The Project Gutenberg EBook of The World Beyond, by Raymond King Cummings

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Title: The World Beyond

Author: Raymond King Cummings

Release Date: June 7, 2009 [EBook #29059]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note

This etext was produced from Amazing Stories July 1942. Extensive
research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this
publication was renewed.

_Out of nowhere came these grim, cold, black-clad men, to kidnap three
Earth people and carry them to a weird and terrible world where a man
could be a giant at will._

[Illustration: Lee Anthony crouched and set himself to resist the
attack of the robed men.]

THE WORLD BEYOND

By RAY CUMMINGS

The old woman was dying. There could be no doubt of it now. Surely she
would not last through the night. In the dim quiet bedroom he sat
watching her, his young face grim and awed. Pathetic business, this
ending of earthly life, this passing on. In the silence, from the living
room downstairs the gay laughter of the young people at the birthday
party came floating up. His birthday--Lee Anthony, twenty-one years old
today. He had thought he would feel very different, becoming--legally--a
man. But the only difference now, was that old Anna Green who had been
always so good to him, who had taken care of him almost all his life,
now was dying.

Terrible business. But old age is queer. Anna knew what was happening.
The doctor, who had given Lee the medicines and said he would be back in
the morning, hadn't fooled her. And she had only smiled.

Lee tensed as he saw that she was smiling now; and she opened her eyes.
His hand went to hers where it lay, so white, blue-veined on the white
bedspread.

"I'm here, Anna. Feel better?"

"Oh, yes. I'm all right." Her faint voice, gently tired, mingled with
the sounds from the party downstairs. She heard the laughter. "You
should be down there, Lee. I'm all right."

"I should have postponed it," he said. "And what you did, preparing