and that
it was only the act of an animal, it would not have convinced the boys.
From the shop they visited the laboratory, and here the boys got their
first real shock, as they saw the skeletons which had been taken from
the cave.

It was all so remarkable to them that they did not know what to say or
think. Here was intelligence directed from the first. How different had
they utilized the intervening time. It was a momentous lesson, they were
smart enough to appreciate what they saw and learned.

"I am so happy to know that we have been permitted to become a member of
your family," said Ralph, as he grasped the Professor's hand. "All this
around here is certainly worth seeing, and it makes me long to take a
hand and help, and I know that Tom feels that way, too."

Before the Professor could reply George stepped up and put his arm
around the Professor. "If you boys only knew how beautiful he has been,
and how patiently he has urged us to carry out this work, you would
almost wish, as has been our desire many times, never to leave this
place; but--of course, we--we want to see home--and," and the tears
came, and Ralph and Harry and Tom broke down and wept, and they turned
away from each other to hide their emotions.

When they turned and tried to be very brave again, the Professor, who
was not ashamed of the tears which fell, smiled through them, and his
voice rang out with a cheer that made every face bright, as he said:
"The most satisfying thing in life is appreciation. My boys have been
heroes. I have done nothing; it is their work. I have felt ashamed,
sometimes, to know how little has been the work of my hands.
Occasionally they have been directed, but it is because they wanted to
know so many things and the reasons for everything they started out to
do. You can see, therefore, that if they had not possessed the spirit to
accomplish these things, the little that I have tried to impart to them
would have been of no use. I merely allude to this to show you that it
is not knowledge or information that makes the world move or induces men
to progress, but it is the spirit which takes hold of and utilizes the
intelligence."

The new additions to the family now necessitated an entire rearrangement
of their quarters. The house, which had been built up in sections, so to
speak, contained three rooms, one, the original portion, being now the
store room, to which was added a living room and a kitchen.

Commenting on