第66章 BOOK III.(6)

In my dying moments I had forgotten what I had so often preached--'Thou fool,that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.'In a moment my life lay before me like a valley or an open page.All along its paths and waysides I saw the little seeds of word and deed that I had sown extending and bearing fruit forever for good or evil.I then saw things as they were,and realized the faultiness of my former conclusions,based as they had been on the incomplete knowledge obtained through embryonic senses.I also saw the Divine purpose in life as the design in a piece of tapestry,whereas before I had seen but the wrong side.It is not till we have lost the life in the flesh that we realize its dignity and value,for every hour gives us opportunities of helping or elevating some human being--it may be ourselves--of doing something in His service.

"Now that time is past,the books are closed,and we can do nothing further ourselves to alter our status for eternity,however much we may wish to.It is on this account,and not merely to save you from death,which in itself is nothing,that Inow tell you to run to the Callisto,seal the doors hermetically,and come not forth till a sudden rush of air that you will see on the trees has passed.A gust in which even birds drop dead,if they are unable to escape,will be here when you reach safety.

Do not delay to take this food,and eat none of it when you return,for it will be filled with poisonous germs.""How can we find you?"asked Ayrault,grasping his hand."You must not leave us till we know how we can see you again.""Think hard and steadfastly of me,you three,"replied the spirit,"if you want me,and I shall feel your thought";saying which,he vanished before their eyes,and the three friends ran to the Callisto.

CHAPTER III.

DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY.

On reaching it,they climbed the ladder leading to the second-story opening,and entering through this,they closed the door,screwing it tightly in place.

"Now,"said Cortlandt,"we can see what changes,if any,this wonderful gust will effect.""He made no strictures on our senses,such as they are,"said Bearwarden,"but implied that evolution would be carried much further in us,from which I suppose we may infer that it has not yet gone far.I wish we had recorked those brandy peaches,for now they will be filled with poisonous germs.I wonder if our shady friend could not tell us of an antiseptic with which they might be treated?""Those fellows,"thought Ayrault,who had climbed to the dome,from which he had an extended view,"would jeer at an angel,while the deference they showed the spirit seems,as usual,to have been merely superficial.""Let us note,"said Cortlandt,"that the spirit thermometer outside has fallen several degrees since we entered,though,from the time taken,I should not say that the sudden change would be one of temperature."Just then they saw a number of birds,which had been resting in a clump of trees,take flight suddenly;but they fell to the ground before they had risen far,and were dashed to pieces.In another moment the trees began to bend and sway before the storm;and as they gazed,the colour of the leaves turned from green and purple to orange and red.The wind blew off many of these,and they were carried along by the gusts,or fluttered to the ground,which was soon strewed with them.It was a typical autumnal scene.Presently the wind shifted,and this was followed by a cold shower of rain.

"I think the worst is over,"said Bearwarden."The Sailor's Guide says:

'When the rain's before the wind,Halliards,sheets,and braces mind;When the wind's before the rain,Soon you can make sail again.'

Doubtless that will hold good here."

This proved to be correct;and,after a repetition of the precautions they had taken on their arrival on the planet in regard to the inhalability of the air,they again sallied forth.

They left their magazine shot-guns,taking instead the double-barrelled kind,on account of the rapidity with which this enabled them to fire the second barrel after the first,and threw away the water that had collected in the bucket,out of respect to the spirit's warning.They noticed a pungent odour,and decided to remain on high ground,since they had observed that the birds,in their effort to escape,had flown almost vertically into the air.On reaching the grove in which they had seen the storm,they found their table and everything on it exactly as they had left it.Bearwarden threw out the brandy peaches on the ground,exclaiming that it was a shame to lose such good preserves,and they proceeded on their walk.They passed hundreds of dead birds,and on reaching the edge of the toadstool valley were not a little surprised to find that every toadstool had disappeared.

"I wonder,"said the doctor,"if there can be any connection between the phenomenon of the disappearance of those toadstools and the death of the birds?We could easily discover it if they had eaten them,or if in any other way the plants could have entered their bodies;but I see no way in which that can have happened."Resolving to investigate carefully any other fungi they might see,they resumed their march.The cold,distant-looking sun,apparently about the size of an orange,was near the horizon.