"Well, what?"
"Don't keep me in suspense!" begged the little man. "What was it like?"
Johnson considered. "Nostalgic, I suppose. Everyone would like another chance to revisit his childhood. You've proven that your time ma—Pardon me. Your temporal transgressor, works. But as to your idea that events can be changed—well, consider me from Missouri."
"But the machine does work," insisted Cavendish.
"I've already said that," said Johnson, irritated with the little man. Cavendish seemed much more pushy than he had at their first meeting. Johnson had never cared for that type of person, perhaps recognizing too much of himself reflected in the other personality.
"The next part should be simple, then," said Cavendish. "All we have to do is find a suitable crisis point in your life, and send you back. Once you have changed it—made a different decision—then you'll see."
"Perhaps," said Johnson, a strong doubt in the back of his mind. "Have you picked out such a suitable crisis?"
"I think so." He turned to the screen, and began adjusting the dials. Gray fog swirled mistily across the face of the tube, resolving momentarily into brief scenes as the scientist searched for something in particular. At last he grunted in satisfaction, and straightened up.
"Here we are." He sharpened the focus, and it became Johnson's turn to grunt in surprise.
"Damn you!"