Suddenly, Hope screamed, and I followed her eyes. A score or more of the strange beings had suddenly materialized but a few yards away, and they were closing in on us swiftly.
I tried to draw my gun. Hands reached out to grasp me; to grasp all three of us. Then darkness closed in swiftly; I was whisked upward, on and on, breathlessly. I was suddenly very heavy; I was dropping in the blackness ... there was something solid beneath my feet ... a glare of light in my eyes.
“Nicely timed, I’ll say that,” chuckled Vic. “How does our own material little old world look?”
“Great!” I stepped quickly away from the machine, drawing Hope with me. “Doesn’t it, Hope?”
She sighed, a long, shuddering sigh, and snuggled into my arms. Vic glanced towards us and grinned.
“Come to think of it,” he remarked, “I believe I’ll run along and see if I can find Mrs. Perrin. I haven’t had a thing to eat since noon yesterday, and I’ve just realized I’m hungry. Will you join me?”
“In a moment,” I nodded, and Vic, being the good scout he was, hurried away.
And the machine?” I asked a few nights later. “Still experimenting with it?” I had really come out to see Hope, of course, but she was still upstairs, putting on the finishing touches.
Vic shook his head quite gravely.
“No, old son; I had enough. Off on another tangent now. Why—would you like to go back?”