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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #65671 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65671)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Time Snatcher, by Randall Garrett
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this eBook.
-
-Title: The Time Snatcher
-
-Author: Randall Garrett
-
-Release Date: June 22, 2021 [eBook #65671]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
- Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIME SNATCHER ***
-
-
-
-
- Tampering with events of the past could bring
- disastrous results in the future. It was why
- Brek was given a pair of six-guns to catch--
-
- THE TIME SNATCHER
-
- By Randall Garrett
-
- [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
- Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
- February 1957
- Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
- the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
-
-
-"We're in a hell of a jam, Brek," the Councillor said. "If Sagginer
-isn't stopped, he'll change history. The situation's desperate."
-
-Time Patrolman Brek Halliday nodded in agreement. It _was_ a tense
-situation. Time travel, he knew, was possible only so long as the
-traveller into the past did nothing that would change history
-significantly; the time-stream itself would straighten out little
-changes in the past so that overall history would remain the same.
-
-But a big change was something else again. If you stick your finger in
-a river, there are a few ripples around it, but the flow of the river
-remains the same. If you build a dam, though....
-
-"_When_ is he?" Brek asked. "Do we know?"
-
-"Fortunately, yes. He forced one of our operators to use one of the
-chronokinetic projectors, and then kidnapped her and took her with him.
-But he didn't know that the power drain was measurable and had been
-recorded on the meters. We know how much energy he used, so we know how
-far into the past he went. We've got him pinpointed in the area of the
-old United States, somewhere between 1880 and 1895."
-
-"Who was the girl he kidnapped?" Brek asked.
-
-The Councillor smiled apologetically. "Dori Clayton."
-
-The muscles of Halliday's jaw tightened. "I see," he said stiffly.
-"When do I leave?"
-
-"We'll prepare you immediately. It's going to be a touchy job to get
-both of them out of there, so watch yourself."
-
-"Don't worry," Halliday said quietly. "I'll manage it." He walked out,
-eyes hot with rage, thinking of Dori in Sagginer's clutches. His hands
-slowly clenched and unclenched as he headed down the long hall.
-
- * * * * *
-
-A Time Patrolman's first step in any excursion to the past is to learn
-the language and the history so well that he can pass as a native. For
-three days, Brek Halliday lay in the padded tank of a hypnorobot while
-information was poured into him.
-
-Then he was given his clothes. They consisted of a pair of high-heeled
-boots made of treated animal skin, a pair of tight trousers woven
-of blue-dyed vegetable fiber, a shirt of similar material, and a
-broad-brimmed hat. Other clothing and equipment went into a pack, and
-a money-belt around Brek's waist carried gold coins that not even an
-expert could have told from the originals.
-
-The thing that Brek liked best was the fact that he would be allowed to
-carry weapons openly. Some civilizations of the past didn't permit a
-citizen to carry guns, but where Brek was going, a man with a pair of
-six-guns at his hips wouldn't look odd at all.
-
-Brek had ridden a horse three times--once in the Battle of Agincourt,
-once at Chickamaugua, and once during a trip from Rome to Ravenna in
-the Sixth Century. His fourth horse was saddled a little differently,
-but he found it easy to handle. He trotted it onto the platform and
-signalled the operator. There was a brief hum as the chronokinetic
-projector warmed up. Then there was a sudden surge of power.
-
-Brek's surroundings seemed to vanish into greyness.
-
-Moments later, light swirled around him....
-
- * * * * *
-
-Plata City, New Mexico, was enjoying a warm, lazy summer day. No one
-paid much attention to the stranger who came into town on a very
-ordinary-looking cayuse, pulled up before the Casa Loma Saloon, and
-dismounted. He hitched his horse to the rail, looked up and down the
-street casually, and then strode into the saloon.
-
-"What'll it be, mister?" asked the fat, mustachioed bartender.
-
-"Whiskey," Brek said. "And a little cold beer to follow it. That road
-from El Paso is hot."
-
-The barman filled the order. "El Paso, eh? That's a right smart ride.
-Been on the road long?"
-
-"'Bout a week. I don't believe in rushin' nothin'."
-
-"Hey, barkeep!" yelled someone down at the far end. The bartender went,
-and Brek downed his whiskey. He sipped the beer reflectively, thinking
-long and hard.
-
-Jon Sagginer had been convicted once for illegal use of a time machine,
-and had been sentenced to ten years on Luna. Somehow, he'd managed to
-escape and, by bluff and daring, actually get control of a Time Patrol
-Chronokinetic Projector long enough to use it and kidnap the operator,
-Dori Clayton.
-
-It was bad enough to use the machine, Brek thought darkly, but to take
-Dori--
-
-Brek clenched his fists. For kidnapping Dori, Sagginer would take his
-punishment from Brek, not the law.
-
-The first thing to do was find him. Reading the power flow of a
-Chronokinetic Projector could only give an approximate location.
-Sagginer had landed within fifty miles of this spot, and at some time
-within the past five years--but where was he now?
-
-And, Brek asked himself--did he still have Dori with him? _Five years
-is a long time._
-
-In the course of a year or two, Sagginer could be a long way from Plata
-City, but Brek had a hunch that this was his goal. He didn't know he
-could be traced, and he wasn't prepared for travel.
-
-But--
-
-Suddenly, a finger tapped his shoulder and he whirled in surprise. He
-saw a man wearing a big silver star prominently on his vest.
-
-"Stranger, you'll have to shuck them irons. City ordinance says a man
-can't carry pistols inside the city limits."
-
-"I notice I ain't the only one with a full gunbelt," Brek said slowly.
-
-The man's eyes narrowed. "Them happens to be John Sager's men, mister,
-and they all happen to be deputies." His pistol came out suddenly. "I'm
-orderin' you to take 'em off."
-
-Brek shrugged and unbuckled the belt.
-
-"I ain't lookin' for an argument," he said, handing the gunbelt to the
-sheriff. But as the sheriff reached for the belt, Brek lashed out with
-one hand, slapping the other's weapon aside. It skittered across the
-floor as Brek jerked one of his own guns from the belt and sent the
-sheriff reeling backward with a blow in the chest.
-
-Several of the other armed men started to reach for their hips, but
-Brek's icy voice stopped them short. "First man to touch a gun gets
-lead!"
-
-The sheriff's face grew red. "You've got trouble, stranger."
-
-"Maybe. But them guns is mine."
-
-"You're trying to buck the law," said the sheriff.
