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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b1c92b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66393 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66393) diff --git a/old/66393-0.txt b/old/66393-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 96299ac..0000000 --- a/old/66393-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1096 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Battle of the Bells, by Jerome Bixby - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Battle of the Bells - -Author: Jerome Bixby - -Release Date: September 27, 2021 [eBook #66393] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BATTLE OF THE BELLS *** - - - - - Charley's practical joke was usually good - for a laugh when a city feller made a rest stop; - but it also aroused heavenly concern and began-- - - The Battle of the Bells - - By Jerome Bixby - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - September 1954 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -It would happen maybe once or twice a week--never much more. Because -things had to be just right. - -For example, it had to be daytime for it to work. At night, nobody was -likely to notice the chain hanging down with the handle on the end of -it. - -And naturally the victims had to be city folk. Had to be used to just -reaching up and grabbing and pulling without a thought. Because when -you stop to think about it, a chain like that in a place like that is -about the most unlikely thing in the world. - -But it worked--it worked often enough to bring grins to the faces of -any men who were around at the time, and enough to make the town women -sometimes a little cool toward Charley Mason when they went in to buy -things at his store. Because it was strictly a man's joke, and he was -the man. - - * * * * * - -Owensville is a small town in western Pennsylvania. It sits low in one -end of a green-sided valley, just a few frame houses and stores strung -along a main street ... and that main street is on the one and only -road that leads through the valley: a road that all the maps show to be -a convenient and dependable connection between the Penn Turnpike and -several other major routes, should you be heading south. - -So a lot of people drive through Owensville every week--upwards of two -hundred or so. And there's always one or two of them in the mood to -spend a little time in a restroom--the last Howard Johnson's is twenty -miles back along the Turnpike, and the road down into the valley is a -bumpy one besides, and you know what that does to your innards. - -So they come driving around the bend under the trees and their car -wheels thump across the old wooden bridge across Miller's Creek--and -once in a while one of them would pull off the road into the yard -beside Charley Mason's General Store because they'd spot his -crescent-doored outhouse standing there. Charley always kept it painted -up so it'd be easier to see--clean white with a red roof--and over -the door he'd lettered, big enough to see from the bridge, PUBLIC -RESTROOM. - -Then somebody'd get out of the car and go in, and a few minutes later -the chain that came up through the roof would yank down as whoever was -inside reached up and pulled the handle. - -And then the big old cowbell on the roof--the biggest and noisiest -Charley'd been able to find--would dance around in the mounting he'd -made out of an angle-iron, and go _Blongle, blongle, blok!_ - -After a minute the door'd open and the city folk would come out, -looking puzzled and kind of sneaky. They'd give a glance up at the roof -and see the cowbell mounted there. Some of them might grin at the way -they'd been had. But mostly they'd get into their car and drive off -maybe a little faster'n they would've ordinarily. - -If it was a woman, it was five times as funny. Because some of the -older men were always sitting around on the porch of Charley's store -playing pinochle, or lounging down by the bridge just talking, and -when the woman would come out they'd all grin at her and those who had -mustaches might twiddle them a bit, and she'd get redder'n a bushel of -tomatoes. - -Women drove off faster'n anybody, usually. - -Some townspeople said it wasn't a very good way to advertise Owensville -to passersby. But Charley said that a town of thirty-two people didn't -have to worry about advertising one way or the other--it just needed -diversion. And since it was on his property, the cowbell stayed up. - -It was just a gag. It never really hurt anybody. Charley, who could -incline to philosophy when it suited him, said that the only person it -could hurt was somebody who was plain ashamed of being human. And, on -the personal side, he admitted he got a kick out of seeing them all -flustered up that way. - -Probably the outhouse and the bell'd still be there, and Charley'd -still be getting his laughs, if the fat lady in the green convertible -hadn't decided to do some praying. - - * * * * * - -It was a late July afternoon, and plenty hot. The sun was reflecting -like yellow-green fire off the hills around, and everybody was sitting -in the shade. - -Charley Mason and Sam Knudson were sitting on the store porch playing -gin, and Luke Yates was just coming up the steps, when they heard a car -approaching. - -Charley and Sam paused in their game and Luke turned his gray head to -look. - -"Maybe this time," Charley said. - -Luke Yates studied the dust cloud moving toward town above the tops of -the trees. - -"Coming pretty fast," he said. "Bet they drive right on through." - -"A dollar," said Charley. "You bounce harder when you drive fast." - -"It's on," said Luke. - -Waiting, Charley Mason leaned back in his chair and half-closed his -eyes, a lean, bald man in shirt-sleeves, the hand holding his cards -relaxed in his lap. They could hear the murmur of the creek carrying -away the runoff from last night's rain, and the air was sweet with the -breath of the fields off down the valley. - -"Rich man," said Charley, looking across the yard at his outhouse, -"poor man, beggar man, thief. In there, you're all alike in the eyes of -God, I guess." - -Sam Knudson nodded thoughtfully. "In the eyes of _something_, at any -rate." - -"All alike," said Luke Yates. - -"Can't see your wallet from _there_," Charley said. - -"Your brains either," said Luke. - -After a moment, Charley said, "Some people's brains, maybe." - -They all nodded. - -A green convertible driven by a fat woman came around the bend, -trailing dust, and rattled across the bridge. - -"New York license plates," Luke said, squinting. - -"Yep," said Charley. - -"Maybe she'll bite." - -"If she stops," Charley said, "maybe she will." - - * * * * * - -The green convertible swerved off the road and pulled to a halt beside -the store. The fat lady got out and looked around for a moment, -blinking in the sun. She saw the three old men up on the porch and -seemed to hesitate. Then she went around the back of the car and headed -for the outhouse, walking a little defiantly, head up, her steps steady -and deliberate. - -The men exchanged glances. Luke handed Charley a dollar bill. - -"Do her some good, maybe," Charley said. "Shy type." - -"Like we didn't know how it was," Sam said, shaking his head. - -"Or maybe," Charley said, "because we do. Funny." - -Luke sat down on the bottom-most step and scuffed the dirt of the yard -with a toe. They watched the cowbell atop the outhouse, and listened to -the murmur of the creek, and heard a bird sing in the big elm out back -of the store, and waited. - -The chain that came up through the outhouse roof yanked down. - -The cowbell went _Blongle, blongle, blok!