“What? A dream—worry you?” Deane sighed with relief and ran her hand across his cheek. Then she arose and led him to the divan. One by one the candles had gone out and like a specter, the pallid light of the full summer moon crept into the apartment. “Go on, my darling,” she whispered, half closing her eyes and stretching luxuriously against him.
“I died,” he repeated. “And I found myself at the crossroads of Heaven and Hell. I was undecided as to which road to take. Then suddenly I knew the answer. I knew they diverged only for a time.”
“What do you mean?” In Deane’s voice was a note of dismay.
“I knew that whichever road I took, it would end in pain.”
“Oh, no!”
“Yes, I knew that the end would be the same; so, impudently, I took the road marked HEAVEN. I walked for days among winding mountain paths. Giant trees sang to me in the wind, and the air was fragrant with pine and wild rose. Little creeks ran past me, twisting over mossy rocks; and there were narrow falls of water spinning white and silver. In shadowy places where the water eddied dark green and gold, I stopped to rest and drink. A long time I walked through this country. By day, the sun struck blindly through the limbs of trees; and at night, a moon showed. Then I came to a valley where I saw broad fields of grain, shining yellow, and checkerboards of green pasture and plowed field. I was confused by the intermittent sound of bells which rang through the air.
“On one block of green pasture there was a great multitude. I went down the trail, leaving the forest behind, and descended into the lowland. As I approached the congregation, I saw to my amazement that they were all children. I wondered at their quietness. They were so silent and unmoving that I would have thought them dead had it not been that they were facing me, a sweet, desperate expression on their faces. The macabre quality in these little ones gave me an unpleasant thrill. No murmur sounded from this congress of children—no movement of arm, knee or head.
“Full of a presentiment of evil, I walked closer and looked down into their eyes. Row after row of these spectral organisms were before me, reaching, it seemed, to the horizon. Thousands of bright, curly heads shone faintly in the haze of the sun. Their wide eyes, blue or brown, were directed at me.
“My mouth was hot. I tried to smile.
“‘Have I reached Heaven?’ I asked them.