-
-Brek grinned. "It's a damn fool law that needs so many men to enforce
-it. If you was the only one packin' irons, I might be persuaded to
-gie 'em to the barkeep here. But as long as everybody is carryin'
-full holsters, I reckon I don't want to be out of style. I'd look too
-conspicuous."
-
-Still holding his weapon, he buckled on his belt and walked over to
-where the sheriff's gun had fallen. Without taking his eyes off of
-anyone in the room, he squatted and picked it up.
-
-Then he walked back to the sheriff and shoved the six-gun into the
-lawman's holster. "Don't aim to cause no trouble, sheriff. If you and
-the rest of these gents will oblige me, I'll ask the barkeep to set us
-all up a drink."
-
-There was a moment of silence, then the sheriff grinned.
-
-"Reckon I'll take whiskey," he said.
-
-Brek grinned back and put his weapon in its sheath.
-
-It was almost a mistake. As soon as his hand was well away from the gun
-butt, one of the men at the bar snatched at his six-gun and brought it
-up to fire.
-
- * * * * *
-
-No ordinary man with ordinary guns could have moved fast enough to
-do anything. But Brek was no ordinary man, and his weapons were far
-from ordinary; both man and guns were the product of a science far in
-advance of the nineteenth century.
-
-Brek's hands blurred, and his weapons seemed to leap from their
-holsters as the little robot mechanisms secreted in their butts
-responded to the electroneural commands of their owner.
-
-There was a roar of sound as one of the guns spoke.
-
-The gunman's weapon seemed to vanish from his hand. It sailed across
-the room, banged against the wall, and dropped to the floor. Brek had
-no compunction against killing a man, particularly in self-defense,
-but the death of one man might conceivably make radical changes in the
-future.
-
-As the echoes of the gunshot died away, the gunman howled with pain.
-The shock of Brek's bullet against the gun had sent needles of pain
-racing up his arm.
-
-The room was silent. Then the sheriff walked over to the gunman, who
-was massaging his aching, numbed fingers, and grabbed him by the shirt
-collar.
-
-He said softly, "When I agree to take a drink with a man, I don't take
-it lightly when one of my deputies tries to shoot him."
-
-"I figured you wanted to take him after what he had done," the man said
-sullenly.
-
-"If I had, I'd of done my own gunslinging." He reached out and yanked
-the small metal star off the man's vest. "You ain't a deputy any more.
-If I catch you wearin' guns, I'll run you in--or shoot you, whichever's
-handiest."
-
-Still holding his injured hand, the man turned and walked out of the
-saloon. The sheriff turned around to Brek.
-
-"That was mighty fast and accurate shootin', son. What'd you say your
-name was?"
-
-"I didn't say yet," Brek said, reholstering his weapons. "But as a
-matter of fact, it's Ed Calhoun. As I said, I don't want to cause no
-trouble, but I'm glad to oblige them that comes lookin' for it." He
-laid a ten-dollar gold piece on the bar. "Here's an eagle, barkeep.
-Let's have them drinks."
-
-One of the other men at the bar looked quizzically at the sheriff.
-"Sheriff, maybe you hadn't ought to of done that to Cactus. How's the
-boss gonna take it?"
-
-The sheriff looked at him for a moment. Then he looked at the others.
-"Let's get one thing straight here. John Sager's an important man
-hereabouts, and I don't deny it. He needs good gunslingers to guard his
-property, and I'm only too glad to deputize 'em. But, by the Almighty,
-if a man don't behave himself, if he ain't to be trusted with a gun,
-then he ain't goin' to wear a badge as long as I'm sheriff."
-
-He turned to Brek. "I got to uphold the law, son. I asked you to turn
-them guns in and you wouldn't do it. I'm damned if I'm goin' to' try
-to take 'em away, so there's only one thing to do." He handed Brek the
-star that he had taken from Cactus. "Hold up your right hand," he said.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Half an hour later, Brek found himself sitting at a table, drinking
-beer and talking with the sheriff and a man named Chuck. He'd answered
-questions about his past with the purely fictitious data that he'd
-received from the hypnorobot, but all the time his mind had been on the
-man who was "an important man hereabouts"--John Sager.
-
-_Sager. Sagginer._ It could be the same man.
-
-"By the way, Sheriff--who _is_ John Sager?"
-
-"Owns the bank," the sheriff said. "Got property up on Chloride Flats,
-too. That's the silver mine district, you know. Bought out a couple of
-men who was failin' in business and then put 'em to work managin' their
-own stores for him. People around here have a right smart respect for
-him."
-
-"Friendly sort of fella, eh?"
-
-"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that. He treats people well,
-gives money to the church and the school, gives a man a job if he's
-down and out, but I wouldn't say he was a likeable man personally."
-
-"He's odd," said Chuck. "A real queer one. Maybe I shouldn't say it
-because I work for him, and he's done real proper by me, but--well,
-he's a funny one."
-
-Brek raised an eyebrow. "Yeah--How?"
-
-"Well, for one thing, he seems so--well, _cold_. Like he was a
-side-winder or a rattlesnake waitin' for a packrat to come by. He
-always seems to be figurin'--calculatin'. He don't smile much, and when
-he does, it don't look right on him."
-
-"That funny accent of his don't help none," the sheriff chimed in. "It
-ain't that he can't speak good English, but it sounds funny, the way he
-says it."
-
-"Been here very long?" Brek asked casually.
-
-"'Bout three years, is all. Done right well by himself, considerin' he
-didn't have much when he came."
-
-Chuck said: "After bein' robbed and all, it's a caution how he done so
-well." Then he laughed. "That was downright funny, when you come to
-think of it."
-
-"Yeah," the sheriff said, grinning. "Him and his sister showed up one
-night, naked as jaybirds. A couple of owlhoots had robbed 'em and
-stripped 'em of everything they had. No horse, no clothes, no nothin'.
-He was lucky, in a way, though. He had a money-belt on him that he
-managed to hide in a mesquite bush while the bandits wasn't lookin'.
-
-"I was sittin' in my office that night, when I heard a knock at the
-back door. I opened it, and there was John Sager, all dressed up in his
-birthday suit and nothin' more. Course, I didn't know who he was--"
-
-Brek listened closely to the sheriff's story. It all fits in. Sagginer
-hadn't had time to prepare himself for this era; his speech was
-strange, and his clothes even stranger. So he'd taken off his clothes
-and pretended to have been robbed. And his sister?
-
-"What's his sister like?" he asked.
-
-"Pretty," Chuck said, "but she's not too bright. Goes around in a daze
-most of the time."
