His next random stop was no better. If anything it was worse. We found ourselves on a dusty road, surrounded by trees and fields in which labored scores upon endless scores of—American Indians! They bent diligently to the labor of harvesting, while over them stood a grim-visaged soldier clad in glistening buckler, greaves and helm. As we sat watching, a mounted band of similarly clad warriors swung up the road. They saw us. Instantly their leader bellowed a command—and dust flew as they charged down upon us.
I'll never forget the look on the leader's face as, with lances levelled, banner flying, swords drawn, they came banging hell-for-leather right up to, into and through us!
Hank snapped the key again.
The next sights came and went so fast that I never fully saw nor comprehended any of them. In turn and variously we found ourselves in: a quiet village inhabited by plump little farmers who spoke German; a towering city lighted only by flickering gas-lamps; a dirty little slum-section wherein evil roisterers roared bawdy songs in a French patois; a big temple, gilded and magnificent, surrounded by chanting rows of priests; the middle of a brick-and-plaster wall; a huge airfield upon which were reared fully a dozen monstrous egg-shaped crafts, one of which, as we stared bewildered, hurled itself heavenward in a tremendous burst of flame to be lost, a flaming dot, in the ebon reaches of the sky.
Then a thriving little town, where for the first time we saw printed words we could understand. "POST OFFICE ... Hunter's Fort ... Virginia ... C.S.A."
All these and dozens more, until my brain staggered before the questions it could not answer. And Hank continued to punch keys with—I could not help thinking—a desperate intentness.
But it was Helen who broke first. She was atremble with emotion as she reached forward and stayed Hank's fingers on the studs, stayed our mad voyage in what was, by now, the almost pleasant grayness of the void. And, "Hank!" she cried. "No more, Hank! Oh, please, no more! I can't stand it. Not without knowing where we are, what these places are, what it all means...."
Hank took his hands from the controls reluctantly. For a long moment he studied us. Then,
"I should think you'd understand by now," he said. "I been tryin' to 'splain it to you all along. What we been seein' is just a fraction o' them other possible worlds I was talkin' about. These are the worlds that might o' been!"