when he wanted me to advance money to him
“Contingent fee, Doc,” he said. “I’ll
for his heat experiments. I turned him down;
come back and pay you right after the exam.”
and now he’ll make me pay through the nose
“Okeh,” replied the scientist, with a
for whatever time which he may sell me. But,
supercilious grin. “Still incredulous, I see.”
if he can cram a two weeks Physics Course in
“Why wouldn’t we be?” McGuire your trick head over night, he’s got exclaimed, as Hatch led them to the elevator.
something! Come on, son. Lead me to Dr.
They bought a newspaper at the first
Hatch!”
stand, and found that, as promised, only one
“Poor dear old dad!” Tom Porter
night had actually elapsed. Filled with elation,
declaimed, as though explaining an interesting
Porter took the subway up to the University.
scientific specimen to a crowd. “He really
believes that he thought up this idea all
CHAPTER II
himself, whereas the truth is—”
The Time Corporation
“Skip it!” snapped his father, but not
harshly, and his heavy-lidded eyes were
AFTER three hours spent on the examination,
twinkling. “Son, I’ll take back what I said
he made a bee line for his father’s downtown
about your being no use. You’re okeh, and
office.
I’m proud of you.”
Amazing Stories
6
“There, that’s better. Come on over to
too young to have an eight-year-old kid.”
Hatch’s laboratory. It’s only a few blocks
“Mr. Porter,” the girl replied with level
from here.”
emphasis, “I might just as well tell you now as
later. I am Dr. Hatch’s wife.”
A few minutes later Tom Porter was Considerably
deflated, Tom Porter got
introducing his father to P. Lanford Hatch in
slowly down off the desk, raised an eyebrow
the latter’s laboratory.
and whistled softly.
There was reserve and veiled bitterness
“All right, Mrs. Hatch, you win,” he
on Dr. Hatch’s fine features, as he said resignedly. “From now on I’ll try not to acknowledged the introduction with, “So at
annoy you any more than I can help. But you
last we meet, Mr. Porter. Formerly you can’t stop my looking at you occasionally.”
refused to see me. Your son has more faith in
His dark eyes were sad as he strolled
the possibilities of modern science than you.
over toward his father and Dr. Hatch. The girl
He will be a greater man than you some day.”
stared after him with pity in her own green
The older Porter lowered his eyes and
eyes.
chewed his beard. But his son spoke up,
“Tommy,” the elder Porter announced
“You’re unjust to dad, Dr. Hatch. How was he
happily, as he joined them. “I’ve persuaded
to know that you weren’t just some crank?
Dr. Hatch to let me invest a considerable sum
Well, anyway, here he is to make amends and
of money in his business. How would you like
become a good customer. Suppose you show
to go in here as my representative? You’re
him the room where I spent two weeks last
entitled to it, boy, for putting me in touch with
night.”
this solution of our worries.”
As Dr. Hatch and the elder Porter drew
Tommy cast a glance back at the
away toward the rear of the laboratory, Tom
flaming Mrs. Hatch, who was still staring after
Porter turned back to the flaming-haired girl at
him.
the reception-desk.
“Pop,” he replied, “it’s a go!”
“Hello, beautiful,” he said. “I killed
With ample funds now at their
my exam, thanks to you and your boss. How
command, Dr. Hatch and Tom Porter plunged
about helping me celebrate?”
into further experimentation. They had two
Her jade-green eyes narrowed objects in view: first, to speed up the operation ominously.
of the already invented entropy-cabinet; and
“That reminds me,” she replied in icy
secondly to devise a cabinet just the converse
tones. “You owe us an additional fifteen of the other.
hundred dollars. Contingent fee.”
That is to say, within this new cabinet
“Send the bill to father,” he airily the flow of entropy would be so retarded that, replied. “Frederic Porter spelled without any
while years were passing by in the world
K, 30 Wall Street.” He seated himself on the
outside, the inmates of the cabinet would
corner of her desk, and picked up a silver
experience only a few days of time.
picture-frame containing the photograph of a
Finally the new cabinet was almost
pretty little girl. “Who’s the infant? Kid sister?
completed. Meanwhile Tom Porter
Looks a lot like you.”
scrupulously observed the proprieties with the
“It’s my daughter. And she’s eight.”