-
-_Hypnotized!_ Brek thought. That settled it.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Twenty-four hours later, Brek had all the information he needed.
-
-Sagginer had a double plot in mind--one which would both set him up
-permanently and at the same time eliminate any danger from the Time
-Patrol. Sagginer knew, of course, where the Great Silver Vein was
-at Chloride Flats. It wasn't due to be discovered until 1973, but if
-"Sager" found it, he'd not only be a rich man--he would so change
-history that the Time Patrol would be unable to reach him. He would
-divert the time-stream radically by the discovery of such a vast amount
-of silver.
-
-Brek had presumably spent the night at the Murray Hotel, but he had
-actually slipped out of his room unseen and made an excursion on foot
-up Palo Alto Mountain to the big house Sager had erected there.
-
-It was tightly guarded. There would be no chance of getting in there
-without creating a major disturbance. Cautiously, he crept completely
-around the house, looking for a break in the guard network. There
-wasn't any.
-
-In order to get inside, he'd have to get himself invited in. But how?
-
-He returned to the Hotel, headed from there to the Casa Loma, and was
-sitting in the bar drinking a beer, mulling the problem over, when
-Chuck came in.
-
-"Ed," the slim man said softly, "it really ain't none of my business,
-but I thought you ought to know that Cactus is gunnin' for you."
-
-"Thanks, Chuck," Brek said, as Chuck walked over to the other end of
-the bar, as if not wanting to be seen with Brek.
-
-It was easy to see what had happened. Cactus had told Sager-Sagginer
-what had happened in the bar yesterday, including, no doubt, the story
-about the blinding draw from the hip. Sager probably suspected that
-Brek was a Time Patrolman and had sent Cactus to shoot him.
-
-Brek moistened his lips, got up, and dropped a coin on the bar. Then
-he tipped his hat to Chuck and pushed his way through the batwings,
-heading for Sager's bank.
-
-He knew the game. Sager didn't care whether Cactus got killed or not;
-what he wanted to do was watch Brek's gunwork, which would give him
-away as a Patrolman if he depended on the robot pistols.
-
-Brek would have to take a chance.
-
-He reached down and turned off the robot armament. All he had now was
-a pair of ordinary pistols. Overhead, the noonday sun was coming down
-strong and hard, and he began to sweat.
-
-Casually, he sauntered down the wide, unpaved street toward the bank.
-There were a few people strolling idly in the other direction. He moved
-up against the row of shops, looking in all directions.
-
-No sign of Cactus. He frowned. Brek knew of Cactus' fear of his
-lightning draw, and suspected that Cactus would try an ambush. Brek
-glanced uneasily across the street, over at Bishop's Livery, where a
-cowpoke was hitching his reins to the rail. It wasn't Cactus.
-
-Then, suddenly, a gun spoke. Brek felt a hot bolt of lead blast its way
-into his arm, and he staggered dizzily. He glanced up as he struggled
-to regain his balance, and saw gunsmoke drifting out an open window in
-the second floor of Sager's Bank. _Cactus_, he thought. He leaped back
-as another bullet raked the dirt near him. His left arm was warm with
-his own blood.
-
-The street was silent. Brek leaned against the cool glass of a shop
-window, waiting, holding his breath.
-
-In a few minutes, a head peered cautiously out the second-story window.
-Brek tugged at his gun--it seemed to take forever to get it out with
-the robot armament shut off--and fired once.
-
-A man tumbled out the window, bounced off the awning in front of the
-building, and dropped heavily to the ground. He lay still.
-
-Brek mopped the blood from his arm. His head was starting to swim with
-pain, and new worries assailed him. He had killed a man, now. Would it
-change the past? Would he ever reach Dori again? He didn't know. All he
-knew was the blinding pain in his arm.
-
- * * * * *
-
-He was in fairly good repair an hour later, though the arm still
-throbbed a bit. He'd taken it to a local doctor; Sagginer would
-be suspicious if he'd used Quik-Heal on it. He stood in front of
-the Murray Hotel, methodically packing his few belongings into his
-saddlebags.
-
-Chuck walked up. "Ed, the boss would like to see you. Sager."
-
-"Sager? What does _he_ want?"
-
-"Wants to apologize for what Cactus done. He fired Cactus as soon as
-he heard about the run-in with the sheriff, so he wants you to know he
-ain't responsible. Cactus had no business layin' for you from that bank
-window."
-
-Brek shrugged. "Might as well go," he said. "I never figured Sager was
-behind it anyway."
-
-He headed to the bank. Sager was sitting behind his desk, flanked by a
-couple of his gunmen. He was a lean, long-nosed man with cold eyes and
-a narrow, thin-lipped mouth.
-
-"You are Ed Calhoun?"
-
-Brek nodded.
-
-"I want you to know that I am sorry for what my ex-employee did. I do
-not like that sort of thing." Sager's speech was stiff and formal, Brek
-noted.
-
-"I figured he was on his own," he said easily. "I didn't know of
-nothin' you might have against me."
-
-"There is nothing, I assure you. I understand you are leaving Plata
-City."
-
-"Yep. I'm headin' for Arizona--cattle country. I'm a cowman by trade."
-
-"You are also a very good man with a gun. I need men like you. How
-would you like to work for me?"
-
-_It had worked_, Brek thought exultantly. Pretending to be about to
-leave town had removed all suspicion from Sagginer's mind.
-
-"Why, I reckon I might stay if the pay was good," Brek said
-thoughtfully. "Long as a man makes a livin', it don't matter much
-_what_ he does."
-
-"I will make it well worth your while, Mr. Calhoun."
-
-Brek drew his breath in sharply, fighting the temptation to shoot Sager
-where he sat. It would eradicate one considerable blotch on the human
-race, but it would also involve killing others and it still wouldn't
-get Dori out of that house.
-
-"Reckon I'll listen to your proposition, anyhow, Mr. Sager."
-
- * * * * *
-
-It was three days before Brek was asked up to the house. He knew his
-time was running low. If Sager actually started mining operations on
-his property, his death or disappearance wouldn't stop it. Someone
-else would find the Great Silver Vein, and the time-stream would be
-unalterably diverted, causing incalculable change in the world of the
-future.
-
-Brek's opening was a lucky one--a prowler had been caught, a Mexican
-itinerant shot and killed by a guard. It had apparently scared Sager,
-who probably suspected the Mexican might have been a Time Patrolman,
-and so he had decided to increase the guard around his house. Brek was
-called from his bank duties and taken up Palo Alto Mountain to the
-Sager mansion. His job was to patrol the grounds.