_ - -Charley puffed his pipe in satisfaction. Luke and Sam grinned. They -waited for the fat lady to emerge. - -When she did, a moment later, it was looking puzzled as usual--but -there was a difference. She stalked ten feet away from the outhouse, -about-faced, and stared up at the cowbell. The men saw the back of her -neck get red and redder still. Then she turned and came toward the -porch. Her eyes were narrowed, her hands were clenched into fists, her -mouth was a determined slash. - -She marched across the yard and stood facing the three men on the -porch. She put her fists on her hips and glared. - -Luke and Sam stopped grinning. Charley's pipe drooped. - -The sun beat down on the valley, the town, the yard, the outhouse, -the fat woman. Her brow was shiny with perspiration. She stood there, -turned her cold blue glare on one man after another, like you'd sweep a -gatling against enemy ranks. - -Luke said uncomfortably, "Howdy, ma'am." - -"You old lechers!" said the fat woman tightly. - -Charley and Luke and Sam exchanged dismayed looks. - -"Now, ma'am--" Charley began. - -"Don't say anything, you old lechers," the fat woman spat. "I don't -want to hear your gloating, oily voices! Of all the lecherous, -salacious, lascivious things to do!" - -"Why," Charley said doubtfully, "I guess we're a little old to be all -those things--" - -"You're never too old to be evil-minded!" she snapped. "Even if your -bodies are too old for unGodliness!" Her positive and indicating gaze -raked them up and down, and she saw the cards which Charley held in his -lap. - -"Playing cards, too!" she said, her lips curling. "Well, I guess _that_ -follows!" - -"Follows what, ma'am?" Luke asked puzzledly. - -She saw the brown beer bottle resting on the box beside Charley's chair. - -"_Alcohol!_" she hissed. - - * * * * * - -She stood glaring up at them, her breath coming fast and shallow, in a -half-crouch that led Charley Mason to wonder if she planned to climb -right over the porch rail and lace into them physically. - -Then, as they watched in wary silence, her anger seemed to abate a -little; over a period of five seconds her fists slowly unclenched, her -breath slowed, she straightened. - -She said in a low voice, "It's the work of the Devil. Anger is not the -answer." - -"The Devil, ma'am?" Charley asked. - -"_He_ has made you do this--it is a device to keep lewd and licentious -thoughts uppermost in your minds and corrupt your immortal souls. I -suppose I shouldn't blame you for listening to him ... so _few_ of us -_are_ able to resist his honeyed mouthings." - -"Ma'am," Luke said, "I don't think you should get so excited on a hot -day like this. Maybe a cold coke--" - -"I'll pray," the fat lady said. "I'll pray for the Lord to undo this -Devil's work. I'll pray that your souls be cleansed of the evil -thoughts the Dark One has put there." Her pale blue eyes seemed a -trifle fixed, and now she smiled, looking through the men who watched -her worriedly. "I--I'm almost proud that I should have suffered this -humiliation in order to help Him in His work--it is a small price to -pay, to have been the object of your lustful thoughts, if I can save -your souls by telling the Lord what you are doing and seeing to it -that He stops you!" - -She gave them a pitying, sympathetic look. "You hate me now," she said, -"but when you are pure you will thank me." - -She turned away and walked toward her car, head bowed. - -After a moment Luke got up from the steps and sank into a chair on the -porch. "Does lust mean what I think it means?" he asked. - -"Guess it does," Charley said. - -"Well, back when I _could_ lust, I wouldn't ever have lusted _her_." - -They watched her get in and drive off, head still down in an attitude -of prayer, eyes up so she could drive. The car reached the other end of -the main street, followed the road into the trees, and vanished. - -Charley stared contemplatively across the yard at his outhouse. - -"Work of the Devil, huh?" he mused. "Well, now doesn't that beat all! I -bet Heaven would kick that prayer right out of court!" - -"No," said a firm voice. "It was heard." - - * * * * * - -The three old men turned and saw a tall, handsome, blond young man, -dressed in a neat and utterly clean white suit, standing in the -center of the yard. His face wore an expression of perfect peace and -abounding love. - -Actually, he wasn't _quite_ standing in the yard yet. When they turned, -his feet were about four feet above the ground. As they watched, he -floated slowly down until he was standing straight, and tall and -smiling a little. - -At that moment, _timelessness_ descended upon the scene--upon Charley -Mason's store, the yard, the outhouse. _Timelessness_ bounded the -area from one edge of Charley's yard to the other, and from the road -clear to the woods out back; and that _timelessness_ extended downward -to a perfect point at the very center of the Earth, and extended upward -in a perfect cone to Heaven; and within its boundaries nothing that -happened was visible to the outside world, or indeed even "happened" -so far as the outside world was concerned: for it all happened in -_timelessness_ ... in one of those particles of time-substance which -exists _between_ microseconds on Earth's time continuum: particles so -small that they are of use only to angels, who in their work must often -get between people and their intended deeds faster than seems possible. - -The young man's calm eyes looked into the minds of the three old -men on the porch, and saw no evidence there of lewd or lascivious -thoughts of the magnitude reported by the fat lady in her prayer. This -did not surprise him, for exaggeration is the backbone of prayer, and -the Heavenly Workers are used to it. In particular are they used to -nuisances like the fat lady, who continually turn in false alarms. - -Closing his eyes, the young man contacted his secretary-cherubim in -his office in Heaven. The cherubim immediately returned the dossiers -of Luke and Sam and Charley Mason to the Heavenly Files, with no -additional notations on the debit side. - -That done--for nothing is so urgent in the eyes of Heaven as the latest -data on souls--the young man turned his attention to the outhouse. - -He saw the cowbell, and his lips pursed. - -He left the porch, walking lightly, and crossed the yard to the -outhouse. The three old men watched him dreamily, unmoving, -comprehending, gripped by _timelessness_ and a sense of wonder. - -The young man opened the crescented door and went in. The chain yanked. -The cowbell went _Blongle, blongle, blok!