f kids, bills, and wives. But always, always the conversation turned to It. The whole thing still seemed so strange, and yet so grand. What a puzzle! Finally, as they did each year, they would remove their pieces of cloth from their packets and lay them on the table to see if they still fiThe Four Men met for years after It happened. They were so young back then. They were foolish and assumed that they knew it all, that what they did back then was right. They even secretly cut the cloth in four pieces. Never did they dream that the drama they took part in would affect the world for all time.

They kept in touch through the years, as difficult as that was. Their profession had been such that they had forever a common bond of being a bit cynical, perhaps even cruel, although at the time they didn’t consider it as such. After all, this was how the world treated the criminal element. But when It happened, these four comrades were so affected that they pledged to meet each year at a certain place. They didn’t understand why this urge to meet and talk about It (they had discussed this strange aspect with each other), but they kept their pledge faithfully each year, even though the trip became more draining both physically and financially as the years slipped by.

Through the years each got married and raised a family who in turn started raising their families. At the yearly get-together they would discuss the mundane issues of kids, bills, and wives. But always, always the conversation turned to It. The whole thing still seemed so strange, and yet so grand. What a puzzle! Finally, as they did each year, they would remove their pieces of cloth from their packets and lay them on the table to see if they still fit

orld for all time.

They kept in touch through the years, as difficult as that was. Their profession had been such that they had forever a common bond of being a bit cynical, perhaps even cruel, although at the time they didn’t consider it as such. After all, this was how the world treated the criminal element. But when It happened, these four comrades were so affected that they pledged to meet each year at a certain place. They didn’t understand why this urge to meet and talk about It (they had discussed this strange aspect with each other), but they kept their pledge faithfully each year, even though the trip became more draining both physically and financially as the years slipped by.

Through the years each got married and raised a family who in turn started raising their families. At the yearly get-together they would discuss the mundane issues of kids, bills, and wives. But always, always the conversation turned to It. The whole thing still seemed so strange, and yet so grand. What a puzzle! Finally, as they did each year, they would remove their pieces of cloth from their packets and lay them on the table to see if they still fi

ated the criminal element. But when It happened, these four comrades were so affected that they pledged to meet each year at a certain place. They didn’t understand why this urge to meet and talk about It (they had discussed this strange aspect with each other), but they kept their pledge faithfully each year, even though the trip became more draining both physically and financially as the years slipped by.

Through the years each got married and raised a family who in turn started raising their families. At the yearly get-together they would discuss the mundane issues of kids, bills, and wives. But always, always the conversation turned to It. The whole thing still seemed so strange, and yet so grand. What a puzzle! Finally, as they did each year, they would remove their pieces of cloth from their packets and lay them on the table to see if they still fi

aithfully each year, even though the trip became more draining both physically and financially as the years slipped by.

Through the years each got married and raised a family who in turn started raising their families. At the yearly get-together they would discuss the mundane issues of kids, bills, and wives. But always, always the conversation turned to It. The whole thing still seemed so strange, and yet so grand. What a puzzle! Finally, as they did each year, they would remove their pieces of cloth from their packets and lay them on the table to see if they still fi

f kids, bills, and wives. But always, always the conversation turned to It. The whole thing still seemed so strange, and yet so grand. What a puzzle! Finally, as they did each year, they would remove their pieces of cloth from their packets and lay them on the table to see if they still fit. And then they would tell their stories.

Maurice spoke first. “My grandson was so sick a few months ago. It was right after a party we had for his third birthday, so we thought maybe he ate some bad food. It was my wife who suggested I put the cloth on him. Well, I thought, who can figure women out! But it was so strange -- he got better right away. You can’t imagine how happy I was! But I started thinking about that man again and whether we did the right thing.”

Abiathar spoke next. “Well, I’m not sure mine was as dramatic as that, but it meant just about as much to us. My wife got the strangest feeling one day about her mother. I happen to like my mother-in-law a lot, so we both walked over to her house and there she was; she had slipped on something and was on the floor. I carry my cloth with me everywhere -- yes, I’m superstitious! -- so I immediately put it on her leg which we thought was broken. She got up right away and was fine! One thing about it, she doesn’t tease me about the cloth anymore. She has even asked me about the Man.”

Helios broke in excitedly with his remarkable incident. “I can’t wait to tell you what ha