regarding the
phenomenon in the swamp had been utterly erroneous. The creature was
of an oblong build, rounded in contour, and its hide was marked by
large blotches of black and rufous yellow upon a ground of white. With
extreme swiftness the creature scurried down the road, its legs being
so short in proportion to its body and moving with such twinkling
rapidity that it seemed to be propelled upon wheels. The appearance of
this strange monster and the appalling character of its squealing,
caused Nora to tremble like a leaf, but the animal having departed, a
laudable curiosity made her forget her fears, and she asked:

"What is it?"

"That was Ribot."

"Who and what is Ribot?"

"Ribot was a celebrated French scientist, an authority on the subject
of heredity. You doubtless know something of the subject, how certain
traits appear in families generation after generation. Accidental
traits, if repeated for two or three generations, often become
inherent traits. To show you to what a strange extent this is true, I
will call your attention to the case of the ducal house of Bethune in
France, where three successive generations having had the left hand
cut off at the wrist in battle, the next three generations were born
without a left hand."

The erudite dissertation of Wilhelm Klingenspiel was here interrupted
by the reappearance of the mottled monster, who, with a scream that
filled the blue vault of heaven, rushed into the yard and paused
before a mighty oak, whose sturdy trunk had stood rooted in that soil
before the city of Chicago existed, before the United States was born,
when Cahokia was the capital of Illinois and the flag of France waved
over the great West. The flash of terrible white teeth showed in the
moonlight as the monster gnawed at the base of the tree a few times
and with a crash its leafy length lay upon the ground. Contemplating
for a brief space the ruin it had wrought, the monster emitted another
of its appalling screams and was off once more on its erratic, aimless
course.

"What in the world is this awful creature?" cried Nora.

"The subject of heredity," resumed Klingenspiel, "is one of vast
importance, and although its principles are well understood, man has
hitherto not touched the possibilities that can be accomplished. The
span of a man's life is so short that in selecting and breeding choice
strains of animals, an individual can see only a comparatively small
number of generations suc