A stranger stepped out. He was a good-looking young man with a curly red beard, faultlessly dressed in Savile Row white flannels, a subtly figured white shirt, and a professionally arranged ascot. His skin glowed with clean health.
Colonel Heinz von Schwarzenau stared speechlessly. The corporal peered into the room and made a flabbergasted announcement in German to the effect that there were no facilities there for washing or changing clothes, nor any sign of the Commando. One little glimmer of hope shone in von Schwarzenau’s eyes. He stepped forward and tugged at the beard.
The stranger said, “Ouch!”
Dr. Palgrave smiled. “I could not resist the joke, my dear colonel. I happened to have another American guest whom you had not yet met. The temptation to build a dramatic introduction was too much for me. But now if you wish to search the house personally for your mythical Commandoman, I shall be glad to be of any assistance that I can. You know my loyalty to you and your friends.”
The stranger and I sat silent under the watchful eyes of the corporal while von Schwarzenau searched the house. He returned glowering. “Pigs!” he snorted. “Weakling offspring of impure dogs! You bring me information and what is the result! You allow that one makes a fool of me!”
Not until the footsteps were dead in the distance did anyone speak. Then the stranger burst out, “What goes here, brothers? Where have I been and how did I get back here and— I thought I was dead and was that a heaven for you!”
I began to understand. “Then you—”
“Yes, Holding,” Dr. Palgrave explained. “Our friend here is indeed the ghost. I realized that the exact description could not be coincidental. And if he was the ghost, then my time machine must be successful with a human traveler. It must be I who sent him back to Uptonleigh’s classic party. And the ghost changed in those six weeks, you will recall, cleaned up and grew a beard. If I could bring him back, he would be completely unrecognizable to von Schwarzenau. So I sent him into my traveling cabinet.”
“But how— You didn’t go near it.”
“I explained to you that it operated by remote control. I sent him on his journey and fetched him back under von Schwarzenau’s very eyes, while he thought I was indulging in mere nervous twiddling.”
“Brother,” the Commandoman said, “I had you tagged all wrong. You’re a right guy, after all, and I’m sorry I waved Betsy at you. You’ve done a good deed today for the United Nations.”
“The United Nations?” Dr. Palgrave blinked. “Oh, yes. Yes— But what is important is that I have proved that my time machine is a practical device capable of carrying human life.”
The Commandoman gulped. “You mean I was a guinea pig?” His hand sneaked toward Betsy, but he dropped it again. “Who cares? You saved me, that’s the main thing.”
“That colonel,” Dr. Palgrave spoke reflectively, “he meant what he said—”
“They mostly do, them boys.”
“He really meant that he would wantonly destroy all my invaluable apparatus merely to— And I thought he had a respect for science, an understanding of my—”
It was my chance to strike. “You get it now, Dr. Palgrave? You’ve been his dupe, his court jester. And when amusement palled, neither you nor your work meant a thing to him. All your research would have been wiped out without a moment’s compunction.”
“The . . . the devil—” Dr. Palgrave gasped.
I tried not to smile. “You’ve learned it now, sir. You’ve learned that your holy world of science isn’t sacred to them, doesn’t stand apart from the rest of the world. There are no islands any more. There never have been. No man is an island, entire of himself. And every man who is not a part of their black force is going to find himself and all that he holds holiest destroyed when it suits their convenience. One by one, we learn our lesson. Some of us had sense and soul enough to learn it as part of mankind from seeing the sufferings of others; some, like you and me, had to be pushed around personally to learn it. But every lesson learned, from whatever motive, is one more blow aimed at their heart.”
“That’s telling him, brother,” said the Commandoman.
Dr. Palgrave stood erect, and his eyes did not blink. “Your next step, sir, I believe, will be to resume your former condition of grime. I shall aid you in any way possible. Consider this house your sanctuary, and inform those who follow after you, if you are fortunate enough to return, that this villa is theirs.”
“Thanks, brother. I’ll do that little thing.”
“And tell your commander of this experience. He will doubtless not believe you, but insist that he communicate with the general staff. Take these formulas, and see that they reach the finest physicists in England. They will at least understand the possibility of what I am doing. Then we can arrange some communication and figure out a method for practical applications. I can already foresee, for instance, how futile would be advance secret-service notice of a Commando raid if the Commando moved back to do its damage the day before it landed here.”
The Commandoman swung to his feet. “Me,” he said, “I don’t understand a word of this. I know something screwy has happened and I got away from the Gestapo, and was I ever on a sweet party! But I’ll do what you say, brother.” He raised two spread fingers.
My own part in the experiments for the next week and the details of my escape in the fishing boat are not essential to this narrative. I can best conclude it by a newspaper dispatch which I read
