by Robert Reed
annihilate the power to do evil?”
Leäfar answered very slowly and solemnly, and yet there was a
smile upon his countenance as he spoke .
“There is one thing impossible to the Eternal Love, and that is to
annihilate Himself: and it would be to annihilate Himself if He were
to permit the existence of Eternal hatred .”
“Then,” said I, “if I understand you rightly, these beings are
doomed to annihilation?”
He smiled again and said, “Surely the freedom which opposes
and continues to oppose God must perish: it is self-doomed; that is
as certain as that the Love of God is infinite. The creature who so
misuses his freedom must lose it at last, and then he is as if he had
never possessed it . And so his moral being is, as you say, annihi-
lated . All his other powers remain, but his will is dead . He becomes,
like the brute, or like the earliest of the ethereal creation; nothing
but an instrument in the hand of God . Such is the eternal doom of
those who choose evil and abide by their choice . No pain remains,
no hatred remains, no sin remains, because no opposition to God
remains . But no real soul remains . The moral being is dead and done
with, only an intellectual being remains .
“And what becomes of them?”
“They become the beasts of burden of the universe: they become
instruments for carrying or the various mechanisms of the visible
creation . They become subject to us just as your horse is to you .
Many such are under my own direction and control .”
Here Jack started and almost interrupted him, then hesitated and
said, “I beg your pardon .”
“Say on,” replied Leäfar, quite softly and kindly .
“What I was going to say,” said Jack, “was this: It seems to me
that the final doom of which you tell us must have come to some of
them before this .”
“Some of them are meeting it every day,” said he . “The mightiest
of them can hold out for periods of secular vastness without losing
THE GERM GROWERS, by Robert Potter | 544
their power of will in any appreciable degree; others, again, lose it
all after a period comparable with the life of a man .”
“And do they all know that they must lose it?”
“As well as you know that you must die .”
“Ah!” said Jack, “I thought so, and now, sir, tell me one thing
more: if this doom comes upon them while they are in human form,
what happens then?”
“They pass back at once into their own world and are dealt with
as I have told you there .”
“Yes, I see it now . Two of the men here appeared to be missing
the other morning, and when Davelli missed them I saw his face
change with terror and malignity . I said to my friend here, ‘Depend
upon it the loss of these men has got something to do with his dam-
nation .’ Did I not say so, Bob?”
I nodded assent .
“It is true,” said Leäfar .
“Then surely,” said I, “they must be dying out rapidly .”
“Dying out, certainly, but not as rapidly as you might suppose .”
“Have they,” said I, “the power to reproduce their kind?”
“No,” said he; “the dwellers in the ether ‘neither marry nor are
given in marriage .’ But they recruit their failing ranks from amongst
men and from races analogous to man in other worlds like yours;
they win them over to their side here and then claim them when they
pass over there . Sometimes they steal them away from this world .
Their purpose is to steal you away, one of you or both .”
“Steal us! Surely that would not be permitted?”
“It is not possible unless you yourselves give yourselves away .”
“How should we give ourselves away?”
“If you submit your will to theirs they get power over you, power
which is hard to shake off, and which is very easily increased .”
Here he paused, and the smile which usually attended his pauses
did not appear . A sad expression, severe yet very gentle, tool its
place . There was a silence of several seconds . Then I stood up and
spoke, standing .
THE GERM GROWERS, by Robert Potter | 545
“Hear me, sir . I remember and repent my faults . I knew that,
this man was a bad man . Nay, I had begun to suspect that he was
something other and worse than a bad man . But I saw that he knew
things which I longed to know, and so I suffered myself to forget
his badness and I did for the moment submit myself to his will . He
exercised his power upon me and he deceived me in its exercise .
He transferred me to the surface of the moon, or showed it me in a
trance, I know not which . I am conscious ever since of being some-
how in bondage to him; although I am now determined to resist him
to the death . Is there any hope?”
“Yes, there is hope, surely, although you may have, as you say,
to resist him to the death . But if you die resisting him, he will have
no power over you after death . I am come to rescue both you and
your friend . He runs no such risk as you do, although you are both
in great danger of your lives .”
“And But for my compliance, I suppose neither of us would have
run any risk at all .”
“Not so . You were both of you in great danger of your lives, and
your friend is still so . But any further compliance on your part will
make you the slave of this man, living or dead .”
I shuddered and said, “What is to be done?”
