creature of fancies and delusions, I tell you I
saw her soul pass. I saw
the life go from her and go on, and on. I saw
her body stand erect, long enough for me to reach
her, and pick her up, after its passing. That
I know.”
“I shouldn’t think of questioning it,
Kate,” said Robert. “But don’t
you think you are rather limiting man, when you narrow
him to four primal instincts?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Kate.
“Air to breathe and food to sustain are presupposed.
Man learns to fight in self-defense, and to
acquire what he covets. He learns to covet by
seeing stronger men, in better locations, surpass
his achievements, so if he is strong enough he goes
and robs them by force. He learns the desire
for the chase in food hunting; I think four are plenty
to start with.”
“Probably you are right,” said the doctor,
rising. “I must go now. Shall I
take you home?”
Kate glanced at the sun and shook her head.
“I can stay half an hour longer. I don’t
mind the walk. I need exercise to keep me in
condition. Good-bye!”
As he started his car he glanced back. She was
leaning over the flowers absorbed in their beauty.
Kate sat looking straight before her until time to
help with the evening work, and prepare supper, then
she arose. She stood looking down a long time;
finally she picked up a fine specimen of each of the
roses and slowly dropped them on her father’s
grave.
“There! You may have that many,”
she said. “You look a little too lonely,
lying here beside the others with not a single one,
but if you could speak, I wonder whether you would
say, ’Thank you!’ or ‘Take the damn
weeds off me!’”
