CHAPTER ONE
MISS MATHILDA HOCKERSNICKLER of Upper Little Puddle-
patch sat at her half opened window. The book she was
reading attracted her whole attention. A funeral cortege
went by without her shadow falling across the fine lace cur-
tains adorning her windows. An altercation between two
neighbors went unremarked by a movement of the as-
pidistra framing the center of the lower window. Miss Math-
ilda was reading.
Putting down the book upon her lap for a moment, she
raised her steel-rimmed spectacles to her forehead while she
rubbed at her red-rimmed eyes. Then, putting her spectacles
back in place upon her rather prominent nose, she picked up
the book and read some more.
In a cage a green and yellow parrot, beady-eyed, looked
down with some curiosity. Then there was a raucous
squawk, ‘Polly want out, Polly want out!’
Miss Mathilda Hockersnickler jumped to her feet with a
start. ‘Oh, good gracious me,’ she exclaimed, ‘I am so sorry
my poor little darling, I quite forgot to transfer you to your
perch.’
Carefully she opened the door of the gilt wire cage and,
putting a hand inside, she lifted the somewhat tattered old
parrot and gently drew him through the opened cage door.
‘Polly want out, Polly want out!’ squawked the parrot again.
‘Oh, you stupid bird,’ replied Miss Mathilda. ‘You ARE
out, I am going to put you on your perch.’ So saying, she put
the parrot on the crossbar of a five foot pole which at its
distal end resulted in a tray or catch-pan. Carefully she put a
little chain around the parrot's left leg, and then made sure
that the water bowl and the seed bowl at one end of the
support were full.
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The parrot ruffled its feathers and then put its head be-
neath one wing, making cooing chirping noises as it did so.
‘Ah, Polly,’ said Miss Mathilda, ‘you should come and read
this book with me. It's all about the things we are when we
are not here. I wish I knew what the author really believed,’
she said as she sat down again and very carefully and mod-
estly arranged her skirts so that not even her knees were
showing.
She picked up the book again and then hesitated half-way
between lap and reading position, hesitated and put the book
down while she reached for a long knitting needle. And then
with a vigor surprising in such an elderly lady—she gave
a wholly delightful scratch all along her spine between the
shoulder blades. ‘Ah!’ she exclaimed, ‘what a wonderful
relief that is. I am sure there is something wrong with my
liberty bodice. I think I must have got a rough hair there, or
something, let me scratch again, it's such a relief.’ With that
she agitated the knitting needle vigorously, her face beaming
with pleasure as she did so.
With that item behind her, and her itch settled for the
moment, she replaced the knitting needle and picked up the
book. ‘Death,’ she said to herself, or possibly to the un-
heeding parrot, ‘if I only knew what this author REALLY
believed about after death.’
She stopped for a moment and reached to the other side of
the aspidistra bowl so that she could pick up some soft can-
dies she had put there. Then with a sigh she got to her feet
again and passed one to the parrot which was eyeing her very
fiercely. The bird took it with a snap and held it in its beak.
Miss Mathilda, with the knitting needle now in one hand
again and candy in her mouth and the book in her left hand,
settled herself again and continued her reading.
A few lines on she stopped again. ‘Why is it that the
Father always says that if one is not a good Catholic—a
good Church—attending Catholic—one is not able to attain
to the Kingdom of Heaven? I wonder if the Father is wrong
and if people of other religions go to Heaven as well.’ She
lapsed into silence again except for the faint mumbling that
she made as she tried to visualize some of the more un-
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familiar words. Akashic Record, astral travel, the Heavenly
Fields.
The sun moved across the top of the house and Miss Math-
ilda sat and read. The parrot, with head beneath a wing,
slept on. Only an infrequent twitch betrayed any sign of life.
Then a church clock chimed away in the distance and Miss
Mathilda came to life with a jerk. ‘Oh my goodness me—oh
my goodness me,’ she exclaimed, ‘I've forgotten all about tea
and I have to go to the Church Women's Meeting.’ She jumped
rapidly to her feet, and very carefully put an embroidered
into the paperback book which she then hid be-
neath a sewing table.
She moved away to prepare her belated tea, and as she did
so only the parrot would have heard her murmur, ‘Oh, I do
wish I knew what this author really believed—I do wish I
could have a talk with him. It would be such a comfort!’
On a far off sunny island which shall be nameless, al-
though, indeed, it could be named for this is true, a Gentle-
man of Color stretched languorously beneath the ample
shade of an age-old tree. Lazily he put down the book which
he was reading and reached up for a luscious fruit which
was dangling enticingly nearby. With an idle movement he
plucked the fruit, inspected it to see that it was free of
insects, and then popped it in his capacious mouth.
‘Gee,’ he mumbled over the obstruction of the fruit. ‘Gee,
I sure doan know what this cat is getting at. I sure do wish I
knew what he really believed.’
