Cretaceous Sea

Without a word, Hitler left the room, followed by Jane.

Con was trembling. 'I thought that was it,' she said, 'and there's still something I need to remember.'

'What?'

Con's expression became one of desperate concentration. 'I don't know, but it's important.' Only a few minutes had passed when the panel opened again. Hitler returned with Jane. Jane's face betrayed the bad news. 'Con,' she said, 'you need to come with us.' She spoke some words and the colored barrier vanished. Hitler gestured with his weapon, indicating Con should step out-side. Con turned pale and gently kissed Rick. 'Good-bye,' she whispered. 'I love you.' Con stepped into the snow, then, with a wild look in her eye, turned to Jane. 'I'm Constance!' she shouted. 'I'm Con-sta...' Her words were cut off as the barrier reappeared. Rick stared at the swirling colors as his vision blurred with tears. It's so ironic, he thought, that in her last moments, she wanted to be known by the name her father called her. The idea of Con, so brave and strong, reverting back to her child-hood name seemed especially sad. Rick stood, waiting to die any moment, yet the minutes mounted. 'Come on!' he said angrily. 'Get it over with!' An hour passed before the silver panel opened and Hitler entered with Stalin. Their childlike faces bore hard, cold ex-pressions. Hitler pointed his weapon at Rick. 'Take off your shoes,' he ordered. Rick silently complied. When he was barefoot, he was told to lie down on the bed. Rick lay down and stared at the weapon pointed at him, determined not to betray his fear. Soon I'll be with Con, he thought. The weapon glowed blue and the world dissolved into darkness. 39

EVERYTHING WAS A SOFT AND UNBROKEN BLUE. CON'S

face appeared, then Rick felt her lips upon his. 'It's about time you woke up!' she said. Rick found it hard to move, and he spoke with difficulty. 'Where ... where am I?'

'You're in Montana,' replied Con, 'It's June 29, 1878.'

Rick's head cleared, and he found he could sit up. There was tall grass all around him. Con squatted next to him, dressed in rags and grinning broadly. 'I remembered just in time,' she said. 'I'm Constance, the family legend.'

'You do realize you're making no sense at all,' replied Rick. 'Are you sure I'm not dead?' Con got a mischievous grin and gave him a playfully in-timate caress. 'You don't feel dead to me.'

'Con!'

'It's all right. We're married. Maybe not officially yet, but we are. I'm Constance Clements.' Rick looked perplexed. 'I don't understand. Would you please calm down and tell me what's happened?'

'We're here because I figured it out. It was the last name that threw me. I thought I was Con Greighton.'

'So did I,' said Rick. 'Who's Constance Clements? Other than yourself, of course.'

'She's the Greighton family legend, Daddy's only bedtime tale. He was so serious about it. It always began, 'Never forget about Constance Clements.' My mother thought he was loony to tell it over and over again. I never understood what the big deal was—until now. It was my message to myself!'

'You still haven't answered my question,' said Rick. 'Who is she?'

'The woman who founded the family fortune. She and her husband came out of nowhere and were found in the prairie by a wagon train. They struck gold soon afterward, three mines in all—The Second Chance, The Paradox, and The Full Circle. Talk about hints! Once I figured it out for myself, I was able to prove to Jane, Hitler, and Stalin that I was that woman. That meant they had to take us here if they didn't want to change their own present.'

'How could you prove that?'

'I knew the dates. I knew the names of the mines. I had all kinds of proof, and it all fit. But, most important, it's true— I'm the legendary Constance Clements 7'

'I can't believe this, it's too fantastic.'

'Spoken by a man who just visited the Cretaceous and survived the K-T impact.'

'So the current version of time depends on our traveling from the twenty-first century to live in the nineteenth?'

'Yep,' said Con, 'and that thing Jane called 'the archive' bore me out. Hitler and Stalin looked really put out.'

'The whole thing's mind-boggling.'

'Isn't it?' said Con with a grin. 'When you think about it, this must have happened before. Otherwise...' Con looked confused.