_ - -The young man reappeared in the door and looked at the old men on the -porch. He pursed his lips again and shook his head reprimandingly. He -disappeared again. - -A second later, the cowbell and chain and angle-iron disappeared too. - - * * * * * - -The young man came out, dusting his hands with a white handkerchief. He -came back across the yard and mounted the steps. He seated himself on -the porch railing, where he could face the three old men. - -"Shame on you," he said. - -The men cast their eyes downward. - -"The lady's accusations were somewhat excessive," the young man said. -"Your motives seem not to have been primarily lascivious, and I have so -informed Heaven. But still ... don't you think you should be ashamed of -yourselves?" He paused. "You may nod if you wish." - -The men nodded, eyes dreamy. - -"After all," the young man said, "isn't that rather a snide trick to -play on tired travelers who seek your hospitality?" - -Charley Mason's mouth worked; his Adam's apple bobbed. - -"Speak," said the young man. - -"Gosh," Charley said in a low voice, "it was just a little joke. We -never had nothing else in mind--" - -"I know," the young man said. "I have discounted that element. I am -speaking of the unkindness of the prank--the discomfiture which you -impose on its victims." - -"Oh," said Charley. "I--gosh, it just embarrassed them a little bit, -that's all. I mean ... that's all, isn't it?" - -"No," said the young man sternly, "there is more. Think a moment, -humans, upon that common structure in the yard ... think deeply, and -you will realize that there is much more to it than meets the eye." - -"Guess so," mumbled Charley. - -"It is a haven ... a place of wondrous solitude ... a refuge for those -who would contemplate without interruption, as many a weary traveler -yearns for." - -"Guess so." - -"In what other situation can you be so completely alone ... in a -perfect isolation not only permitted but sanctioned by your society? -Why, humans, I could tell you of the most extraordinary moments of -piety, of philosophical reflection, of artistic conception which we -have recorded as occurring under such circumstances...." - -"I never thought of it that way, I guess," Charley said slowly. "I -always did sort of think it leveled you off, though." - -The young man eyed them soberly. - -"In late afternoon," he said, "in the confines of the rustic outhouse, -settled happily, hearing the quaint and natural sounds of the insects -in the field, the flutterings of birds from branch to branch ... do you -know that in this day it is the only waking place where one may flee -for the inner life?" - -The old men looked down guiltily. - -"It is ever a reminder of one's mortality," the young man said. - -"It is Man in his true aristocratic state," he said. - -"And yet at his most humble," he said. - -"And now I will leave," he said. "I hope you have seen the light, and -will no longer impose your crude, cruel joke on those who trust you for -a moment's peace." - -He stood up. "I hardly think that it was the work of the Devil, -however, as the lady seemed to think--" - -A cloud seemed to come over the sun--but there were no clouds, so -perhaps the sun dimmed. The birds in the trees were suddenly silent. -Even the rustling leaves seemed to pause. It grew still darker, and a -chill breeze sprang up. - -A head, whose face was dark and sharp and saturnine, appeared in the -center of the yard. - - * * * * * - -As the young man and the three old men watched, a tall, dark, gaunt man -in a neatly tailored black suit rose from the ground and stood eying -them mockingly. - -"Wasn't it?" he said in a thin, dry voice, and laughed. - -The young man's lips tightened. He said nothing. The three old men were -shrunken back in their chairs, staring. - -The Devil--or perhaps the man in black was only _part_ of the Devil, -for mysterious and complex are the ways he influences from his bronze -throne in the exact center of midwestern Gehenna--turned and sauntered -to the outhouse. He entered. - -A moment later the cowbell and chain and angle-iron reappeared--though -not quite as they had been. The chain seemed a little heavier, the -cowbell a little larger and more shiny. - -The chain was yanked. The cowbell went _Blongle, blongle, blok, -blok!_--a metallic sound of triumph. - -The man in black came out smirking. He made his way across the yard and -mounted the porch steps. The young man frowned and lifted a shoulder so -the fabrics of their clothing would not touch. - -The man in black went to the opposite end of the porch and sat down in -a chair there. He looked out over the bridge and the murmuring creek -and the trees beyond and took a pipe from a pocket. From another pocket -he took a live coal, which he dropped into the pipe. He puffed, and -sulphur-smell filled the air. - -The young man got up, sighing and bracing his hands on his knees. He -stood for a moment regarding the man in black levelly. Then he went -down the steps and across the yard and into the outhouse. - -Chain, cowbell and mounting vanished. - -The man in black rose, still smiling. He passed the three old men, -trailing sulphur smoke from his pipe. They shrank back, eyes wide. He -went down into the yard and toward the outhouse. - -When he was halfway there, the young man emerged. They locked eyes, the -young man's cool and determined, the other's hot and mocking and quite -as determined. - -They passed each other, saying not a word. - -As the young man reached the porch steps, there came from the outhouse -a loud _Blongle, blongle, blongle, blok, blok_, and he paused, one foot -on the steps, lips thinned. He seated himself deliberately, and only -then did he look around. - -The new bell was twice as large as the former. The chain was heavier. -It hung from a heavy cast-iron mounting. - -The man in black came out. He sauntered back to the porch and seated -himself. - - * * * * * - -Half a non-existent hour passed--non-existent, because it passed in -_timelessness_. The young man sat quietly, seeming to ponder; the -man in black sat as quietly, smoking his sulphur; the three old men -sat like mice, their eyes shuttling back and forth between the two -antagonists. - -At last the young man got up and walked slowly to the outhouse. The -cowbell and its paraphernalia vanished. This time with a flash of white -light. - -The man in black dropped a new lump of smoking sulphur into his pipe -and tamped it down with his thumb. He walked to the outhouse and -replaced the bell with a still bigger one. He yanked at the chain, and -raucous bellsound filled the yard. - -He came back, and they sat around a while longer. - -The young man went out. The new bell vanished with a flash like -diamond-blue lightning. - -The man in black sauntered out. In an enormous mounting atop the -outhouse appeared a three-foot church bell. - -Its chain yanked down. - -_Bong-g-g--bong-g-g--bong-g-g...._ - -The young man hurried across the yard, shoulders stiff. So quickly that -the man in black, eyes mocking, was forced to stand aside at the very -door of the outhouse to permit him to enter. - -The church bell and mounting vanished. With a clap of indignant thunder. - -The man in black resumed his chair on the porch. The young man came -slowly back across the yard and sat on the steps. - -After a few minutes the young man said, "That wasn't very funny." - -"I hardly expected you to think so." - -"This can go on for an awfully long time you know." - -"I have," said the man in black, "an awfully long time. So do you." - -"I think that it's rather a silly thing for you to be concerning -yourself with," the young man said. "After all, it failed to incite -these humans to any thoughts which could really be called sinful." - -"Then it is an equally silly thing for _you_ to concern yourself with, -isn't it?" - -"I do so because it disturbs humans at a time when they may be nearest -to God." - -"I concern myself for the same reason." - - * * * * * - -A non-existent half hour passed. The young man sat on the steps, his -white suit impeccable, face thoughtful. The man in black sat and smoked -and smirked. The three old men waited. - -Out in the yard the outhouse stood, a battleground of good and evil. -Its coat of white paint gleamed in the sun, which still stood high -as a result of _timelessness_. Its red roof was a challenge. To the -young man, staring moodily, the crescent in the door seemed a mocking, -lopsided smile. - -On the roof stood a new and larger mounting, containing a new and -larger cowbell, from which hung a new and heavier chain. - -Once the young man looked upward, as if for guidance. - -Once he sighed and shook his head, as if discouraged. - -"One of us must win," he said finally. - -"Always," the man in black nodded. - -"If I destroy that bell, you will replace it." - -"With a bigger one." - -"If you replace it, I shall destroy it." - -"And then I shall replace it again." - -"Do you really feel," asked the young man, "that so small a purpose is -worth such an effort?" - -"I might ask you the same question." - -"Tiny building blocks may build a great edifice." - -"The removal of one may contribute to its ruin." - -The creek murmured. Out in back of the store, the bird in the elm sang -a hesitant note, and then was silent. - -Charley Mason cleared his throat. - -The man in black turned his hot, mocking gaze on Charley. Charley -closed his mouth so hard his teeth clicked. - -The young man said, "You need not fear him, mortal--only his -temptations." - -"Mister--" Charley said hesitantly. - -"Yes?" - -"Something sort of has me wondering." - -"Yes?" - -"Well--I've been watching you two go at it, and--well, it sort of looks -like this other feller has the edge on you right down the line. I mean, -like he was all confident, and you just don't know how to get around -him--" - -The young man nodded somberly. "I have been waiting for you to make -that observation, human. It is true. Evil has only to _be_ ... has only -to _exist_ for its work to be half done. It is a pit; you have only -to fall into it. While to be good, you must exert yourself to climb -_out_ of the pit." He looked sadly at the smirking man in black. "He -walks confidently, for he requires no more than your acceptance of him, -your tolerance, your passivity, your apathy. How can such a dynamic -imbalance threaten him?... He must only _be_ to be strong; you must -_act_ to make him weak." - -The young man got up and stretched his arms. He looked upward at the -sky again, and seemed to be listening. He shrugged a little. - -"It has been pointed out to me," he said, "that I have demonstrated -sufficiently--now there are other matters to be attended to. I will -destroy the bell once again ... but mark these words well, humans: the -Dark One will create another--and it, like all his creations, will be -a potential for evil. Not a large evil, perhaps, in this case, nor -an evil in itself by the simple fact of its existence--rather his -creations represent the potential of evil _within yourselves_. After he -goes, I urge that you take down the bell and throw it away ... destroy -it ... for as you have seen he is powerless to prevent that. If he -creates another, cast it aside also. Keep doing so. The bell is but -the symbol, the temptation: the conquest of evil can take place only -in your own souls; you must _act_ in the face of that temptation. The -battleground is not this town, nor this yard, nor that structure, but -in _yourselves_. In you is the pit; in you must be the strength and -will to escape it. Do you understand?" - -Three nods. - - * * * * * - -The young man looked into their minds for the last time, to assure -himself of their purity. - -And in Charley Mason's mind he saw a tiny, half-hidden thought that -struck him so forcibly that he almost smiled. Deep in Charley's mind, -beneath all his awe and wonder at the present situation, almost on a -subconscious level, Charley's sense of humor was still working--the -sense of humor that had come up with the cowbell joke in the first -place. - -Now, in Charley's mind, was a solution for the present difficulty. Not -a solution, actually; for the realities of the problem were already -solved--solved in the minds of the three old men and their firm resolve -to do nothing ever again that would precipitate this kind of Heavenly -and Satanic tug-of-war in the arena of their souls. - -But it would end this business of bell/no bell very nicely. And not -inappropriately, the young man thought. He would arrange the situation -just as Charley was mentally picturing it. And seeing what Charley had -in mind finally brought a smile to the young man's face. - -He walked across the yard and entered the outhouse. The bell and chain -and mounting vanished. This time the young man was gone from sight -just a little longer than any time previously, and when he came out he -looked just a tiny bit expectant. - -He waved in friendly fashion at the three men on the porch and rose -into the sky, faster and faster until he disappeared into the sun. - -The man in black got up from his chair and knocked out his pipe on a -heel--or rather, where a heel should have been, for it was now evident -for the first time that he had black hooves instead of feet. - -The wad of sulphur fell to the boards and smoked and stank. - -"He was right, you know," he said. "The battle was in yourselves. And -I suppose I've lost. I seem to be losing more and more these days ... -though I'm by no means through. I suppose if I put up another bell, -you'll just take it down." He sighed and stretched his long black-clad -arms wide, as the young man had done. "Well, it's been diverting. I -think I _will_ put up another bell--just for the Hell of it." - -He went down the steps, across the yard, into the outhouse. - -An enormous cowbell appeared on the roof--a prince of cowbells, a -cowbell fit for the neck of Babe, the giant blue ox of Paul Bunyan. -From it hung an inch-thick chain. - -The chain yanked down, the cowbell went _BLONGLE, BLONGLE, BLOK, BLOK, -BLOK!_--and Charley's plan which the young man had arranged before -leaving the confines of the outhouse became evident. - -There was a loud flushing sound. A herculean flush. The walls collapsed -inward with a giant roar and an enormous swoosh and a gargantuan -gurgle. A moment later there was only a deep hole in the ground where -the outhouse had stood. And then the sides of the hole crumbled in to -form a shallow pit. - -_Timelessness_ ended. - -Luke scratched his head and stared from Sam over to Charley. "Did you -two dream the same thing I did?" his voice was awed. - -Sam pointed over to where the pit made a raw scar in the ground. -"Weren't no dream. Or if it was, we're still asleep." - -Charley had a laughing glint in his eye. "We're not asleep, and it -wasn't any dream. 'Specially the ending." - -Luke and Sam looked at him puzzled for a moment. Then they both laughed -and Charley joined them. - -"Bet that flush was the damndest joke Satan ever had played on him!" -Luke gasped, holding his sides. - -"One _hell_ of a joke, Charley," Sam choked. "What I wouldn't give to -have seen his face!" - -Charley agreed. He began to laugh even harder as he wondered if there -was any soap and water down in Gehenna. He had an idea Satan might be -praying for some. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BATTLE OF THE BELLS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Battle of the Bells</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Jerome Bixby</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 27, 2021 [eBook #66393]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BATTLE OF THE BELLS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p>Charley's practical joke was usually good<br /> -for a laugh when a city feller made a rest stop;<br /> -but it also aroused heavenly concern and began—</p> - -<h1>The Battle of the Bells</h1> - -<h2>By Jerome Bixby</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -September 1954<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It would happen maybe once or twice a week—never much more. Because -things had to be just right.