The old man's voice lowered. Lea and San bent forward intently. There was a weapon--a projector, Powl called it--which was mentioned in history. It had been built as an historical curiosity. It stood in a museum of Greater New York. The contemporary history of that Time--when weapons of such a kind were long since abandoned--said that this specimen in the museum was in perfect working order. Its operation was described. It was scientifically preserved in the museum against the ravages of time. 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. * * * * * Alan returned to his seat. He murmured to Powl: "Let's talk about that later--not now." Lea touched his arm. She whispered: "Yes--yes, understand--not now." The thing startled them all. There was a brief silence; they could hear Lentz moving normally about the other room. Alan asked Powl at last: "Can you operate your instrument here? Without Lentz to do it?" "Lea and San can," said Powl. "Though not so well as Lentz." "Let's try it again, but wait a minute." Alan went to the door. "Lentz, how soon will you be ready?" Lentz looked up from his work. "Quite shortly." "Good. I'll close this door. Knock when you're ready." He ignored the fellow's surprise, and dropped the door closed with a bang. "Now," said Alan. "Try it." With Nanette's cloak again, Lea and San tried the instrument. Almost at once results came. The screen showed an image. A starlit night. A forest glade. Turber's aero lay glistening in the starlight. Figures were moving about the glade. Strangely garbed, burly figures of men; and a group of half-naked, feathered savages stood near by, upon the shore of a river. A canoe lay there. To one side, a camp fire showed its dull yellow light through the forest underbrush.