TOURMALIN'S TIME CHEQUES F. Anstey GREENHILL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY This edition of _Tourmalin's Time Cheques_ first published 1986 by Greenhill Books, Lionel Leventhal Limited, 3 Barnham Avenue, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3PW This edition © Lionel Leventhal Limited, 1986 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electrical, mechanical or otherwise without first seeking the written permission of the Publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Anstey, F. Tourmalin's Time Cheques.--(Greenhill Science Fiction & Fantasy) Rn: Thomas Anstey Guthrie I. Title 823'.8[F] PR4729.G5 ISBN 0-947898-48-4 Publishing History _Tourmalin's Time Cheques_ was first published in 1885, by J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol and is reproduced now exactly as the original edition, complete and unabridged. Greenhill Books welcome readers' suggestions for books that might be added to this Series. Please write to us if there are titles which you would like to recommend. Printed by Antony Rowe Limited, Chippenham, Wiltshire. CONTENTS. _Page_ PROLOGUE. On Deck--Curry and Culture--Alternative Distractions--A Period of Probation--The Oath and the Talisman--Wavering--A Chronological Error--The Time Bargain--Tourmalin Opens an Account 1 CHAPTER I. =Tourmalin's First Cheque, and How he Took It.= Fidelity Rewarded--Love's Catechism--Brain-fag--a Timely Recollection--The Experiment, and some Startling Results--Question Time--"Dear Friends"--A Compromise 21 CHAPTER II. =The Second Cheque.= Furnishing--A Cosy Corner--"Sitting Out"--Fresh Discoveries--Twice a Hero--Bewilderment and Bathos 38 CHAPTER III. =The Third Cheque.= Good Resolutions--Casuistry--A Farewell Visit--Small Profit and a Quick Return 52 CHAPTER IV. =The Fourth Cheque.= A Blue Moon--Felicity in a Flat--Practical Astronomy--Temptation and a Relapse--The Difficulties of being Completely Candid--A Slight Misunderstanding--The Avenging Orange 66 CHAPTER V. =Periodic Drawings.=