Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1925-08-07
Under Influence
of Ether
By RUTH HENDERSON
CcopynEht)

Z
chaos Not an eye to see, not an ear
70 hear. not q spirit to helpl All Not
soul to befriend II on this lonely
| Journey; the last riumph-or defeat
Of the human soul.
So-thls was the Valley Of the
Shadow Of Death
Here was another soul: a mistlike
being in dreb-grsy, fornless, elusive,
but yet & soul
The Lonely One sprang forward
with cry Of Joy and passed into the
infinite domain. But II was not the
abode Of Joy. The solemn, booming
voice Of the Gray Mist, announcing
the arrival Of new soul. brought only
hopeless pity to the faces Of the In
Vulnerable other weary souls.
From the distance, a figure ap-
preached: q familiar figure. 1t was
The earthly chum Of the Lonely One.
No question was permitted to pass
the Lonely Ones lips Before be could
utter a word, the other had launched
forth into a torreat Of abuse and con
demnation.
You sent me herel You, You,
You!" he laughed harshly. Now pay
for it. Pay. yes. pay You II was
who taught me the witchery Of the
gaming table, that sent me to a gen
tleman' gamblers ruin. You It was
who first tempted me with the seduc-
tive wine that hurled me at last into
gentleman drunkards graye-yoU
it was who dragged my reluctant feet
onward to the pitfall Of eternal de-
struction: You. And now you must
pay the greater penalty, because you
were stronger than I you resisted the
earthly torment. But It is useless to
fight against the punishment that has
come upon you for pulling me down
Do you know where you aref You
are In the domain Of q twelve-thou-
sand years cycle Yes And there Is
only one way out; and that VIII not
tell you. Your punishment has come;
only you can extricate yourself from
the crucible Of torture.
The Lonely One had twice passed
around the cycle Of twelve thousand
years-twicel He had been continual
~ moving on and on in q gray mist Of
maddenlng sameness for twenty-four
| thousand years. Many times he had
passed and repassed his comrade. re
ceiving always the same yituperation,
the same jeers and bitter abuse.
Long since, the Lonely One had
learned that could he but find the path
Of escape for himself, he would there
by free also his friend. But how help
less, how hopeless he was: he knew
not even for what 20 search
He was starting on his weary round
for the third time, and once more he
encountered the old chum. He would
have passed on had not the latter
stayed him.
II never intended telling you how
you might escape. had hoped to find
the way myself and leave you here to
suffer everlasting retrlbutlon. But |
have traversed this cycle FIVE times
and have not yet succeeded in dlscov-
erlng a way out. You must free us
both. You must :"
The Lonely One threw back his
head. A firm resolve spoke in his
words "Only give me the chance
show me the way, and | will do my
utmost TO liberate you from this hor
ror, even If | must remain-always."
And his comrade replied: at is all
so hopeless even after one knows
what to search for" He sighed.
Somewhere In this cycle. there is a
ray Of light, very. very tiny shining
through niche In the invisible wall
No one can guess how far this wall
is, and II is only q matter Of chance
II you ever get near enough to so
much as catch glimpse of this infini-
| teslmal ray-and follow 1t. But II
you once see the ray and pursue its
sun, from which a host OF angels will
fly and lift US out Of our misery"
The Lonely One bowed, thanked him
and went on his weary way. 1t indeed
seemed an impossible thing to happen
On and still on he wandered, grow.
ing more and more hopeless and down
cast in spirit.
And then. suddenly. about halfway
around the cycle, II appeared, faint
and elusive. now trickling forth
vaguely, now gone. But ever and ever
he pursued II this fantastic ray OF
light, teasing, vanishing. reappearlng
But however futile seemed the task
he still remained firm in his resolve
TO follow 1t.
And now IL seemed never to leave
him 1t shOne in clear, steady beam
Turning abruptly. he was amazed tC
lind his chum 10y his side Tranquil
Joy and unuttcrahlc peace were writ
ten on his face. The old accusing lool
was gone, leaving The light OF forgive
ness In Its place And suddenly the
ray BURST burst in II dazzling, blind
ing flooe Of light yea. more than light
gold and silver and diamonds melted
together In million shining colors anC
flooded them with ndescrlbable bril-
lance. And out Of il ALL a mighty
host Of angels flew! Pure white, say,
for the wreathS of blood-red rubie,
browning their heads and but empha
sizing their purity.
The man on The operating tabl,
stirred and opened his eyes He ut
tered cry of joy aud sank back int,
Inconsistencies again Later, on Ia,
:. snow-white bed OF The immaculate hos
. pital room, the GMn told me biz
strange experience under the lnfiuenc,
Of ether, just as | have told it to you
And strange To say" he finished