</p> - -<p>For example, it had to be daytime for it to work. At night, nobody was -likely to notice the chain hanging down with the handle on the end of -it.</p> - -<p>And naturally the victims had to be city folk. Had to be used to just -reaching up and grabbing and pulling without a thought. Because when -you stop to think about it, a chain like that in a place like that is -about the most unlikely thing in the world.</p> - -<p>But it worked—it worked often enough to bring grins to the faces of -any men who were around at the time, and enough to make the town women -sometimes a little cool toward Charley Mason when they went in to buy -things at his store. Because it was strictly a man's joke, and he was -the man.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Owensville is a small town in western Pennsylvania. It sits low in one -end of a green-sided valley, just a few frame houses and stores strung -along a main street ... and that main street is on the one and only -road that leads through the valley: a road that all the maps show to be -a convenient and dependable connection between the Penn Turnpike and -several other major routes, should you be heading south.</p> - -<p>So a lot of people drive through Owensville every week—upwards of two -hundred or so. And there's always one or two of them in the mood to -spend a little time in a restroom—the last Howard Johnson's is twenty -miles back along the Turnpike, and the road down into the valley is a -bumpy one besides, and you know what that does to your innards.</p> - -<p>So they come driving around the bend under the trees and their car -wheels thump across the old wooden bridge across Miller's Creek—and -once in a while one of them would pull off the road into the yard -beside Charley Mason's General Store because they'd spot his -crescent-doored outhouse standing there. Charley always kept it painted -up so it'd be easier to see—clean white with a red roof—and over -the door he'd lettered, big enough to see from the bridge, PUBLIC -RESTROOM.</p> - -<p>Then somebody'd get out of the car and go in, and a few minutes later -the chain that came up through the roof would yank down as whoever was -inside reached up and pulled the handle.</p> - -<p>And then the big old cowbell on the roof—the biggest and noisiest -Charley'd been able to find—would dance around in the mounting he'd -made out of an angle-iron, and go <i>Blongle, blongle, blok!</i></p> - -<p>After a minute the door'd open and the city folk would come out, -looking puzzled and kind of sneaky. They'd give a glance up at the roof -and see the cowbell mounted there. Some of them might grin at the way -they'd been had. But mostly they'd get into their car and drive off -maybe a little faster'n they would've ordinarily.</p> - -<p>If it was a woman, it was five times as funny. Because some of the -older men were always sitting around on the porch of Charley's store -playing pinochle, or lounging down by the bridge just talking, and -when the woman would come out they'd all grin at her and those who had -mustaches might twiddle them a bit, and she'd get redder'n a bushel of -tomatoes.</p> - -<p>Women drove off faster'n anybody, usually.</p> - -<p>Some townspeople said it wasn't a very good way to advertise Owensville -to passersby. But Charley said that a town of thirty-two people didn't -have to worry about advertising one way or the other—it just needed -diversion. And since it was on his property, the cowbell stayed up.</p> - -<p>It was just a gag. It never really hurt anybody. Charley, who could -incline to philosophy when it suited him, said that the only person it -could hurt was somebody who was plain ashamed of being human. And, on -the personal side, he admitted he got a kick out of seeing them all -flustered up that way.</p> - -<p>Probably the outhouse and the bell'd still be there, and Charley'd -still be getting his laughs, if the fat lady in the green convertible -hadn't decided to do some praying.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was a late July afternoon, and plenty hot. The sun was reflecting -like yellow-green fire off the hills around, and everybody was sitting -in the shade.</p> - -<p>Charley Mason and Sam Knudson were sitting on the store porch playing -gin, and Luke Yates was just coming up the steps, when they heard a car -approaching.</p> - -<p>Charley and Sam paused in their game and Luke turned his gray head to -look.</p> - -<p>"Maybe this time," Charley said.</p> - -<p>Luke Yates studied the dust cloud moving toward town above the tops of -the trees.</p> - -<p>"Coming pretty fast," he said. "Bet they drive right on through."</p> - -<p>"A dollar," said Charley. "You bounce harder when you drive fast."</p> - -<p>"It's on," said Luke.</p> - -<p>Waiting, Charley Mason leaned back in his chair and half-closed his -eyes, a lean, bald man in shirt-sleeves, the hand holding his cards -relaxed in his lap. They could hear the murmur of the creek carrying -away the runoff from last night's rain, and the air was sweet with the -breath of the fields off down the valley.</p> - -<p>"Rich man," said Charley, looking across the yard at his outhouse, -"poor man, beggar man, thief. In there, you're all alike in the eyes of -God, I guess."</p> - -<p>Sam Knudson nodded thoughtfully. "In the eyes of <i>something</i>, at any -rate."</p> - -<p>"All alike," said Luke Yates.</p> - -<p>"Can't see your wallet from <i>there</i>," Charley said.</p> - -<p>"Your brains either," said Luke.</p> - -<p>After a moment, Charley said, "Some people's brains, maybe."</p> - -<p>They all nodded.</p> - -<p>A green convertible driven by a fat woman came around the bend, -trailing dust, and rattled across the bridge.</p> - -<p>"New York license plates," Luke said, squinting.</p> - -<p>"Yep," said Charley.</p> - -<p>"Maybe she'll bite."</p> - -<p>"If she stops," Charley said, "maybe she will."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The green convertible swerved off the road and pulled to a halt beside -the store. The fat lady got out and looked around for a moment, -blinking in the sun. She saw the three old men up on the porch and -seemed to hesitate. Then she went around the back of the car and headed -for the outhouse, walking a little defiantly, head up, her steps steady -and deliberate.</p> - -<p>The men exchanged glances. Luke handed Charley a dollar bill.</p> - -<p>"Do her some good, maybe," Charley said. "Shy type."</p> - -<p>"Like we didn't know how it was," Sam said, shaking his head.</p> - -<p>"Or maybe," Charley said, "because we do. Funny."</p> - -<p>Luke sat down on the bottom-most step and scuffed the dirt of the yard -with a toe. They watched the cowbell atop the outhouse, and listened to -the murmur of the creek, and heard a bird sing in the big elm out back -of the store, and waited.</p> - -<p>The chain that came up through the outhouse roof yanked down.</p> - -<p>The cowbell went <i>Blongle, blongle, blok!</i></p> - -<p>Charley puffed his pipe in satisfaction. Luke and Sam grinned. They -waited for the fat lady to emerge.</p> - -<p>When she did, a moment later, it was looking puzzled as usual—but -there was a difference. She stalked ten feet away from the outhouse, -about-faced, and stared up at the cowbell. The men saw the back of her -neck get red and redder still. Then she turned and came toward the -porch. Her eyes were narrowed, her hands were clenched into fists, her -mouth was a determined slash.</p> - -<p>She marched across the yard and stood facing the three men on the -porch. She put her fists on her hips and glared.