-
-That evening, as dusk fell, Brek strolled around the grounds, going
-from one of the posted guards to another.
-
-"Sam? It's me, Ed."
-
-"Howdy, Ed. Seen anything?"
-
-"Not a thing. You?"
-
-"Nope. I think the boss is just jumpy."
-
-Brek poured tobacco into a cigarette paper, rolled it deftly, and put
-it in his mouth. "Got a light, Sam?"
-
-"Sure."
-
-As the guard struck the match, Brek leaned forward to light his
-cigarette--and, at the same time, he put his hand on the other's
-shoulder. Automatically, a little device in his palm silently and
-painlessly injected hypnotene into the man's blood stream.
-
-After a moment, Brek said: "How do you feel, Sam?"
-
-Sam blinked slowly. "Just fine."
-
-"You'll do anything I tell you--won't you, Sam?"
-
-"Why sure, Ed. Whatever you say."
-
-Brek grinned savagely. "You won't hear any noise from the house."
-
-"No noise from the house," Sam agreed.
-
-"No matter what happens, you won't hear anything out of the ordinary,
-or see anything out of the ordinary. This will seem just like any other
-night to you."
-
-Under the influence of the drug, Sam nodded in agreement.
-
-"And you won't remember what I just said. All you'll remember is that I
-bummed a light and went on."
-
-Again Sam nodded.
-
-"Well, so long, Sam."
-
-"So long, Ed," said Sam tonelessly.
-
-The same process, with variations, was repeated with the rest of the
-guards. When he was finished, Brek fired his gun into the air and
-strode boldly up to the front door. He rapped.
-
-"Who is there?" asked a voice from within.
-
-"Ed Calhoun, Boss. We just killed another prowler. You want to take a
-look at him?"
-
-A pause. Then, "Are you sure he is dead?"
-
-"Bullet through his head," Brek said.
-
-"What does he look like?"
-
-"Ordinary. Might be an Indian."
-
-The door opened, and Sager stepped straight into a right upper-cut
-which bowled him back through the opening. Brek charged in after him,
-but the man lay limp, his eyes closed.
-
-Brek stood over him for a moment, debating what to do. Then he heard
-footsteps on the stairway.
-
-_Dori._
-
-She stared at him, no recognition in her eyes. A chill of horror ran
-through him as he saw what Dori had become.
-
-"Who are you?" Her voice was dull, uncaring.
-
-He walked over to her and looked at her eyes. Burning fury rose in him.
-Using hypnotene, Sagginer had made Dori only the shell of the girl he
-had loved.
-
-"Who are you?" she asked again. "I do not know you."
-
-"You once did," he said tightly. "You--"
-
-He felt a sudden blow on the back of his neck, and his knees sagged.
-Sager had been feigning unconsciousness, and now had returned to the
-struggle at a moment when Brek was unprepared.
-
-A fist smashed into his side, and he ducked away, blinking away
-the pain. He turned and advanced toward Sagginer, while Dori moaned
-wordlessly in the corner.
-
-Sagginer jumped forward and drove a fist toward Brek's jaw, but Brek
-countered and felt knuckles crash through the time-jumper's teeth.
-As Sagginer rocked, Brek hit him below the heart, and he grunted and
-folded up.
-
-This time Brek made sure of the job. He continued pummelling Sagginer's
-senseless body until he was out of breath, then stood up and looked at
-Dori.
-
-She was huddled helplessly in a chair, sobbing in terror. Brek scowled
-as he remembered the girl he had once known, and gave the unconscious
-form of Sagginer another kick. Then he slid his gun out of its holster
-and pressed a button on the underside of the robot gunbelt.
-
-The time-scoop closed around the three of them.
-
- * * * * *
-
-When the greyness cleared away, Brek stumbled out of the time-scoop and
-saw the Councillor waiting for him, smiling.
-
-He shook his head to clear it. "Here I am," he said. "And here's your
-time snatcher. Mission accomplished, sir."
-
-"Very fine job, Brek. Very fine."
-
-Brek looked at the Councillor. "There's one problem, though. The girl,
-Dori--"
-
-He saw the Councillor blink apprehensively. "Oh, I brought her back,
-all right," he said quickly. "But--but--she's been badly treated, sir.
-I don't know if the damage Sagginer's done to her mind can ever be
-repaired. I--"
-
-The Councillor's eyes widened. "What are you talking about, Brek? What
-has happened to Dori? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."
-
-"Why, she's right here--unconscious, in the back of the Time-Scoop,"
-Brek said, puzzled. "And--" He turned to find the girl. "Why--she
-_isn't_ here!"
-
-"Of course not," said the Councillor. "She's been right here, all the
-time. Where else should she be?"
-
-Dimly, Brek began to realize what had happened. Some act of his--the
-shooting of Cactus, perhaps--had altered the future, his present, ever
-so slightly. Just enough so that in _this_ present, Sagginer had gone
-back alone--_without_ Dori.
-
-A door opened, and a girl stepped out, clad in a white lab smock. Her
-eyes were bright and clear, and when she saw Brek, she gave a little
-scream of joy.
-
-Then Brek folded her into his arms.
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIME SNATCHER ***
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-<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Time Snatcher, by Randall Garrett</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
-at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
-are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this eBook.
-</div>
-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Time Snatcher</p>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Randall Garrett</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 22, 2021 [eBook #65671]</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
-
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
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-<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div>
-
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TIME SNATCHER ***</div>
-
-<div class="titlepage">
-
-<p>Tampering with events of the past could bring<br />
-disastrous results in the future. It was why<br />
-Brek was given a pair of six-guns to catch&mdash;</p>
-
-<h1>THE TIME SNATCHER</h1>
-
-<h2>By Randall Garrett</h2>
-
-<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br />
-Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br />
-February 1957<br />
-Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br />
-the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p>"We're in a hell of a jam, Brek," the Councillor said. "If Sagginer
-isn't stopped, he'll change history. The situation's desperate."</p>
-
-<p>Time Patrolman Brek Halliday nodded in agreement. It <i>was</i> a tense
-situation. Time travel, he knew, was possible only so long as the
-traveller into the past did nothing that would change history
-significantly; the time-stream itself would straighten out little
-changes in the past so that overall history would remain the same.</p>
-
-<p>But a big change was something else again. If you stick your finger in
-a river, there are a few ripples around it, but the flow of the river
-remains the same. If you build a dam, though....</p>
-
-<p>"<i>When</i> is he?" Brek asked. "Do we know?"</p>
-
-<p>"Fortunately, yes. He forced one of our operators to use one of the
-chronokinetic projectors, and then kidnapped her and took her with him.
