The young man felt of the top of his head gingerly. "I guess so. And I
think I'm hungry, too, now that you mention it. Those pancakes sound
kind of interesting." He got to his feet, looked uncertainly around at
the wondering faces of Pearl's mother, father, and Pearl herself. He
smiled. "I don't know what's been going on, but maybe after some of
those pancakes, you'll explain."
* * * * *
Pearl looked at her husband. "After pancakes, you aren't the only one
who'll want some explaining!"
"That goes for me, too, Daughter," said Dad. "I can't say that I've
ever experienced a morning quite like this in my life before. But one
thing seems right, and I agree with Joe...."
"Mother," interrupted Joe, "how about the pancakes?" He stepped over
to his father-in-law and whispered in his ear. The older man started,
looked at his wife, then grinned. "You're right, son. What she doesn't
know, won't hurt her."
"What I don't know, doesn't matter much," she returned, looking at him
with a twinkle in her eye.
Joe looked at her. "I guess it doesn't, at that," he said.
Breakfast finished, Joe looked at their bewildered guest.
"I can't tell you who you are, just at this moment," he began, "but
when Dad gets the tractor out, we'll go down the road and pull your car
out where it's stuck...."
"My car?"
"Yes. It's a Mercury, and your name ought to be on the ownership card
fastened to the steering wheel. That'll be a start. Once you know your
name and address, you can go on from there. Somehow, you have suffered
amnesia. Maybe you had an accident. Anyway, you came rushing in here
and caused a commotion, and in the scuffle, you knocked yourself out
against the refrigerator."
"Oh. And that's why you were holding me down, and wanting to tie me up?"
"For a moment it looked as though you were a dangerous maniac,"
admitted Joe. "You can't blame us for not taking chances."
"Of course not...." The young man drew a hand across his forehead. "I
certainly must have had a real blow. I just don't remember a thing. You
say I own a Mercury, but it means nothing to me. I know a Mercury is a
car, for instance, but that's about all. I seem to know how to talk,
what pancakes should taste like ... except that I'm almost willing to
wager that I never tasted any as good as these before."
"Thank you," said Mother, beaming.
"I shouldn't wonder if your past way of life would all fit into place
in your mind, and even though you might not regain full memory, you'd
be able to take up where you left off. When you get back to your
family...."
The young man shook his head. "I don't think I've got a family. It just
doesn't register. Not like the pancakes, or that a Mercury is a car...."
Joe got to his feet. "Come on, Dad, let's get the tractor and get
that Mercury out. Once our friend here knows who he is, maybe he can
remember the details, and be on his way."
The young man got to his feet eagerly. "Yes, let's go. I do have a
burning curiosity, and you can hardly blame me, can you?" He turned to
Pearl's mother. "I want to thank you for your hospitality, and I want
you to know I'll never forget those pancakes, no matter what else I've
forgotten!"
He turned to Pearl, bowed slightly. "It has been nice meeting you, and
those lovely children of yours."
Joe led the way out the kitchen door and waved back at Pearl. "Don't
worry about a thing," he said. "I'll be back just as soon as we get our
friend out of the sand."
* * * * *
Later, Joe sat in the living room, and he was surrounded by three human
question marks.
"The children are up at Aunt Margie's," said Pearl. "And now you'd
better tell us what all this is about?"
"It's simple," said Joe. "The Devil has a case of amnesia. As long as
he has it, we're safe. If he recovers his memory, we may be in for it
again. But I have a feeling he won't recover it--perhaps not for a
thousand years."
"Not for a thousand years?" asked Dad. "How do you figure that?"
"Well, in the first place, the Devil isn't gone. That is, he didn't
suddenly leave the body of that young man, as you all seem to think."
"How do you know that?" asked Pearl.
"Easy. I killed the mouse."
"The mouse?"
"Yes. The Devil traded places originally with a mouse, and then traded
places with this young man. But the mouse was dead, so the mouse's
body was empty of a mouse, if I make myself clear. Thus, the mouse is
still the young man, and always will be. The Devil will be the young
man, because his own body is dead. That is, he'll be the young man
until he recovers his memory, if he ever does, and then he could be
anybody. I hope it never happens."
"How can you be absolutely sure all this is a fact?" asked Pearl.
"Jimmy told me," grinned Joe.
"Jimmy?"
"Yes. Remember when I whispered to him? Well, I asked him if the
man still had horns, and he did. Then I told him that it was a very
important secret, and that he was never to discuss it with anyone,
except me. You see, I didn't want anybody to blurt out the word Devil
while the young man was here. Such a thing might be just the key to
bring back his memory."
"But won't he remember, anyway, just as soon as he gets to putting
things together, when he gets back to where the young man has his home
and friends?" asked Dad.
"Why should he? The stimulus of his name, his family, his home should
only serve to add to his subconscious memories as the young man. He
now has the brain and body of a man who has lost his memory. The Devil
can't remember anything but what's already in the young man's mind.
If his _own_ memory is never stirred, the chances are he will never
realize his true identity. He will gradually take on the only one
handy, that of the young man, and he might well turn out to be a model
citizen!"
"So that's what you mean by him being an amnesiac for a thousand
years?" asked Dad.
"Yes. The Bible says the Devil will be bound for a thousand years, cast
into a pit. Must we take that literally? Can't the binding be a mental
one, and can't the pit be amnesia?"
"It could be," said Mother suddenly. "Even hell, I believe, is a state
of mind."
* * * * *
Pearl started. "Does that mean that now we'll have no more crime on
earth, no more evil?"
"I'm afraid not," said Dad. "I know one thing for sure, the Devil is
not the author of _all_ evil. Mankind is cussed enough in his own
right, and even with the Devil suffering from amnesia, I feel sure
there'll be plenty of trouble going on."
"But not _quite_ as much," said Joe, looking at Dad. "With one less
evil companion, things should be a mite better, don't you think?"
"Your logic," said Dad, "is unassailable."
Pearl looked thoughtful. "What if the young man meets a girl, falls in
love, and she him, and marries her? She'd be married to the Devil, in
actuality."
Dad grinned at her. "It wouldn't be the first young man to be reformed.
In that case, I'd say, the Devil would be better off with amnesia!"