“Your penitence and your present purpose are accepted, and you
will have one more opportunity of asserting your own will against
this Davelli. Tell me what has passed between you since your first
compliance .”
I told him in brief all that I have told you in the last chapter .
“It is clear,” said Leäfar, “that he is going to make one more
attempt upon you . He will make it, no doubt, when you meet him
to-morrow . If you surrender your will to him again I see no hope . If
you resist, then he will have no power but over your body .”
“And what will he do then?”
“I cannot certainly say . He may kill you in his unrestrained fury .
It is not altogether unlikely that he will . But that is all that he can
do . You will have escaped him, and I will be able most probably
to extricate your friend . But I think it more probable that he will
THE GERM GROWERS, by Robert Potter | 546
resolve to make one other effort to enslave you, and, in that case,
before the effort is made, I shall probably be able to extricate you
both . I have little or no doubt that I shall be able, although the strife
will be hard .”
It occurred to me to ask him why he would not rescue us at once,
without waiting for any further conference between Davelli and me .
But I knew what the answer would be, and I felt its force . I knew
that I should be fit for nothing in earth or heaven until I had asserted
my will against this evil being, so I answered simply, “How shall I
resist him?”
“He will probably endeavour to throw you into
a trance again,
and if you give your will to him for a moment, he will succeed . But
if you hold your soul firmly, then he will fail. Call inwardly upon
God and give yourself to God with your whole purpose . Think all
the time of the holiest event in the history of mankind when the
power of evil flung its whole force against One that was human, and
was baffled, and the victory was won through suffering. So you will
keep your will unsurrendered, and your adversary will be beaten
back .”
“And then?”
“Then, as I have said, he may kill your body in his disappoint-
ment and humiliation and rage, but you will be safe from him all the
same .”
“Let me escape him, and I am willing to die .”
“That is the true temper; keep to that, and you need have no fear .
And now listen to my further counsel .”
But here again Jack interrupted him . “Surely, sir,” he said, “it
is better, is it not, to act at once? Why expose my friend here to a
fearful risk? Lead us now, and we will follow you any whither . Let
the risk, then, be what it may be, it cannot be more than the risk of
death .”
“Sir,” said Leäfar, “I deeply honour your spirit and feeling, but
you do not know the nature of the case . It is true that I might be
able to rescue both of you from the place without any further con-
tact between your friend and him whom you call Niccolo Davelli .
THE GERM GROWERS, by Robert Potter | 547
I might be able and yet I might not, for although I am stronger than
these men they have great odds against me here . But that is not the
question, for suppose that I were quite certain that I could take you
both alive out of this place, your friend remaining as he now is, I
should not try to do so, for his own sake I would not . Wherever
he would be, the power which this evil being has gained over him
would remain and might be exercised at the most inopportune time
for him . Davelli would select his own time, and that would be, no
doubt, when your friend would be no so likely as now to resist him
successfully . I see that you are willing to risk your life on his ac-
count, and your willingness will, no doubt, help him greatly . But
not even all the wealth of sacrifice can save a man against his will.
You may win his will but you cannot dispense with its exercise as
long as he is man, or no less than man . Believe me that the very best
thing that can be done for your friend is to let him take at once the
opportunity which presents itself of asserting his will against the
will of this evil one . He never can be more favourably disposed to
do so than he is now .”
It seemed as if Jack was going to answer, and I tried to catch
his eye to dissuade him, for I felt very certain that what Leäfar said
was true . But I could not catch his eye, and he tried to speak, but
hesitated before a word came . Leäfar waited courteously . Jack made
a further attempt . “But, sir,” he began, and then again hesitated . At
last he said, “No doubt, sir, you know best; let me not interrupt you
further .”
Then Leäfar continued, addressing himself to me . “I will sup-
pose, now, that you have been successful in your endeavour to resist
your enemy, and that he has resolved to make one other attempt to
subdue your will . For certain reasons, of which I am well aware, but
which I have now no time to explain, I know that in that case another
night will have to pass before the next attempt is made . And during
that night you must make your endeavour to escape . Come back at
once when Davelli leaves you and meet your friend at or near the
entrance to these rooms . Go and take some rest and refreshment,
for you will need them, and provide yourselves with as much food
THE GERM GROWERS, by Robert Potter | 548
as you can carry with ease . Then wander whither you will, only not
far, and keep well within the bounds of the valley . Make no attempt
whatsoever at concealment while the daylight lasts . As the darkness
comes on return hitherward and rest awhile within sight of these
chambers .