</p> - -<p>Luke and Sam stopped grinning. Charley's pipe drooped.</p> - -<p>The sun beat down on the valley, the town, the yard, the outhouse, -the fat woman. Her brow was shiny with perspiration. She stood there, -turned her cold blue glare on one man after another, like you'd sweep a -gatling against enemy ranks.</p> - -<p>Luke said uncomfortably, "Howdy, ma'am."</p> - -<p>"You old lechers!" said the fat woman tightly.</p> - -<p>Charley and Luke and Sam exchanged dismayed looks.</p> - -<p>"Now, ma'am—" Charley began.</p> - -<p>"Don't say anything, you old lechers," the fat woman spat. "I don't -want to hear your gloating, oily voices! Of all the lecherous, -salacious, lascivious things to do!"</p> - -<p>"Why," Charley said doubtfully, "I guess we're a little old to be all -those things—"</p> - -<p>"You're never too old to be evil-minded!" she snapped. "Even if your -bodies are too old for unGodliness!" Her positive and indicating gaze -raked them up and down, and she saw the cards which Charley held in his -lap.</p> - -<p>"Playing cards, too!" she said, her lips curling. "Well, I guess <i>that</i> -follows!"</p> - -<p>"Follows what, ma'am?" Luke asked puzzledly.</p> - -<p>She saw the brown beer bottle resting on the box beside Charley's chair.</p> - -<p>"<i>Alcohol!</i>" she hissed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She stood glaring up at them, her breath coming fast and shallow, in a -half-crouch that led Charley Mason to wonder if she planned to climb -right over the porch rail and lace into them physically.</p> - -<p>Then, as they watched in wary silence, her anger seemed to abate a -little; over a period of five seconds her fists slowly unclenched, her -breath slowed, she straightened.</p> - -<p>She said in a low voice, "It's the work of the Devil. Anger is not the -answer."</p> - -<p>"The Devil, ma'am?" Charley asked.</p> - -<p>"<i>He</i> has made you do this—it is a device to keep lewd and licentious -thoughts uppermost in your minds and corrupt your immortal souls. I -suppose I shouldn't blame you for listening to him ... so <i>few</i> of us -<i>are</i> able to resist his honeyed mouthings."</p> - -<p>"Ma'am," Luke said, "I don't think you should get so excited on a hot -day like this. Maybe a cold coke—"</p> - -<p>"I'll pray," the fat lady said. "I'll pray for the Lord to undo this -Devil's work. I'll pray that your souls be cleansed of the evil -thoughts the Dark One has put there." Her pale blue eyes seemed a -trifle fixed, and now she smiled, looking through the men who watched -her worriedly. "I—I'm almost proud that I should have suffered this -humiliation in order to help Him in His work—it is a small price to -pay, to have been the object of your lustful thoughts, if I can save -your souls by telling the Lord what you are doing and seeing to it -that He stops you!"</p> - -<p>She gave them a pitying, sympathetic look. "You hate me now," she said, -"but when you are pure you will thank me."</p> - -<p>She turned away and walked toward her car, head bowed.</p> - -<p>After a moment Luke got up from the steps and sank into a chair on the -porch. "Does lust mean what I think it means?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Guess it does," Charley said.</p> - -<p>"Well, back when I <i>could</i> lust, I wouldn't ever have lusted <i>her</i>."</p> - -<p>They watched her get in and drive off, head still down in an attitude -of prayer, eyes up so she could drive. The car reached the other end of -the main street, followed the road into the trees, and vanished.</p> - -<p>Charley stared contemplatively across the yard at his outhouse.</p> - -<p>"Work of the Devil, huh?" he mused. "Well, now doesn't that beat all! I -bet Heaven would kick that prayer right out of court!"</p> - -<p>"No," said a firm voice. "It was heard."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The three old men turned and saw a tall, handsome, blond young man, -dressed in a neat and utterly clean white suit, standing in the -center of the yard. His face wore an expression of perfect peace and -abounding love.</p> - -<p>Actually, he wasn't <i>quite</i> standing in the yard yet. When they turned, -his feet were about four feet above the ground. As they watched, he -floated slowly down until he was standing straight, and tall and -smiling a little.</p> - -<p>At that moment, <i>timelessness</i> descended upon the scene—upon Charley -Mason's store, the yard, the outhouse. <i>Timelessness</i> bounded the -area from one edge of Charley's yard to the other, and from the road -clear to the woods out back; and that <i>timelessness</i> extended downward -to a perfect point at the very center of the Earth, and extended upward -in a perfect cone to Heaven; and within its boundaries nothing that -happened was visible to the outside world, or indeed even "happened" -so far as the outside world was concerned: for it all happened in -<i>timelessness</i> ... in one of those particles of time-substance which -exists <i>between</i> microseconds on Earth's time continuum: particles so -small that they are of use only to angels, who in their work must often -get between people and their intended deeds faster than seems possible.</p> - -<p>The young man's calm eyes looked into the minds of the three old -men on the porch, and saw no evidence there of lewd or lascivious -thoughts of the magnitude reported by the fat lady in her prayer. This -did not surprise him, for exaggeration is the backbone of prayer, and -the Heavenly Workers are used to it. In particular are they used to -nuisances like the fat lady, who continually turn in false alarms.</p> - -<p>Closing his eyes, the young man contacted his secretary-cherubim in -his office in Heaven. The cherubim immediately returned the dossiers -of Luke and Sam and Charley Mason to the Heavenly Files, with no -additional notations on the debit side.</p> - -<p>That done—for nothing is so urgent in the eyes of Heaven as the latest -data on souls—the young man turned his attention to the outhouse.</p> - -<p>He saw the cowbell, and his lips pursed.</p> - -<p>He left the porch, walking lightly, and crossed the yard to the -outhouse. The three old men watched him dreamily, unmoving, -comprehending, gripped by <i>timelessness</i> and a sense of wonder.</p> - -<p>The young man opened the crescented door and went in. The chain yanked. -The cowbell went <i>Blongle, blongle, blok!</i></p> - -<p>The young man reappeared in the door and looked at the old men on the -porch. He pursed his lips again and shook his head reprimandingly. He -disappeared again.</p> - -<p>A second later, the cowbell and chain and angle-iron disappeared too.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The young man came out, dusting his hands with a white handkerchief. He -came back across the yard and mounted the steps. He seated himself on -the porch railing, where he could face the three old men.</p> - -<p>"Shame on you," he said.</p> - -<p>The men cast their eyes downward.</p> - -<p>"The lady's accusations were somewhat excessive," the young man said. -"Your motives seem not to have been primarily lascivious, and I have so -informed Heaven. But still ... don't you think you should be ashamed of -yourselves?" He paused. "You may nod if you wish."</p> - -<p>The men nodded, eyes dreamy.</p> - -<p>"After all," the young man said, "isn't that rather a snide trick to -play on tired travelers who seek your hospitality?"</p> - -<p>Charley Mason's mouth worked; his Adam's apple bobbed.</p> - -<p>"Speak," said the young man.