flaming wife of his superior; although he had
“Old stuff,” Porter declared, putting
great difficulty in keeping his eyes from
the picture back on the desk, and waving one
feasting on her luscious loveliness whenever
large hand expansively. “Just like that phony
her husband was not around. And, although he
wedding ring you’re wearing. You’re much
always addressed her most meticulously as
Time for Sale
7
“Mrs. Hatch,” he thought of her by her first
To himself Porter added, “And you
name, “Evelyn.” Evelyn Hatch, radiant, know darn well that it’s your own choosing!”
flaming, inscrutable, with cold jade-green But aloud he answered, “Mrs. Hatch, I don’t eyes!
believe that we have yet even scratched the
Dr. Hatch developed a real affection
surface of the possibilities of your husband’s
for his assistant, and couldn’t get it through
invention. For instance, take the case of a
his head why his young wife persisted in contractor who wishes to bid on a big contract discouraging his attempts to bring Tom home
and hasn’t the time to complete his
for an evening. And at last, after Porter had
calculations before the bids close. Or a lawyer,
been working for him for several months, the
in the midst of an important trial, who wishes
situation became so embarrassing that Evelyn
to get a good night’s sleep so as to be alert for
Hatch finally gave in, and her husband his opponent on the morrow, and yet really triumphantly invited Porter to dinner.
ought to make a thorough study of the day’s
Evelyn Hatch and Tom Porter developments. Take the court reporter in the managed to get through the dinner without any
same case, not having time and too tired to
contretemps, but after dinner the tension transcribe his notes to meet the insistent became rather ghastly.
>
demands of the lawyer. What wouldn’t each
The entrance of the Hatch’s little of them be willing to give for just one extra daughter, who had her meal in the kitchen,
day, sandwiched in overnight!”
served as a welcome diversion; and Porter
“Not to mention what the
covered up his embarrassment by playing with
entropy-cabinet did for you!” Evelyn Hatch
the child.
added laughingly.
Little Evelyn had the same
“A much more important use,” Dr.
copper-gold hair as her mother, the same cool
Hatch interjected, “would be in the event of
green eyes, the same peaches-and-cream war. Suppose a new poison gas is suddenly complexion. But instead of being elusive like
loosed against our troops. It will take weeks of
her mother, she was frank, almost forward.
chemical research to develop a specific
She spent most of the evening on a hassock at
absorbent, to add to the canisters of our
Porter’s feet, staring adoringly up at him, and
gas-masks. Meanwhile our armies are likely to
insisting upon story after story of his be overwhelmed. But no. Our Chemical experiences in the football arena.
Warfare Service sends some experts to me,
“For daddy used to play football too,
they spend two weeks overnight in one of my
you know. Only I’ll bet that he wasn’t as good
cabinets, and the enemy’s great offensive the
a player as you are, Mr. Porter.”
next morning is launched in vain. If we can
“He was a great deal better, you little
build our cabinets large enough, we could
minx. He was an All-American in his day.”
even speed-up the manufacture of munitions
Dr. and Mrs. Hatch smiled indulgently
during a war, and the bringing of boys to
at them, and the doctor remarked under his
fighting age. I’m beginning to wonder if we
breath, “Tom would make a nice ‘uncle’ for
ought not to withdraw our invention from
the brat, don’t you think so, dear?”
public use, and deal only with the United
Finally it came little Evelyn’s bedtime.
States Army.”
After the nursemaid had led the child
“What do you mean ‘withdraw?’”
away protesting, Mrs. Hatch turned to their
laughed Porter. “So far as I know, my father
guest and said, “Tell us what you think of our
and I have so far been your only clients.”
latest developments, Mr. Porter. I never get a
“Your father’s investment has enabled
chance to talk with you at the laboratory.”
me to wait, to perfect my invention, to apply
Amazing Stories
8
for patents and see what degree of protection
test is not so easy.”
the Patent Office will accord me, and to mull
“We have already noted the times
over in my mind the question of whether or
recorded by two clocks, one inside and one
not to deal exclusively with the Government.”
out. They check with your theoretical
“I
see.”
calculations,” Porter replied.
