THE FAITH OF MEN


Contents:

A Relic of the Pliocene
A Hyperborean Brew
The Faith of Men
Too Much Gold
The One Thousand Dozen
The Marriage of Lit-lit
Batard
The Story of Jees Uck




A RELIC OF THE PLIOCENE


I wash my hands of him at the start. I cannot father his tales, nor will
I be responsible for them. I make these preliminary reservations,
observe, as a guard upon my own integrity. I possess a certain definite
position in a small way, also a wife; and for the good name of the
community that honours my existence with its approval, and for the sake
of her posterity and mine, I cannot take the chances I once did, nor
foster probabilities with the careless improvidence of youth. So, I
repeat, I wash my hands of him, this Nimrod, this mighty hunter, this
homely, blue-eyed, freckle-faced Thomas Stevens.