_But no one appeared in the open hatch; no one came down the ramp. At last the crowd surged forward again._ _Among them were a youth and a girl who stood, hand in hand, at the foot of the ramp, gazing at it and the ship with shining eyes, then at each other._ _She said, "I wonder, Robin, what it would be like to travel through far space on such a ship as that."_ _He squeezed her hand and said, "We'll find out, Nina. Space travel will come, in our time, they've always said--and there is the proof of it."_ _The girl rested her head against the young man's shoulder. "You'll be one of the first, won't you, Robin? And you'll take me with you?"_ _He slipped an arm around her. "Of course. You know, Nina, our scientists say that if one could travel faster than the speed of light one could live in reverse. So when we get old we'll go out in space, very, very fast, and we'll grow young again, together!"_ _Then a shout went up from the two men who had gone up the ramp into the ship to greet whoever was aboard. They came hurrying down, and Robin and Nina crowded forward to hear what they had to report._ _They were puffing from the rush of their excitement. "There is no one alive on the ship," they cried. "Only an old, withered, white-haired lady, lying dead ... and alone. She must have fared long and far to have lived so long, to be so old in death. Space travel must be pleasant, indeed. It made her very happy, very, very happy--for there is a smile on her face."_ End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Time and the Woman, by G. Gordon Dewey