“But
what
I can’t see,” Evelyn Hatch
“Yes, but I want to try the effect on a
mused aloud, narrowing her jade-green eyes
living creature.”
introspectively, “is what practical use there is
“We could leave a guinea-pig and a
going to be to our other entropy-cabinet, the head of lettuce inside for several weeks, and
one on which you two are now working, then prove by how little of the lettuce gets which slows down the entropy, so that while
eaten, that only a few hours have elapsed
the person inside is experiencing the elapse of
inside.”
only a few days, time flows on outside
But Dr. Hatch shook his head
through several years. Of course, it would
doubtfully. “Too uncertain. And a conclusive
enable an inquisitive soul to live to see the
test of that sort would take several months. I
future, but is that a practical use?”
don’t want to wait that long; I want to know
“Practical uses have always developed
now. Besides, a guinea-pig can’t report his
for every advance made by pure science,” her
feelings to us. But with a real human being
husband observed sententiously.
inside the cabinet, we could make a definite
And there they left the matter for the
test in less than a week—it would seem like
present.
only an hour or two to him.”
When Tom Porter said goodbye to “Meaning,”
said
Porter, grinning, “that
Mrs. Hatch after a very pleasant evening, he
you’d like me to be your human guinea-pig. I
held her hand just a bit longer than was was wondering why you built the full-size necessary, nor did she resist. Warned by a
cabinet, before you had adequately tested the
flicker in the cool eyes of her husband she
miniature one. “All right, I’m game. But don’t
shifted her gaze, smiled sadly, withdrew her
leave me inside for too long. I don’t want to
hand. Dr. Hatch standing behind her in the
drop several years out of my life.”
doorway, smiling quizzically, observed the
Dr. Hatch’s eyes gleamed behind his
performance through narrowed lids.
horn-rimmed glasses. “I knew that you
wouldn’t fail me,” he chuckled. “Good old
CHAPTER III
Tom!”
Human Guinea-Pig
“Might as well take the plunge now as
later,” said Porter, with forced casualness.
BUT the next morning in the laboratory there
“How long do you plan to leave me in?”
was no sign of annoyance on his scholarly
“A seeming hour of your time should
features. In face he seemed even more friendly
be enough. Meanwhile two weeks will elapse
and ingratiating to his young assistant than
for me. Evelyn can take turns with me at the
usual.
controls.” His face darkened almost
“Tom,” he announced, “I’m imperceptibly as he spoke his wife’s name.
dissatisfied with these guinea-pig tests in my
“Okeh,” said Porter, shrugging his
new cabinet. With my first day-an-hour broad shoulders. “Give me a couple of cabinet, I could put a group of baby morning papers, and lead me to it.”
guinea-pigs into it, and observe that they
He stepped over to Mrs. Hatch’s desk
matured and even became senile overnight.
by the elevator door, and picked up some
But with my hour-a-day cabinet, a comparable
newspapers from it. Then held out his hand
Time for Sale
9
and stared hard into her green eyes. dawned on me, I began to wonder what to do
“Goodbye, Mrs. Hatch. I’m going for a short
about the situation. And suddenly our
jaunt into the future. Meet you there.”
; conversation gave me the clue. When Evelyn
She cast an inquiring glance at her
(Mrs. Hatch to you) asked what was the
husband, as Porter turned and strode back into
practical use for the cabinet in which you now the laboratory.
find yourself, I was on the point of saying that In a few minutes Porter was seated
it could be used to adjust disparate ages. For inside the glassed-in cubicle, reading one of
example, a man like myself, married to a much
the papers. The glass walls had become black,
younger woman, could put himself in this
completely shutting off the outside world.
cabinet and wait for her to catch up with him.
An hour later by his wrist-watch, But I like Evelyn exactly as she is—I don’t Porter glanced anxiously at the walls and mind her being so much younger than me, door, but they were still black. He tensed his
except insofar as her youthfulness offers a
muscles impatiently—then relaxed with a temptation to covetous young upstarts such as grin. After all, Dr. Hatch’s estimate may have
you.
been a bit off. Perhaps two weeks on the
“However, this cabinet can be used to
outside equaled slightly more than an hour on
cause, as well as to adjust, disparity of age.
the inside.
Instead of making Evelyn old enough for me, I
So Porter resumed the perusal of his
can make her too old for you.
newspaper for another fifteen minutes. But
“So, instead of myself, I have put you
still no sign of clearing of the glass walls.
into this cabinet. It has been perfected more
He threw the paper to the floor, and
than you knew. For I have found a way to slow
arose from his chair and strode up and down
down the entropy within it beyond your
his narrow cell. Weeks were speeding outside,
Time for Sale by Ralph Milne Farley Page 2