Forty-Four, still playing Balthasar Hoffman the magician, entered briskly now, and threw himself in a chair. The cat emerged with confidence, spread herself, purring, in his lap, and said—

“This Duplicate wouldn't believe me when I told him, and when [begin page 395] I proved it he tried to cram a boot-jackⒶemendation down my throat, thinking to scare me, which he didn't, didn't you, Duplicate?”

“Didn't I what?”

“Why, what I just said.”

“I don't know what you justⒶalteration in the MS said; it was Christian Silence and untranslatable; but I'll say yes to the whole of it if that will quiet you. Now then, keep still, and let the master tell what is on his mind.”

“Well, this is on my mind, August. Some of the most distinguished people can't come. Flora McFlimseyⒶalteration in the MS—nothing to wearⒺexplanatory note; Eve, ditto; Adam, previous engagement, and so on and so on; Nero and ever so manyⒶalteration in the MS others find the notice too short, and are urgent to have more time. Very well, we've got to accommodate them.”

“But how can we do it? The show is due to begin in an hour. Listen!”

Boom-m-m—boom-m-m—boom-m-m!—

It was the great bell of the castle tolling the hour. Our American clock on the wall struck in, and simultaneously theⒶalteration in the MS clock of the villageⒶalteration in the MS—faint and far, and half of the notes overtaken in their flight and strangled by the gustyⒶalteration in the MS wind. We sat silent and counted, to the end.

“You see?” said I.

“Yes, I see. Eleven. Now there are two ways to manage. One is, to have time stand still—which has been done before, a lot of times;Ⓐalteration in the MS and the other one is, to turn time backward for a day or two, which is comparatively new, and offers the best effects, besides.Ⓐalteration in the MS

“ ‘Backward, turn backwardⒺexplanatory note, O Time, in thy flight—
Make me a child again, just for to-night!’—

“—‘Beautiful Snow,’ you see; it hasn't been written yet. I vote to reverse—and that is what we will do, presently.Ⓐalteration in the MS We will make the hands of the clocks travel around in the other direction.”

“But will they?”

“Sure.Ⓐalteration in the MS It will attract attention—make yourself easy, as to that. But the stunning effect is going to be the sun.”

“How?”

[begin page 396]

“Well, when they see him come rising up out of the west, about half a dozen hours from now, it will secure the interest of the entire world.”

“I should think as much.”

“Oh, yes, depend upon it. There is going to be more early rising than the human race has seen before. In my opinion it'll be a record.”

“I believe you are right about it. I mean to get up and see it myself. Or stay up.”

“I think it will be a good idea to have it rise in the south-west, instead of the west. More striking, you see; and hasn'tⒶalteration in the MS been done before.”

“Master, it will be wonderful! It will be the very greatest marvel the world has ever seen. It will be talked about and written about as long as the human race endures. And there'll not be any disputing over it, because every human being that's alive will get up to look at it, and there won'tⒶalteration in the MS be one singleⒶalteration in the MS person to say it's a lie.”

“It's so. It will be the only perfectly authenticated event in all human history. All the other happenings, big and little, have got to depend on minority-testimony, and very little of that—but not so, this time, dontcherknow. And this one's patented. There aren't going to be any encores.”Ⓐalteration in the MS

“How long shall we go backwards, Balthasar?”

“Two or three days or a week; long enough to accommodate Robert Bruce, and Henry IⒶalteration in the MS and such, who have hearts and things scattered around here and there and yonder, and have to get a basket and go around and collect; so we will let the sun and the clocks go backwards a while, then start them ahead in time to fetch up all right at midnight to-night—then the shades will begin to arrive according to schedule.”

“It grows on me! It's goingⒶalteration in the MS to be the mostⒶalteration in the MS prodigious thing that ever happened, and—”

“Yes,” he burst out, in a rapture of eloquence,Ⓐalteration in the MS “and will round out and perfect the reputation I've been building for Balthasar Hoffman, and make him the most glorious magician that ever lived, and get him burnt, to a dead moral certainty. You know I've taken a [begin page 397] lot of pains with that reputation; I've taken more interest in it than anything I've planned out in centuries; I've spared neither labor nor thoughtⒶalteration in the MS, and I feel a pride in it and a sense of satisfaction such as I have hardly ever felt in a mere labor of love before; and when I get it completed, now, in this magnificent way, and get him burnt, or pulverized, or something showy and picturesque, like that, I shan't mind the trouble I've had, in the least; not in the least, I give you my word.”

Boom-m-m—boom-m-m—boom-m-m—

“There she goes! striking eleven again.”

“Is it really?”

“Count—you'll see.”

It woke the cat, and she stretched herself out about a yard and a half, and asked if time was startingⒶalteration in the MS back—which showed that she had heard the first part of the talk. And understood it of course, because it was in German.Ⓐalteration in the MS She was informed that time was about to startⒶalteration in the MS back; so she arranged herself for another nap, and said that when we got back to ten she would turn out and catch that rat again.Ⓐalteration in the MS

I was counting the clock-strokes—counting aloud—

“Eight . . . . nine . . . . ten . . . . eleven—”

Forty-Four shouted—

“Backward! turn backward! O Time in thy flight! Look at the clock-hands! Listen!”