-But he didn't know that the power drain was measurable and had been
-recorded on the meters. We know how much energy he used, so we know how
-far into the past he went. We've got him pinpointed in the area of the
-old United States, somewhere between 1880 and 1895."</p>
-
-<p>"Who was the girl he kidnapped?" Brek asked.</p>
-
-<p>The Councillor smiled apologetically. "Dori Clayton."</p>
-
-<p>The muscles of Halliday's jaw tightened. "I see," he said stiffly.
-"When do I leave?"</p>
-
-<p>"We'll prepare you immediately. It's going to be a touchy job to get
-both of them out of there, so watch yourself."</p>
-
-<p>"Don't worry," Halliday said quietly. "I'll manage it." He walked out,
-eyes hot with rage, thinking of Dori in Sagginer's clutches. His hands
-slowly clenched and unclenched as he headed down the long hall.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>A Time Patrolman's first step in any excursion to the past is to learn
-the language and the history so well that he can pass as a native. For
-three days, Brek Halliday lay in the padded tank of a hypnorobot while
-information was poured into him.</p>
-
-<p>Then he was given his clothes. They consisted of a pair of high-heeled
-boots made of treated animal skin, a pair of tight trousers woven
-of blue-dyed vegetable fiber, a shirt of similar material, and a
-broad-brimmed hat. Other clothing and equipment went into a pack, and
-a money-belt around Brek's waist carried gold coins that not even an
-expert could have told from the originals.</p>
-
-<p>The thing that Brek liked best was the fact that he would be allowed to
-carry weapons openly. Some civilizations of the past didn't permit a
-citizen to carry guns, but where Brek was going, a man with a pair of
-six-guns at his hips wouldn't look odd at all.</p>
-
-<p>Brek had ridden a horse three times&mdash;once in the Battle of Agincourt,
-once at Chickamaugua, and once during a trip from Rome to Ravenna in
-the Sixth Century. His fourth horse was saddled a little differently,
-but he found it easy to handle. He trotted it onto the platform and
-signalled the operator. There was a brief hum as the chronokinetic
-projector warmed up. Then there was a sudden surge of power.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p>Brek's surroundings seemed to vanish into greyness.</p>
-
-<p>Moments later, light swirled around him....</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>Plata City, New Mexico, was enjoying a warm, lazy summer day. No one
-paid much attention to the stranger who came into town on a very
-ordinary-looking cayuse, pulled up before the Casa Loma Saloon, and
-dismounted. He hitched his horse to the rail, looked up and down the
-street casually, and then strode into the saloon.</p>
-
-<p>"What'll it be, mister?" asked the fat, mustachioed bartender.</p>
-
-<p>"Whiskey," Brek said. "And a little cold beer to follow it. That road
-from El Paso is hot."</p>
-
-<p>The barman filled the order. "El Paso, eh? That's a right smart ride.
-Been on the road long?"</p>
-
-<p>"'Bout a week. I don't believe in rushin' nothin'."</p>
-
-<p>"Hey, barkeep!" yelled someone down at the far end. The bartender went,
-and Brek downed his whiskey. He sipped the beer reflectively, thinking
-long and hard.</p>
-
-<p>Jon Sagginer had been convicted once for illegal use of a time machine,
-and had been sentenced to ten years on Luna. Somehow, he'd managed to
-escape and, by bluff and daring, actually get control of a Time Patrol
-Chronokinetic Projector long enough to use it and kidnap the operator,
-Dori Clayton.</p>
-
-<p>It was bad enough to use the machine, Brek thought darkly, but to take
-Dori&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>Brek clenched his fists. For kidnapping Dori, Sagginer would take his
-punishment from Brek, not the law.</p>
-
-<p>The first thing to do was find him. Reading the power flow of a
-Chronokinetic Projector could only give an approximate location.
-Sagginer had landed within fifty miles of this spot, and at some time
-within the past five years&mdash;but where was he now?</p>
-
-<p>And, Brek asked himself&mdash;did he still have Dori with him? <i>Five years
-is a long time.</i></p>
-
-<p>In the course of a year or two, Sagginer could be a long way from Plata
-City, but Brek had a hunch that this was his goal. He didn't know he
-could be traced, and he wasn't prepared for travel.</p>
-
-<p>But&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>Suddenly, a finger tapped his shoulder and he whirled in surprise. He
-saw a man wearing a big silver star prominently on his vest.</p>
-
-<p>"Stranger, you'll have to shuck them irons. City ordinance says a man
-can't carry pistols inside the city limits."</p>
-
-<p>"I notice I ain't the only one with a full gunbelt," Brek said slowly.</p>
-
-<p>The man's eyes narrowed. "Them happens to be John Sager's men, mister,
-and they all happen to be deputies." His pistol came out suddenly. "I'm
-orderin' you to take 'em off."</p>
-
-<p>Brek shrugged and unbuckled the belt.</p>
-
-<p>"I ain't lookin' for an argument," he said, handing the gunbelt to the
-sheriff. But as the sheriff reached for the belt, Brek lashed out with
-one hand, slapping the other's weapon aside. It skittered across the
-floor as Brek jerked one of his own guns from the belt and sent the
-sheriff reeling backward with a blow in the chest.</p>
-
-<p>Several of the other armed men started to reach for their hips, but
-Brek's icy voice stopped them short. "First man to touch a gun gets
-lead!"</p>
-
-<p>The sheriff's face grew red. "You've got trouble, stranger."</p>
-
-<p>"Maybe. But them guns is mine."</p>
-
-<p>"You're trying to buck the law," said the sheriff.</p>
-
-<p>Brek grinned. "It's a damn fool law that needs so many men to enforce
-it. If you was the only one packin' irons, I might be persuaded to
-gie 'em to the barkeep here. But as long as everybody is carryin'
-full holsters, I reckon I don't want to be out of style. I'd look too
-conspicuous."</p>
-
-<p>Still holding his weapon, he buckled on his belt and walked over to
-where the sheriff's gun had fallen. Without taking his eyes off of
-anyone in the room, he squatted and picked it up.</p>
-
-<p>Then he walked back to the sheriff and shoved the six-gun into the
-lawman's holster. "Don't aim to cause no trouble, sheriff. If you and
-the rest of these gents will oblige me, I'll ask the barkeep to set us
-all up a drink."</p>
-
-<p>There was a moment of silence, then the sheriff grinned.</p>
-
-<p>"Reckon I'll take whiskey," he said.</p>
-
-<p>Brek grinned back and put his weapon in its sheath.</p>
-
-<p>It was almost a mistake. As soon as his hand was well away from the gun
-butt, one of the men at the bar snatched at his six-gun and brought it
-up to fire.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>No ordinary man with ordinary guns could have moved fast enough to
-do anything. But Brek was no ordinary man, and his weapons were far
-from ordinary; both man and guns were the product of a science far in
-advance of the nineteenth century.</p>
-
-<p>Brek's hands blurred, and his weapons seemed to leap from their
-holsters as the little robot mechanisms secreted in their butts
-responded to the electroneural commands of their owner.</p>
-
-<p>There was a roar of sound as one of the guns spoke.</p>
-
-<p>The gunman's weapon seemed to vanish from his hand. It sailed across
-the room, banged against the wall, and dropped to the floor. Brek had
-no compunction against killing a man, particularly in self-defense,
-but the death of one man might conceivably make radical changes in the
-future.</p>
-
-<p>As the echoes of the gunshot died away, the gunman howled with pain.
