"Better tie me to the chair," North cautioned. "When the field is thrown on, I'll have no recollection of the present or why I'm here. Don't forget that. Until you bring me back by setting the dials to zero, mentally, I'll be back where I was whatever time we hit upon. It will seem to me that I'm waking suddenly in utterly strange circumstances and surroundings. You know what questions to ask, of course." "Yes, Mr. North," said Roger. He turned to Dr. Dane. "Will you attend to the tying? Just sufficiently so that he can't rise in his bewilderment." Ann North brought straps, and a few moments later Corvo North nodded that he was ready; then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Roger Kay glanced at the instruments and then shifted two of the dials. There was a sudden hum from within the box, and Corvo North's eyes snapped open. "What--what is this?" he demanded. "Why am I here?" "Everything's all right, Mr. North," said Roger soothingly. "We'll release you in a moment. First please tell us what is the date." "It's January twelfth, of course. Why do you--" "And the year?" "Twenty forty-five. Now will you kindly--" "Just one more question, Mr. North. Do you know the exact time of day when you awoke here?" "How can I when I don't know how I got here? The last thing I remember is walking through the door of the bank to keep my appointment, at nine. What's happened? Did I faint?" A glow of satisfaction lodged itself in Roger's mind; they were getting the time more accurately than he'd dared expect on the first trial. He pushed his luck a bit farther. "Were you on time to make that appointment, Mr. North?" "I'd have been five minutes early. Now will you--" "Perfect!" exclaimed Roger. He turned back the dials. Corvo North went limp for an instant, then reopened his eyes. Dr. Dane rushed to him and unbuckled the straps. "Get anything?" asked the scientist weakly. "Perfect!" said Roger again. "I've got a note of the exact setting--and you were able to give the time exactly." He scribbled hasty calculations on the pad. "And that setting took you back to January of Twenty forty-five. To be exact--six thousand seven hundred twenty-eight days, twenty-seven hours, seven minutes!" Corvo North nodded weakly, but excitedly tried to rise. Dr. Dane, his hand on North's pulse, motioned him back. "That was a tremendous strain on your heart, North," he cautioned. "I forbid you to do it again until you've rested." "Absurd!" Corvo North glanced at the clock. "There isn't time! It's eleven now!" "Repeat that again right away and you'll never live to report what you see," warned the physician solemnly. "Half an hour of rest--or the entire experiment will be in vain." * * * * * Ann North's face was pale; she looked from her father to Roger Kay pleadingly.