Down in the basement, the machinery looked complex, with all sorts of thermostats and speedometers.
"Automatic stoker?" I asked.
"Time machine," she said.
"You don't mean a time machine like H. G. Wells's," I said, to show her I wasn't ignorant.
"Not exactly like that, but close," she answered sadly. "This has been the cause of all your trouble, William."
"It has?"
"Yes. This house and the ground around it are the Primary Focus area for the Hexers. The Hexers have tormented and persecuted you all your life. They got you into trouble. They made you think you were going crazy—"
"I never thought I was going crazy!" I yelled at her.
"That must have made it worse," she said miserably.