-The shock of Brek's bullet against the gun had sent needles of pain
-racing up his arm.</p>
-
-<p>The room was silent. Then the sheriff walked over to the gunman, who
-was massaging his aching, numbed fingers, and grabbed him by the shirt
-collar.</p>
-
-<p>He said softly, "When I agree to take a drink with a man, I don't take
-it lightly when one of my deputies tries to shoot him."</p>
-
-<p>"I figured you wanted to take him after what he had done," the man said
-sullenly.</p>
-
-<p>"If I had, I'd of done my own gunslinging." He reached out and yanked
-the small metal star off the man's vest. "You ain't a deputy any more.
-If I catch you wearin' guns, I'll run you in&mdash;or shoot you, whichever's
-handiest."</p>
-
-<p>Still holding his injured hand, the man turned and walked out of the
-saloon. The sheriff turned around to Brek.</p>
-
-<p>"That was mighty fast and accurate shootin', son. What'd you say your
-name was?"</p>
-
-<p>"I didn't say yet," Brek said, reholstering his weapons. "But as a
-matter of fact, it's Ed Calhoun. As I said, I don't want to cause no
-trouble, but I'm glad to oblige them that comes lookin' for it." He
-laid a ten-dollar gold piece on the bar. "Here's an eagle, barkeep.
-Let's have them drinks."</p>
-
-<p>One of the other men at the bar looked quizzically at the sheriff.
-"Sheriff, maybe you hadn't ought to of done that to Cactus. How's the
-boss gonna take it?"</p>
-
-<p>The sheriff looked at him for a moment. Then he looked at the others.
-"Let's get one thing straight here. John Sager's an important man
-hereabouts, and I don't deny it. He needs good gunslingers to guard his
-property, and I'm only too glad to deputize 'em. But, by the Almighty,
-if a man don't behave himself, if he ain't to be trusted with a gun,
-then he ain't goin' to wear a badge as long as I'm sheriff."</p>
-
-<p>He turned to Brek. "I got to uphold the law, son. I asked you to turn
-them guns in and you wouldn't do it. I'm damned if I'm goin' to' try
-to take 'em away, so there's only one thing to do." He handed Brek the
-star that he had taken from Cactus. "Hold up your right hand," he said.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>Half an hour later, Brek found himself sitting at a table, drinking
-beer and talking with the sheriff and a man named Chuck. He'd answered
-questions about his past with the purely fictitious data that he'd
-received from the hypnorobot, but all the time his mind had been on the
-man who was "an important man hereabouts"&mdash;John Sager.</p>
-
-<p><i>Sager. Sagginer.</i> It could be the same man.</p>
-
-<p>"By the way, Sheriff&mdash;who <i>is</i> John Sager?"</p>
-
-<p>"Owns the bank," the sheriff said. "Got property up on Chloride Flats,
-too. That's the silver mine district, you know. Bought out a couple of
-men who was failin' in business and then put 'em to work managin' their
-own stores for him. People around here have a right smart respect for
-him."</p>
-
-<p>"Friendly sort of fella, eh?"</p>
-
-<p>"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that. He treats people well,
-gives money to the church and the school, gives a man a job if he's
-down and out, but I wouldn't say he was a likeable man personally."</p>
-
-<p>"He's odd," said Chuck. "A real queer one. Maybe I shouldn't say it
-because I work for him, and he's done real proper by me, but&mdash;well,
-he's a funny one."</p>
-
-<p>Brek raised an eyebrow. "Yeah&mdash;How?"</p>
-
-<p>"Well, for one thing, he seems so&mdash;well, <i>cold</i>. Like he was a
-side-winder or a rattlesnake waitin' for a packrat to come by. He
-always seems to be figurin'&mdash;calculatin'. He don't smile much, and when
-he does, it don't look right on him."</p>
-
-<p>"That funny accent of his don't help none," the sheriff chimed in. "It
-ain't that he can't speak good English, but it sounds funny, the way he
-says it."</p>
-
-<p>"Been here very long?" Brek asked casually.</p>
-
-<p>"'Bout three years, is all. Done right well by himself, considerin' he
-didn't have much when he came."</p>
-
-<p>Chuck said: "After bein' robbed and all, it's a caution how he done so
-well." Then he laughed. "That was downright funny, when you come to
-think of it."</p>
-
-<p>"Yeah," the sheriff said, grinning. "Him and his sister showed up one
-night, naked as jaybirds. A couple of owlhoots had robbed 'em and
-stripped 'em of everything they had. No horse, no clothes, no nothin'.
