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London, Jack, 1876-1916

"Revolution, and Other Essays"

From the fact that his
master turned suddenly toward the door, and from the fact that his
master's voice, facial expression, and whole demeanour expressed
surprise and delight, he concluded that a friend was outside. He
established a relation between various things, and the act of
establishing relations between things is an act of reason--of
rudimentary reason, granted, but none the less of reason.
Of course Rollo was fooled. But that is no call for us to throw
chests about it. How often has every last one of us been fooled in
precisely similar fashion by another who turned and suddenly
addressed an imaginary intruder? Here is a case in point that
occurred in the West. A robber had held up a railroad train. He
stood in the aisle between the seats, his revolver presented at the
head of the conductor, who stood facing him. The conductor was at
his mercy.
But the conductor suddenly looked over the robber's shoulder, at the
same time saying aloud to an imaginary person standing at the
robber's back: "Don't shoot him.


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