Instantly I found myself counting the strokes again, aloud—

“Eleven . . . ten . . . . nine . . . eight . . . . seven . . . six . . . . five . . . . four. . . two . . . one!”

At once the cat woke and repeated her remark about re-catching the rat—saying it backwards!

Then Forty-Four said—

“see you'll—Count.”

Whereupon I said—

“really? it Is”

And he remarked—the booming of the great castle clock mixing with his words—

“again. eleven striking goes! she ThereⒶalteration in the MS word (here his voice [begin page 398] began to become impressive, then to noblyⒶalteration in the MS rise, and swell, and grow in eloquent feeling and majestic expression),Ⓐalteration in the MS my you give I least, the in not least; the in had, I've trouble the mind shan't I that, like picturesque, and showy something or pulverized, or burnt, him get and way, magnificent this in now, completed, it get I when and beforeⒶalteration in the MS; love of labor mere a in felt ever hardly have I as such satisfaction of sense a and it in pride (here his voice was near to breaking, so deeply were his feelings stirred) a feel I and thought, nor labor neither spared I've centuries; in out planned I've anything than it in interest more taken I've reputation; that with pains of lot a taken I've know You (here his winged eloquence reached its loftiest flight, and in his deep organ-tones he thundered forth his sublime words) certainty, moral dead a to burnt, him get and lived, ever that magician glorious most the him make and Hoffman, Balthasar for building been I've reputation the perfect and out round will and Yes,”—

My brain was spinning, it was audibly whizzing, I rose reeling, and was falling lifeless to the floor, when 44 caught me. His touch restored me, and he said—

“I see it is too much for you, you cannot endure it, you would go mad. Therefore I relieve you of your share in this grand event. You shall look on and enjoy, taking no personal part in the backward flight of time, nor in its return, until it reachesⒶalteration in the MS the present hour again and resumes its normal march forward. Go and come as you please, amuse yourself as you choose.”

Those were blessed words! I could not tell him how thankful I was.

A considerable blank followed—a silent one, for it represented the unrepeated conversation which he and I had had about the turning back of time and the sun.

Then another silent blank followed; it represented the interval occupied by my dispute with the cat as to whether the magician was come alive again or not.

I filled in these intervals not wearily nor drearily—oh, no indeed, just the reverse; for my gaze was glued to that American clock— [begin page 399] watching its hands creeping backward around its face, an uncanny spectacle!

Then I fell asleep, and when I woke again the clock had gone back seven hours, and it was mid-afternoon. Being privileged to go and come as I pleased, I threw off my flesh and went down to see the grand transformation-spectacle repeated backwards.

It was as impressive and as magnificent as ever. In the darkness some of the people lay prone, some were kneeling, some were wandering and tottering about with their hands over their eyes, Katrina was walking backwards on unsteady feet; she backed further and further, then knelt and bowed her head—then that white glory burst upon the darkness and 44 stood clothed as with the sun; and he bent and kissed the old head—and so on and so on, the scene repeated itself backwards, detail by detail, clear to the beginning; then the magician, the cat and I walked backward up the stairs and through the gathering eclipse to my room.

After that, as time drifted rearward, I skipped some things and took in others, according to my humor. I watched my Duplicate turn from nothing into a lovely soap-bubble statue with delicate rainbow-hues playing over it; watched its skeleton gather form and solidity; watched it put on flesh and clothes, and all that; but I skipped the interviews with the cat; I also skipped the interview with the master; and when the clock had gone back twenty-three hours and I was due to appear drunk in Marget's chamber, I took the pledge and stayed away.

Then, for amusement and to note effects, 44 and I—invisible—appeared in China, where it was noonday. The sun was just ready to turn downward on his new north-eastern track, and millions of yellow people were gazing at him, dazed and stupid, while other millions lay stretched upon the ground everywhere, exhausted with the terrors and confusions they had been through, and now blessedly unconscious. We loafed along behind the sun around the globe, tarrying in all the great cities on the route, and observing and admiring the effects. Everywhere weary people were re-chattering previous conversations backwards and not understanding each [begin page 400] other, and oh, they did look so tuckered out and tired of it all! and always there were groups gazing miserablyⒶalteration in the MS at the town-clocks; in every city funerals were being held again that had already been held once, and the hearses and the processions were marching solemnly backwards; where there was war, yesterday's battles were being refought, wrong-end-first; the previously killed were getting killed again, the previously wounded were getting hitⒶalteration in the MS again in the same place and complaining about it; there were blood-stirring and tremendous charges of masses of steel-clad knights across the field —backwards; and on the oceans the ships, with full-bellied sails were speeding backwards over the same water they had traversed the day before, and some of each crew were scared and praying, some were gazing in muteⒶalteration in the MS anguish at the crazy sun, and the rest were doing profanity beyond imagination.

At Rouen we saw Henry I gathering together his split skull and his other things.Ⓐemendation Ⓐtextual note