-He was lucky, in a way, though. He had a money-belt on him that he
-managed to hide in a mesquite bush while the bandits wasn't lookin'.</p>
-
-<p>"I was sittin' in my office that night, when I heard a knock at the
-back door. I opened it, and there was John Sager, all dressed up in his
-birthday suit and nothin' more. Course, I didn't know who he was&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>Brek listened closely to the sheriff's story. It all fits in. Sagginer
-hadn't had time to prepare himself for this era; his speech was
-strange, and his clothes even stranger. So he'd taken off his clothes
-and pretended to have been robbed. And his sister?</p>
-
-<p>"What's his sister like?" he asked.</p>
-
-<p>"Pretty," Chuck said, "but she's not too bright. Goes around in a daze
-most of the time."</p>
-
-<p><i>Hypnotized!</i> Brek thought. That settled it.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>Twenty-four hours later, Brek had all the information he needed.</p>
-
-<p>Sagginer had a double plot in mind&mdash;one which would both set him up
-permanently and at the same time eliminate any danger from the Time
-Patrol. Sagginer knew, of course, where the Great Silver Vein was
-at Chloride Flats. It wasn't due to be discovered until 1973, but if
-"Sager" found it, he'd not only be a rich man&mdash;he would so change
-history that the Time Patrol would be unable to reach him. He would
-divert the time-stream radically by the discovery of such a vast amount
-of silver.</p>
-
-<p>Brek had presumably spent the night at the Murray Hotel, but he had
-actually slipped out of his room unseen and made an excursion on foot
-up Palo Alto Mountain to the big house Sager had erected there.</p>
-
-<p>It was tightly guarded. There would be no chance of getting in there
-without creating a major disturbance. Cautiously, he crept completely
-around the house, looking for a break in the guard network. There
-wasn't any.</p>
-
-<p>In order to get inside, he'd have to get himself invited in. But how?</p>
-
-<p>He returned to the Hotel, headed from there to the Casa Loma, and was
-sitting in the bar drinking a beer, mulling the problem over, when
-Chuck came in.</p>
-
-<p>"Ed," the slim man said softly, "it really ain't none of my business,
-but I thought you ought to know that Cactus is gunnin' for you."</p>
-
-<p>"Thanks, Chuck," Brek said, as Chuck walked over to the other end of
-the bar, as if not wanting to be seen with Brek.</p>
-
-<p>It was easy to see what had happened. Cactus had told Sager-Sagginer
-what had happened in the bar yesterday, including, no doubt, the story
-about the blinding draw from the hip. Sager probably suspected that
-Brek was a Time Patrolman and had sent Cactus to shoot him.</p>
-
-<p>Brek moistened his lips, got up, and dropped a coin on the bar. Then
-he tipped his hat to Chuck and pushed his way through the batwings,
-heading for Sager's bank.</p>
-
-<p>He knew the game. Sager didn't care whether Cactus got killed or not;
-what he wanted to do was watch Brek's gunwork, which would give him
-away as a Patrolman if he depended on the robot pistols.</p>
-
-<p>Brek would have to take a chance.</p>
-
-<p>He reached down and turned off the robot armament. All he had now was
-a pair of ordinary pistols. Overhead, the noonday sun was coming down
-strong and hard, and he began to sweat.</p>
-
-<p>Casually, he sauntered down the wide, unpaved street toward the bank.
-There were a few people strolling idly in the other direction. He moved
-up against the row of shops, looking in all directions.</p>
-
-<p>No sign of Cactus. He frowned. Brek knew of Cactus' fear of his
-lightning draw, and suspected that Cactus would try an ambush. Brek
-glanced uneasily across the street, over at Bishop's Livery, where a
-cowpoke was hitching his reins to the rail. It wasn't Cactus.</p>
-
-<p>Then, suddenly, a gun spoke. Brek felt a hot bolt of lead blast its way
-into his arm, and he staggered dizzily. He glanced up as he struggled
-to regain his balance, and saw gunsmoke drifting out an open window in
-the second floor of Sager's Bank. <i>Cactus</i>, he thought. He leaped back
-as another bullet raked the dirt near him. His left arm was warm with
-his own blood.</p>
-
-<p>The street was silent. Brek leaned against the cool glass of a shop
-window, waiting, holding his breath.</p>
-
-<p>In a few minutes, a head peered cautiously out the second-story window.
-Brek tugged at his gun&mdash;it seemed to take forever to get it out with
-the robot armament shut off&mdash;and fired once.</p>
-
-<p>A man tumbled out the window, bounced off the awning in front of the
-building, and dropped heavily to the ground. He lay still.</p>
-
-<p>Brek mopped the blood from his arm. His head was starting to swim with
-pain, and new worries assailed him. He had killed a man, now. Would it
-change the past? Would he ever reach Dori again? He didn't know. All he
-knew was the blinding pain in his arm.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>He was in fairly good repair an hour later, though the arm still
-throbbed a bit. He'd taken it to a local doctor; Sagginer would
-be suspicious if he'd used Quik-Heal on it. He stood in front of
-the Murray Hotel, methodically packing his few belongings into his
-saddlebags.</p>
-
-<p>Chuck walked up. "Ed, the boss would like to see you. Sager."</p>
-
-<p>"Sager? What does <i>he</i> want?"</p>
-
-<p>"Wants to apologize for what Cactus done. He fired Cactus as soon as
-he heard about the run-in with the sheriff, so he wants you to know he
-ain't responsible. Cactus had no business layin' for you from that bank
-window."</p>
-
-<p>Brek shrugged. "Might as well go," he said. "I never figured Sager was
-behind it anyway."</p>
-
-<p>He headed to the bank. Sager was sitting behind his desk, flanked by a
-couple of his gunmen. He was a lean, long-nosed man with cold eyes and
-a narrow, thin-lipped mouth.</p>
-
-<p>"You are Ed Calhoun?"</p>
-
-<p>Brek nodded.</p>
-
-<p>"I want you to know that I am sorry for what my ex-employee did. I do
-not like that sort of thing." Sager's speech was stiff and formal, Brek
-noted.</p>
-
-<p>"I figured he was on his own," he said easily. "I didn't know of
-nothin' you might have against me."</p>
-
-<p>"There is nothing, I assure you. I understand you are leaving Plata
-City."</p>
-
-<p>"Yep. I'm headin' for Arizona&mdash;cattle country. I'm a cowman by trade."</p>
-
-<p>"You are also a very good man with a gun. I need men like you. How
-would you like to work for me?"</p>
-
-<p><i>It had worked</i>, Brek thought exultantly. Pretending to be about to
-leave town had removed all suspicion from Sagginer's mind.</p>
-
-<p>"Why, I reckon I might stay if the pay was good," Brek said
-thoughtfully. "Long as a man makes a livin', it don't matter much
-<i>what</i> he does."</p>
-
