Lea and San—traveling in their tower—had seen the Time-world when the city was crumbled into ruins. The museum was abandoned; there would be no one there to stop Lea if she went and searched in the ruins of the museum for the projector.
Powl was talking very softly. A tenseness was on him.
"This we have told no one."
"What Time-world?" Alan asked.
"We think the best year to try for it would be about 5000 A.D."
It chanced that of the four of them, only Alan was facing the doorway of the connecting room. The sound of Lentz moving about was suddenly stilled. The realization of that struck Alan.
A segment of the other room was visible through the open door; Lentz was not in sight, but it seemed as though a shadow of him lay on the floor near the doorway.
Alan whispered sharply, "Quiet." He leaped to his feet; he darted noiselessly across the room with the startled glances of his companions upon him. Beyond the doorway he came upon Lentz standing close against the wall. A tube was in his hand; he was polishing it with a piece of cloth.
"Oh," said Alan. "I didn't know you were here."
"The instrument will be ready quite shortly." Lentz moved back to his work.