"
"That is touching another great and much disputed question," exclaimed
the Doctor, who seized upon every distinct idea that the ardent and
somewhat dogmatic old man left exposed to his mental grasp, with the
vain hope of inducing a logical discussion, in which he might bring
his battery of syllogisms to annihilate the unscientific defences of
his antagonist.
It is, however, unnecessary to our narrative to relate the erratic
discourse that ensued. The old man eluded the annihilating blows of
his adversary, as the light armed soldier is wont to escape the
efforts of the more regular warrior, even while he annoys him most,
and an hour passed away without bringing any of the numerous subjects,
on which they touched, to a satisfactory conclusion. The arguments
acted, however, on the nervous system of the Doctor, like so many
soothing soporifics, and by the time his aged companion was disposed
to lay his head on his pack, Obed, refreshed by his recent mental
joust, was in a condition to seek his natural rest, without enduring
the torments of the incubus, in the shapes of Teton warriors and
bloody tomahawks.
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