-<p>"I will make it well worth your while, Mr. Calhoun."</p>
-
-<p>Brek drew his breath in sharply, fighting the temptation to shoot Sager
-where he sat. It would eradicate one considerable blotch on the human
-race, but it would also involve killing others and it still wouldn't
-get Dori out of that house.</p>
-
-<p>"Reckon I'll listen to your proposition, anyhow, Mr. Sager."</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>It was three days before Brek was asked up to the house. He knew his
-time was running low. If Sager actually started mining operations on
-his property, his death or disappearance wouldn't stop it. Someone
-else would find the Great Silver Vein, and the time-stream would be
-unalterably diverted, causing incalculable change in the world of the
-future.</p>
-
-<p>Brek's opening was a lucky one&mdash;a prowler had been caught, a Mexican
-itinerant shot and killed by a guard. It had apparently scared Sager,
-who probably suspected the Mexican might have been a Time Patrolman,
-and so he had decided to increase the guard around his house. Brek was
-called from his bank duties and taken up Palo Alto Mountain to the
-Sager mansion. His job was to patrol the grounds.</p>
-
-<p>That evening, as dusk fell, Brek strolled around the grounds, going
-from one of the posted guards to another.</p>
-
-<p>"Sam? It's me, Ed."</p>
-
-<p>"Howdy, Ed. Seen anything?"</p>
-
-<p>"Not a thing. You?"</p>
-
-<p>"Nope. I think the boss is just jumpy."</p>
-
-<p>Brek poured tobacco into a cigarette paper, rolled it deftly, and put
-it in his mouth. "Got a light, Sam?"</p>
-
-<p>"Sure."</p>
-
-<p>As the guard struck the match, Brek leaned forward to light his
-cigarette&mdash;and, at the same time, he put his hand on the other's
-shoulder. Automatically, a little device in his palm silently and
-painlessly injected hypnotene into the man's blood stream.</p>
-
-<p>After a moment, Brek said: "How do you feel, Sam?"</p>
-
-<p>Sam blinked slowly. "Just fine."</p>
-
-<p>"You'll do anything I tell you&mdash;won't you, Sam?"</p>
-
-<p>"Why sure, Ed. Whatever you say."</p>
-
-<p>Brek grinned savagely. "You won't hear any noise from the house."</p>
-
-<p>"No noise from the house," Sam agreed.</p>
-
-<p>"No matter what happens, you won't hear anything out of the ordinary,
-or see anything out of the ordinary. This will seem just like any other
-night to you."</p>
-
-<p>Under the influence of the drug, Sam nodded in agreement.</p>
-
-<p>"And you won't remember what I just said. All you'll remember is that I
-bummed a light and went on."</p>
-
-<p>Again Sam nodded.</p>
-
-<p>"Well, so long, Sam."</p>
-
-<p>"So long, Ed," said Sam tonelessly.</p>
-
-<p>The same process, with variations, was repeated with the rest of the
-guards. When he was finished, Brek fired his gun into the air and
-strode boldly up to the front door. He rapped.</p>
-
-<p>"Who is there?" asked a voice from within.</p>
-
-<p>"Ed Calhoun, Boss. We just killed another prowler. You want to take a
-look at him?"</p>
-
-<p>A pause. Then, "Are you sure he is dead?"</p>
-
-<p>"Bullet through his head," Brek said.</p>
-
-<p>"What does he look like?"</p>
-
-<p>"Ordinary. Might be an Indian."</p>
-
-<p>The door opened, and Sager stepped straight into a right upper-cut
-which bowled him back through the opening. Brek charged in after him,
-but the man lay limp, his eyes closed.</p>
-
-<p>Brek stood over him for a moment, debating what to do. Then he heard
-footsteps on the stairway.</p>
-
-<p><i>Dori.</i></p>
-
-<p>She stared at him, no recognition in her eyes. A chill of horror ran
-through him as he saw what Dori had become.</p>
-
-<p>"Who are you?" Her voice was dull, uncaring.</p>
-
-<p>He walked over to her and looked at her eyes. Burning fury rose in him.
-Using hypnotene, Sagginer had made Dori only the shell of the girl he
-had loved.</p>
-
-<p>"Who are you?" she asked again. "I do not know you."</p>
-
-<p>"You once did," he said tightly. "You&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>He felt a sudden blow on the back of his neck, and his knees sagged.
-Sager had been feigning unconsciousness, and now had returned to the
-struggle at a moment when Brek was unprepared.</p>
-
-<p>A fist smashed into his side, and he ducked away, blinking away
-the pain. He turned and advanced toward Sagginer, while Dori moaned
-wordlessly in the corner.</p>
-
-<p>Sagginer jumped forward and drove a fist toward Brek's jaw, but Brek
-countered and felt knuckles crash through the time-jumper's teeth.
-As Sagginer rocked, Brek hit him below the heart, and he grunted and
-folded up.</p>
-
-<p>This time Brek made sure of the job. He continued pummelling Sagginer's
-senseless body until he was out of breath, then stood up and looked at
-Dori.</p>
-
-<p>She was huddled helplessly in a chair, sobbing in terror. Brek scowled
-as he remembered the girl he had once known, and gave the unconscious
-form of Sagginer another kick. Then he slid his gun out of its holster
-and pressed a button on the underside of the robot gunbelt.</p>
-
-<p>The time-scoop closed around the three of them.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>When the greyness cleared away, Brek stumbled out of the time-scoop and
-saw the Councillor waiting for him, smiling.</p>
-
-<p>He shook his head to clear it. "Here I am," he said. "And here's your
-time snatcher. Mission accomplished, sir."</p>
-
-<p>"Very fine job, Brek. Very fine."</p>
-
-<p>Brek looked at the Councillor. "There's one problem, though. The girl,
-Dori&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>He saw the Councillor blink apprehensively. "Oh, I brought her back,
-all right," he said quickly. "But&mdash;but&mdash;she's been badly treated, sir.
-I don't know if the damage Sagginer's done to her mind can ever be
-repaired. I&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>The Councillor's eyes widened. "What are you talking about, Brek? What
-has happened to Dori? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."</p>
-
-<p>"Why, she's right here&mdash;unconscious, in the back of the Time-Scoop,"
-Brek said, puzzled. "And&mdash;" He turned to find the girl. "Why&mdash;she
-<i>isn't</i> here!"</p>
-
-<p>"Of course not," said the Councillor. "She's been right here, all the
-time. Where else should she be?"</p>
-
-<p>Dimly, Brek began to realize what had happened. Some act of his&mdash;the
-shooting of Cactus, perhaps&mdash;had altered the future, his present, ever
-so slightly. Just enough so that in <i>this</i> present, Sagginer had gone
-back alone&mdash;<i>without</i> Dori.</p>
-
-<p>A door opened, and a girl stepped out, clad in a white lab smock. Her
-eyes were bright and clear, and when she saw Brek, she gave a little
-scream of joy.</p>
-
-<p>Then Brek folded her into his arms.</p>
-
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