He stretched again and eased his back into a more
comfortable position against the bole of the tree. Idly he
swatted at a passing fly, missing he let his hand continue the
motion and it idly picked up his book again.
‘Life after death, astral travel, the Akashic Record.’ The
Gentleman of Color rifled through some pages. He wanted
to get to the end of the stuff without the necessity of all the
work involved in reading it word by word. He read a para-
graph here, a sentence there, and then idly turned to another
page. ‘Gee,’ he repeated. ‘I wish I knew what he believed.’
But the sun was hot. The hum of the insects soporific.
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Gradually the Gentleman of Color’s head sank upon his
chest. Slowly his dark fingers relaxed and the paperback
book slithered from his nerveless hands and slid down to the
gentle sand. The Gentleman of Color snored and snored,
and was oblivious to all that went on about him in the mun-
dane sphere of activity.
A passing youth glanced at the sleeping Negro and looked
down at the book. Glancing again at the sleeper the youth
edged forward and with prehensile toes reached and picked
up the book which with bent leg he quickly transferred to
his hand. Holding the book on the side away from the
sleeper he moved away looking too innocent to be true.
Away he went into the little copse of trees. Passing
through he came again into the sunlight and to a stretch of
dazzling white sand. The boom of the breakers sounded in
his ears but went unnoticed because this was his life, the
sound of the waves on the rocks around the lagoon was an
everyday sound to him. The hum of the insects and the chit-
tering of the cicadas were his life, and, as such, unnoticed.
On he went, scuffling the fine sand with his toes for there
was always a hope that some treasure or some coin would
be unearthed for hadn't a friend of his once picked up a
golden Piece of Eight while doing this?
There was a narrow strip of water dividing him from a
spit of land containing three solitary trees. Wading he soon
traversed the interruption and made his way to the space
between the three trees. Carefully he lay down and slowly
excavated a little pit to hold his hip bone. Then he rested his
head comfortably against the tree root and looked at the
book which he had filched from the sleeper.
Carefully he looked around to make sure that he was not
observed, to make sure that no one was chasing him.
Satisfied that all was safe, he settled back again and rubbed
one hand through his woolly hair while with the other he
idly turned over the book, first to the back where he read
what the publisher had to say, and then he flipped the book
over and studied the picture through half-closed slitted eyes
and with furrowed brows and puckered lips as he muttered
things incomprehensible to himself.
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He scratched his crotch and pulled his pants to a more
comfortable position. Then, resting on his left elbow, he
flipped over the pages and started to read.
‘Thought forms, mantras, man-oh-man, ain't that shore
sumpin! So maybe I could make a thought form and then
Abigail would have to do whatever I wanted her to do. Gee
man, yeh, I shore go for that.’ He rolled back and picked at
his nose for a bit, then he said, ‘Wonder if I can believe all
this.’
The shadowed recesses of the room exuded an atmosphere
of sanctity. All was quiet except that in the deep stone fire-
place logs burned and sputtered. Every so often a jet of
steam would shoot out and hiss angrily at the flames, steam
generated by moisture trapped within imperfectly dried logs.
Every so often the wood would erupt in a little explosion
sending a shower of sparks upwards. The flickering light
added a strange feeling to the room, a feeling of mystery.
At one side of the fireplace a deep deep armchair stood
with its back facing the door. An old fashioned stand lamp
made of brass rods stood beside the chair, and soft light was
emitted from the medium powered electric light bulb con-
cealed within the recesses of a green shade. The light went
down, and then disappeared from sight because of the ob-
struction of the back of the chair.
There came a dry cough and the rustling of turning pages.
Again there was silence except for the sputtering of a fire
and for the regular fingering of paper as read pages were
turned to reveal new material.
From the far distance there came the tolling of a bell, a
tolling of slow tempo, and then soon there followed the
shuffling of sandal-shod feet and the very soft murmur of
voices. There was a clang of an opening door, and a minute
later a hollow thud as the door was shut. Soon there came
sounds of an organ and male voices raised in song. The song
went on for some time and then there was rustling followed
by silence, and the silence was destroyed by mumbling
voices murmuring something incomprehensible but very
well rehearsed.
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In the room there was a startling slap as a book fell to the
floor. Then a dark figure jumped up. ‘Oh my goodness me, I
must have fallen asleep. What a perfectly astonishing thing
to do!’ The dark robed figure bent to pick up the book and
carefully opened it to the appropriate page. Meticulously he
inserted a bookmark, and quite respectfully placed the book
on the table beside him. For some moments he sat there with
hands clasped and furried brow, then he lifted from the
chair and dropped to his knees facing a crucifix on the wall.