“Wait there until you see two men about your own size enter the
room and until you see the light settle down as usual before the door .
Then go both of you to the car “—(here he addressed himself espe-
cially to Jack)—“the car, I mean, in which you rode yesterday; start
at once; lose no time, there is none to lose, for if you are pursued at
all, you will be pursued before daylight . I will see that the ear is well
stored with food and provided with a spare battery and with glasses
and light .”
Here he added some further instructions, which I lost . Then I
heard him say further,
“If you are followed I will follow, and I will help you as far as
I may . There is everything to hope, and by that time there will be
but little to fear . Barring unforeseen accidents you will escape with
your lives . A brave man does all he can to save his life, but he is not
afraid to lose it .
“Be sure, at any rate, that one good result will come of your ad-
venture . These men will desert this place . No whiteman before you
ever set his foot here, and these beings always conceal their earthly
dwelling-places from civilised men. The next pioneers will find
nothing here but, perhaps, a few odd-looking rocks .
“You may not need my assistance any more, but if your enemies
follow you look up for a white flag and you will see that you are not
alone .”
Here he ceased and stood up, and we also stood up and bent our
heads . He lifted his hand simply, and said “God keep you .”
Then he disappeared in the same way in which he had appeared,
but much more quickly .
It was still quite dark in our quarters although the day may have
been beginning to break, and after exchanging a few hopeful words
THE GERM GROWERS, by Robert Potter | 549
we tried to sleep . Strange to say I slept soundly, and I did not awake
until it was full daylight .
When the appointed hour came I wrung Jack’s hand in silence,
and went to meet Signor Davelli . I reached the place of meeting only
a few minutes too soon, and presently I saw him coming .
I knew that this was the hour of destiny for me, and I remember
thinking that a man does not always know the hour of destiny when
it comes, and that it would be better for him if he did . Then, of a
sudden, it struck me that such reflection indicated a coolness that
was hardly native to me, and, was it a good sign or a bad? I thought
it was good, and yet that it was overdone . And I remembered to have
read, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall .”
Just then Davelli came up, and I silently committed myself to
God and awaited his onset . It came without any delay, but without
any demonstration . He wasted no time, and he was evidently very
confident. I was standing when he arrived, and after the usual ex-
change of salutations he invited me to sit
down . I did so, and he
sat down too, not beside me but opposite me . Then, almost imme-
diately, he rose up again and looked straight into my face; rather, I
should say, straight into my eyes . Should I look away from him? No;
straight back into his eyes, and let him do his best . Then, as our eyes
met, there began for me a series of desperate encounters of which
there was absolutely no outward sign .
First, it seemed as if I were enduring the most imperious crav-
ings of appetite—appetite as relentless and cruel as that which drove
the Samaritan mother to devour her son; such appetite as has ever
been ready to trample upon honour and hope and shame and love,
for the sake of its own immediate gratification. Such keen, hungry
sense of desire goaded me now, and along with its urgency came the
consciousness, full, clear, and strong, that it would be gratified at
once, if I would simply change the look of resistance with which I
was meeting my enemy’s eye for a look of acquiescence .
I do not know how long this lasted, it could hardly have been an
hour, but it seemed like days and years to me . But at last there was a
change, and of a sudden I became conscious of pain—physical pain
THE GERM GROWERS, by Robert Potter | 550
multiplied and intensified indefinitely beyond all my experience or
imagination—
“All fiery pangs on battle-fields
On fever beds where sick men toss.”
All these seemed to wring me, and rack me, and strive to wrench
the soul out of me, and ever as the pain grew, there grew also the
consciousness that if I would but meet my enemy’s eye with one
moment’s glance of acquiescence all the pain would be exchanged
for ease; and oh! how delicious the very thought of ease appeared to
be, more delicious than all the delights of all the senses .
Meantime, I was conscious of nothing external except the eyes of
my adversary, the expression of which was an extraordinary mixture
of persuasiveness and deadly determination, now and then crossed,
however, by a furious flash of malignity, and again by a flash of
hideous and awful terror .
But all the time also I was doing with all my might what Leäfar
had bade me do, and it seemed to me as if my will were growing one
with God’s will, and it seemed to me as if I stood under the cross,
and felt in my own flesh and sinews the very nails and thorns which