</p> - -<p>"Gosh," Charley said in a low voice, "it was just a little joke. We -never had nothing else in mind—"</p> - -<p>"I know," the young man said. "I have discounted that element. I am -speaking of the unkindness of the prank—the discomfiture which you -impose on its victims."</p> - -<p>"Oh," said Charley. "I—gosh, it just embarrassed them a little bit, -that's all. I mean ... that's all, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"No," said the young man sternly, "there is more. Think a moment, -humans, upon that common structure in the yard ... think deeply, and -you will realize that there is much more to it than meets the eye."</p> - -<p>"Guess so," mumbled Charley.</p> - -<p>"It is a haven ... a place of wondrous solitude ... a refuge for those -who would contemplate without interruption, as many a weary traveler -yearns for."</p> - -<p>"Guess so."</p> - -<p>"In what other situation can you be so completely alone ... in a -perfect isolation not only permitted but sanctioned by your society? -Why, humans, I could tell you of the most extraordinary moments of -piety, of philosophical reflection, of artistic conception which we -have recorded as occurring under such circumstances...."</p> - -<p>"I never thought of it that way, I guess," Charley said slowly. "I -always did sort of think it leveled you off, though."</p> - -<p>The young man eyed them soberly.</p> - -<p>"In late afternoon," he said, "in the confines of the rustic outhouse, -settled happily, hearing the quaint and natural sounds of the insects -in the field, the flutterings of birds from branch to branch ... do you -know that in this day it is the only waking place where one may flee -for the inner life?"</p> - -<p>The old men looked down guiltily.</p> - -<p>"It is ever a reminder of one's mortality," the young man said.</p> - -<p>"It is Man in his true aristocratic state," he said.</p> - -<p>"And yet at his most humble," he said.</p> - -<p>"And now I will leave," he said. "I hope you have seen the light, and -will no longer impose your crude, cruel joke on those who trust you for -a moment's peace."</p> - -<p>He stood up. "I hardly think that it was the work of the Devil, -however, as the lady seemed to think—"</p> - -<p>A cloud seemed to come over the sun—but there were no clouds, so -perhaps the sun dimmed. The birds in the trees were suddenly silent. -Even the rustling leaves seemed to pause. It grew still darker, and a -chill breeze sprang up.</p> - -<p>A head, whose face was dark and sharp and saturnine, appeared in the -center of the yard.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As the young man and the three old men watched, a tall, dark, gaunt man -in a neatly tailored black suit rose from the ground and stood eying -them mockingly.</p> - -<p>"Wasn't it?" he said in a thin, dry voice, and laughed.</p> - -<p>The young man's lips tightened. He said nothing. The three old men were -shrunken back in their chairs, staring.</p> - -<p>The Devil—or perhaps the man in black was only <i>part</i> of the Devil, -for mysterious and complex are the ways he influences from his bronze -throne in the exact center of midwestern Gehenna—turned and sauntered -to the outhouse. He entered.</p> - -<p>A moment later the cowbell and chain and angle-iron reappeared—though -not quite as they had been. The chain seemed a little heavier, the -cowbell a little larger and more shiny.</p> - -<p>The chain was yanked. The cowbell went <i>Blongle, blongle, blok, -blok!</i>—a metallic sound of triumph.</p> - -<p>The man in black came out smirking. He made his way across the yard and -mounted the porch steps. The young man frowned and lifted a shoulder so -the fabrics of their clothing would not touch.</p> - -<p>The man in black went to the opposite end of the porch and sat down in -a chair there. He looked out over the bridge and the murmuring creek -and the trees beyond and took a pipe from a pocket. From another pocket -he took a live coal, which he dropped into the pipe. He puffed, and -sulphur-smell filled the air.</p> - -<p>The young man got up, sighing and bracing his hands on his knees. He -stood for a moment regarding the man in black levelly. Then he went -down the steps and across the yard and into the outhouse.</p> - -<p>Chain, cowbell and mounting vanished.</p> - -<p>The man in black rose, still smiling. He passed the three old men, -trailing sulphur smoke from his pipe. They shrank back, eyes wide. He -went down into the yard and toward the outhouse.</p> - -<p>When he was halfway there, the young man emerged. They locked eyes, the -young man's cool and determined, the other's hot and mocking and quite -as determined.</p> - -<p>They passed each other, saying not a word.</p> - -<p>As the young man reached the porch steps, there came from the outhouse -a loud <i>Blongle, blongle, blongle, blok, blok</i>, and he paused, one foot -on the steps, lips thinned. He seated himself deliberately, and only -then did he look around.</p> - -<p>The new bell was twice as large as the former. The chain was heavier. -It hung from a heavy cast-iron mounting.</p> - -<p>The man in black came out. He sauntered back to the porch and seated -himself.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Half a non-existent hour passed—non-existent, because it passed in -<i>timelessness</i>. The young man sat quietly, seeming to ponder; the -man in black sat as quietly, smoking his sulphur; the three old men -sat like mice, their eyes shuttling back and forth between the two -antagonists.</p> - -<p>At last the young man got up and walked slowly to the outhouse. The -cowbell and its paraphernalia vanished. This time with a flash of white -light.</p> - -<p>The man in black dropped a new lump of smoking sulphur into his pipe -and tamped it down with his thumb. He walked to the outhouse and -replaced the bell with a still bigger one. He yanked at the chain, and -raucous bellsound filled the yard.</p> - -<p>He came back, and they sat around a while longer.</p> - -<p>The young man went out. The new bell vanished with a flash like -diamond-blue lightning.</p> - -<p>The man in black sauntered out. In an enormous mounting atop the -outhouse appeared a three-foot church bell.</p> - -<p>Its chain yanked down.</p> - -<p><i>Bong-g-g—bong-g-g—bong-g-g....</i></p> - -<p>The young man hurried across the yard, shoulders stiff. So quickly that -the man in black, eyes mocking, was forced to stand aside at the very -door of the outhouse to permit him to enter.</p> - -<p>The church bell and mounting vanished. With a clap of indignant thunder.</p> - -<p>The man in black resumed his chair on the porch. The young man came -slowly back across the yard and sat on the steps.</p> - -<p>After a few minutes the young man said, "That wasn't very funny."</p> - -<p>"I hardly expected you to think so."</p> - -<p>"This can go on for an awfully long time you know."</p> - -<p>"I have," said the man in black, "an awfully long time. So do you."</p> - -<p>"I think that it's rather a silly thing for you to be concerning -yourself with," the young man said. "After all, it failed to incite -these humans to any thoughts which could really be called sinful."</p> - -<p>"Then it is an equally silly thing for <i>you</i> to concern yourself with, -isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"I do so because it disturbs humans at a time when they may be nearest -to God."</p> - -<p>"I concern myself for the same reason."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A non-existent half hour passed. The young man sat on the steps, his -white suit impeccable, face thoughtful. The man in black sat and smoked -and smirked. The three old men waited.