Kneeling, hands clasped, head bowed, he muttered a prayer
of supplication for guidance. That completed he rose to his
feet and went to the fireplace and placed another log on the
brightly glowing embers. For some time he sat crouched at
the side of the stone fireplace with head cupped between his
hands.
On a sudden impulse he slapped his thigh and jumped to
his feet. Rapidly he crossed the dark room and moved to a
desk concealed in the shadows. A quick movement, a pull at
a cord, and that corner of the room was flooded with warm
light. The figure drew back a chair and opened the lid of the
desk, and then sat down. For a moment he sat gazing
blankly at the sheet of paper he had just put before him.
Absently he put out his right hand to feel for the book that
wasn't there, and with a muttered exclamation of annoy-
ance he rose to his feet and went to the chair to pick up the
book deposited on the chairside table.
Back at the desk he sat and rifled through the pages until
he found that which he sought—an address. Quickly he
addressed an envelope and then sat and pondered, sorting
out his thoughts, wondering what to do, wondering how to
phrase the words he wanted to use.
Soon he put nib to paper and all was quiet except for the
scratching of a nib and the ticking of a distant clock.
‘Dear Dr. Rampa,’ the letter commenced, ‘I am a Jesuit
priest. I am a lecturer in the Humanities at our College,
and I have read your books with more than the normal
interest.
‘I believe that only those who follow our own form of
religion are able to obtain Salvation through the blood of
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Our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that when I am teaching my
students. I believe that when I am within the Church itself.
But when I am alone in the dark hours of the night, when
there is none to watch my reactions or analyze my thoughts
then I wonder. Am I right in my Belief? Is there no one
except a Catholic who may be saved? What of other re-
ligions, are they all false, are they all works of the devil? Or
have I and others of my Belief been misled? Your books have
shed much light and enabled me greatly to resolve the
doubts of the spirit in which I am involved, and I would ask
you, Sir, will you answer me some questions so that you
may either shed some new light or strengthen that in which
I believe.’
Carefully he appended his name. Carefully he folded the
letter and was inserting it in the envelope when a thought
occurred to him. Quickly, almost guiltily, he snatched out
the letter, unfolded it, and indited a postscript: ‘I ask you of
your honor as one devoted to your own Belief not to men-
tion my name nor that I have written to you as it is contrary
to the rules of my Order.’ He initialed it, dried the ink, and
then quickly inserted the folded letter in the envelope and
sealed it. He fumbled among his papers until he found a
book, and in that he made a note of the postage to Canada.
Searching in drawers and pigeonholes eventually produced
the appropriate stamps which were affixed to the envelope.
The priest then carefully tucked the letter in the inner re-
cesses of his gown. Rising to his feet he extinguished the
light and left the room.
‘Ah Father,’ said a voice out in the corridor, ‘are you going
into the town or can I do anything for you there? I have to
go on an errand and I should be happy to be of service to
you.’
‘No thank you, Brother,’ replied the senior professor to his
subordinate, ‘I have a mind to take a turn in the town and to
get some much needed exercise, so I think I will just stroll
down to the main street.’ Gravely they took a half bow to
each other, and each went his own way, the senior professor
went out of the age-old building of gray stone stained with
age and half covered with climbing ivy. Slowly he walked
13
along the main drive, hands clasped about his crucifix, mum-
bling to himself as was the wont of those of his Order.
In the main street just beyond the great gate people
bowed respectfully at his appearance, and many crossed
themselves. Slowly the elderly professor walked down the
street to the letter box outside the post office. Guiltily, sur-
reptitiously he looked about him to see if any of his Order
were nearby. Satisfied that all was secure he removed the
letter from his robes and flicked it into the letter box. Then
with a heartfelt sigh of relief he turned and retraced his steps.
Back in his private study, again by the side of the spark-
ling fire and with a well-shaded light casting illumination on
his book, he read and read deep into the hours of the night.
At last he closed the book, locked it away, and went off to
his cell murmuring to himself, ‘What should I believe, what
should I believe?’
The lowering sky gazed dourly upon night-time London.
The teeming rain swept down upon the shivering streets
scurrying passers-by with grimly held umbrellas braced
against the wind. London, the lights of London, and people
hurrying home from work. Buses roared by, great giant red
buses scattering water all over the sidewalks, and shivering
groups of people trying to avoid the dirty spray.
In shop fronts people huddled in groups waiting for their
own buses to come along, dashing out eagerly as a bus came
along and then slinking back despondently as the indicators
showed the wrong numbers. London, with half the city
going home and another half coming on duty.
In Harley Street, the heart of London's medical world, a
gray haired man paced restlessly on a bearskin rug in front
of a roaring fire. Back and forth he strode, hands clasped
behind his back, head bowed upon his chest. Then on im-
pulse he flung himself into a well-padded leather armchair
and pulled a book out of his pocket. Quickly he flipped
through the pages until he found the passage he need...
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