"Thank you. The shopkeeper merely assumed it to be counterfeit. I knew better."
"This, officer, is Ed Bronson—of Earth One," said Kingston.
Bronson jumped visibly. They knew him! Then he realized that they must certainly know him because they had kidnaped him through the barrier in time. This, of course, was erroneous, for it had been Virginia's machinations that had brought him here. On the other hand, the error made little difference so far as its end-result went, for it was true that they knew him and also that they were quite glad to have him under their thumbs.
"So you're the birds who grabbed me?" he said brashly.
Kingston grinned wolfishly. He saw little reason for letting Bronson know that another had accomplished what he himself had wanted.
"We're glad to see you," said Kingston.
"No doubt," snapped Bronson. "The pleasure is all yours."
"Don't be petty," laughed Kingston.
Bronson turned around to see what the other man—Maddox, of course—was doing. Maddox had stopped using the space-resonant viewer, but the screen depicted a street on Earth Two, which was obvious since there were twin shadows cast, one by the sun and one by the atomic flame.