</p> - -<p>Out in the yard the outhouse stood, a battleground of good and evil. -Its coat of white paint gleamed in the sun, which still stood high -as a result of <i>timelessness</i>. Its red roof was a challenge. To the -young man, staring moodily, the crescent in the door seemed a mocking, -lopsided smile.</p> - -<p>On the roof stood a new and larger mounting, containing a new and -larger cowbell, from which hung a new and heavier chain.</p> - -<p>Once the young man looked upward, as if for guidance.</p> - -<p>Once he sighed and shook his head, as if discouraged.</p> - -<p>"One of us must win," he said finally.</p> - -<p>"Always," the man in black nodded.</p> - -<p>"If I destroy that bell, you will replace it."</p> - -<p>"With a bigger one."</p> - -<p>"If you replace it, I shall destroy it."</p> - -<p>"And then I shall replace it again."</p> - -<p>"Do you really feel," asked the young man, "that so small a purpose is -worth such an effort?"</p> - -<p>"I might ask you the same question."</p> - -<p>"Tiny building blocks may build a great edifice."</p> - -<p>"The removal of one may contribute to its ruin."</p> - -<p>The creek murmured. Out in back of the store, the bird in the elm sang -a hesitant note, and then was silent.</p> - -<p>Charley Mason cleared his throat.</p> - -<p>The man in black turned his hot, mocking gaze on Charley. Charley -closed his mouth so hard his teeth clicked.</p> - -<p>The young man said, "You need not fear him, mortal—only his -temptations."</p> - -<p>"Mister—" Charley said hesitantly.</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Something sort of has me wondering."</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Well—I've been watching you two go at it, and—well, it sort of looks -like this other feller has the edge on you right down the line. I mean, -like he was all confident, and you just don't know how to get around -him—"</p> - -<p>The young man nodded somberly. "I have been waiting for you to make -that observation, human. It is true. Evil has only to <i>be</i> ... has only -to <i>exist</i> for its work to be half done. It is a pit; you have only -to fall into it. While to be good, you must exert yourself to climb -<i>out</i> of the pit." He looked sadly at the smirking man in black. "He -walks confidently, for he requires no more than your acceptance of him, -your tolerance, your passivity, your apathy. How can such a dynamic -imbalance threaten him?... He must only <i>be</i> to be strong; you must -<i>act</i> to make him weak."</p> - -<p>The young man got up and stretched his arms. He looked upward at the -sky again, and seemed to be listening. He shrugged a little.</p> - -<p>"It has been pointed out to me," he said, "that I have demonstrated -sufficiently—now there are other matters to be attended to. I will -destroy the bell once again ... but mark these words well, humans: the -Dark One will create another—and it, like all his creations, will be -a potential for evil. Not a large evil, perhaps, in this case, nor -an evil in itself by the simple fact of its existence—rather his -creations represent the potential of evil <i>within yourselves</i>. After he -goes, I urge that you take down the bell and throw it away ... destroy -it ... for as you have seen he is powerless to prevent that. If he -creates another, cast it aside also. Keep doing so. The bell is but -the symbol, the temptation: the conquest of evil can take place only -in your own souls; you must <i>act</i> in the face of that temptation. The -battleground is not this town, nor this yard, nor that structure, but -in <i>yourselves</i>. In you is the pit; in you must be the strength and -will to escape it. Do you understand?"</p> - -<p>Three nods.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The young man looked into their minds for the last time, to assure -himself of their purity.</p> - -<p>And in Charley Mason's mind he saw a tiny, half-hidden thought that -struck him so forcibly that he almost smiled. Deep in Charley's mind, -beneath all his awe and wonder at the present situation, almost on a -subconscious level, Charley's sense of humor was still working—the -sense of humor that had come up with the cowbell joke in the first -place.</p> - -<p>Now, in Charley's mind, was a solution for the present difficulty. Not -a solution, actually; for the realities of the problem were already -solved—solved in the minds of the three old men and their firm resolve -to do nothing ever again that would precipitate this kind of Heavenly -and Satanic tug-of-war in the arena of their souls.</p> - -<p>But it would end this business of bell/no bell very nicely. And not -inappropriately, the young man thought. He would arrange the situation -just as Charley was mentally picturing it. And seeing what Charley had -in mind finally brought a smile to the young man's face.</p> - -<p>He walked across the yard and entered the outhouse. The bell and chain -and mounting vanished. This time the young man was gone from sight -just a little longer than any time previously, and when he came out he -looked just a tiny bit expectant.</p> - -<p>He waved in friendly fashion at the three men on the porch and rose -into the sky, faster and faster until he disappeared into the sun.</p> - -<p>The man in black got up from his chair and knocked out his pipe on a -heel—or rather, where a heel should have been, for it was now evident -for the first time that he had black hooves instead of feet.</p> - -<p>The wad of sulphur fell to the boards and smoked and stank.</p> - -<p>"He was right, you know," he said. "The battle was in yourselves. And -I suppose I've lost. I seem to be losing more and more these days ... -though I'm by no means through. I suppose if I put up another bell, -you'll just take it down." He sighed and stretched his long black-clad -arms wide, as the young man had done. "Well, it's been diverting. I -think I <i>will</i> put up another bell—just for the Hell of it."</p> - -<p>He went down the steps, across the yard, into the outhouse.</p> - -<p>An enormous cowbell appeared on the roof—a prince of cowbells, a -cowbell fit for the neck of Babe, the giant blue ox of Paul Bunyan. -From it hung an inch-thick chain.</p> - -<p>The chain yanked down, the cowbell went <i>BLONGLE, BLONGLE, BLOK, BLOK, -BLOK!</i>—and Charley's plan which the young man had arranged before -leaving the confines of the outhouse became evident.</p> - -<p>There was a loud flushing sound. A herculean flush. The walls collapsed -inward with a giant roar and an enormous swoosh and a gargantuan -gurgle. A moment later there was only a deep hole in the ground where -the outhouse had stood. And then the sides of the hole crumbled in to -form a shallow pit.</p> - -<p><i>Timelessness</i> ended.</p> - -<p>Luke scratched his head and stared from Sam over to Charley. "Did you -two dream the same thing I did?" his voice was awed.</p> - -<p>Sam pointed over to where the pit made a raw scar in the ground. -"Weren't no dream. Or if it was, we're still asleep."</p> - -<p>Charley had a laughing glint in his eye. "We're not asleep, and it -wasn't any dream. 'Specially the ending."</p> - -<p>Luke and Sam looked at him puzzled for a moment. Then they both laughed -and Charley joined them.</p> - -<p>"Bet that flush was the damndest joke Satan ever had played on him!" -Luke gasped, holding his sides.</p> - -<p>"One <i>hell</i> of a joke, Charley," Sam choked. "What I wouldn't give to -have seen his face!"</p> - -<p>Charley agreed. He began to laugh even harder as he wondered if there -was any soap and water down in Gehenna. 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