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Polaris, v. 1, issue 1, December 1939
5
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POLARIS 5 Finally, blackness seemed to set in for the last time, and I knew I was dying. I had given Corby's body the respects within my power; my home affairs were fairly well settled, and so I did not rage at my fate so much as I might have. But finally, as the darkness became more and more nearly opaque, I somehow sensed someone near to me. Then I thought I felt myself lifted--carried-- When I regained full possession of my faculties, I found myself in a rude hut, somewhere. It was constructed of rough boards, for the most part, with straw thatched here and there to help keep out the moisture. As I lay on a rough pallet, looking about as best I could, the thing that shocked me most was the sight of a huge case of books. And then I chanced to notice the one who I later learned was, and still is perhaps, the sole occupant of the place. He was old. Nothing else can express his antiquity than that one word. It is useless to try to picture him in your mind; for that is not possible unless you have seen him. But he was old--and about him, there somehow seemed to be some strange appearance of some kind, something I could not track down; and yet something-- Seeing I was awake, he came over to me, and to my utter amazement, inquired as to my health in perfect English. And I was astounded still more when, upon tentatively moving my body a bit, I felt nearly fit and hearty again -- this, despite the fact that I must have been almost dying only a short while before. In an effort to determine how long I had been unconscious, I felt of my beard and found myself clean-shaven. I thought then that he must have shaved me. I have no wish to make this account longer than needful; therefore, I will not enter into a detailed account of all that followed. It will be best merely to give a sort of summary. Inside of two days, I was well. Not wishing to appear inquisitive, I did not inquire of my host any more than absolutely necessary. Thought he question of who he was; why he was staying here in this wilderness; and a dozen others were almost consuming my curiosity. Indeed, I thought that surely he would understand my state of mind and explain. But he did not. Rather, he seemed to take me in course, as though he were expecting me. At times, and later, I wondered if he actually had been. The only explanation that came to me for this, that could possibly solve the puzzle, was that this was one of the holy men of India, of which I had heart vaguely, who made their life work that of penance in some extraordinary form. But many things seemed to discount that hypothesis. His books, for instance-- It was a little later before I noticed that they were not ordinary books. Not until the fifth day of my stay with him did I have the opportunity to examine one of those books. But before discussing that, it were best to tell of the other inhabitant of this little hut. A few paragraphs before, I have said that my befriender was the only inhabitant of the dwelling. He was the only--for lack of a better word I am forced to use this adjective: -- man-like thing there--human is not correct. But this other--thing. It was not of earth. Of that I am certain. Not even in the pictures I have seen of
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POLARIS 5 Finally, blackness seemed to set in for the last time, and I knew I was dying. I had given Corby's body the respects within my power; my home affairs were fairly well settled, and so I did not rage at my fate so much as I might have. But finally, as the darkness became more and more nearly opaque, I somehow sensed someone near to me. Then I thought I felt myself lifted--carried-- When I regained full possession of my faculties, I found myself in a rude hut, somewhere. It was constructed of rough boards, for the most part, with straw thatched here and there to help keep out the moisture. As I lay on a rough pallet, looking about as best I could, the thing that shocked me most was the sight of a huge case of books. And then I chanced to notice the one who I later learned was, and still is perhaps, the sole occupant of the place. He was old. Nothing else can express his antiquity than that one word. It is useless to try to picture him in your mind; for that is not possible unless you have seen him. But he was old--and about him, there somehow seemed to be some strange appearance of some kind, something I could not track down; and yet something-- Seeing I was awake, he came over to me, and to my utter amazement, inquired as to my health in perfect English. And I was astounded still more when, upon tentatively moving my body a bit, I felt nearly fit and hearty again -- this, despite the fact that I must have been almost dying only a short while before. In an effort to determine how long I had been unconscious, I felt of my beard and found myself clean-shaven. I thought then that he must have shaved me. I have no wish to make this account longer than needful; therefore, I will not enter into a detailed account of all that followed. It will be best merely to give a sort of summary. Inside of two days, I was well. Not wishing to appear inquisitive, I did not inquire of my host any more than absolutely necessary. Thought he question of who he was; why he was staying here in this wilderness; and a dozen others were almost consuming my curiosity. Indeed, I thought that surely he would understand my state of mind and explain. But he did not. Rather, he seemed to take me in course, as though he were expecting me. At times, and later, I wondered if he actually had been. The only explanation that came to me for this, that could possibly solve the puzzle, was that this was one of the holy men of India, of which I had heart vaguely, who made their life work that of penance in some extraordinary form. But many things seemed to discount that hypothesis. His books, for instance-- It was a little later before I noticed that they were not ordinary books. Not until the fifth day of my stay with him did I have the opportunity to examine one of those books. But before discussing that, it were best to tell of the other inhabitant of this little hut. A few paragraphs before, I have said that my befriender was the only inhabitant of the dwelling. He was the only--for lack of a better word I am forced to use this adjective: -- man-like thing there--human is not correct. But this other--thing. It was not of earth. Of that I am certain. Not even in the pictures I have seen of
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