The Bellbottom Incident Read Online Free PDF

there.”
    “We can’t jump to the exact same point she did, greet her as she steps out of the basket and into 1976?” I asked.
    He shook his head without looking up. “Those two days are already part of her own past and can’t be changed. You’ll be arriving on October 31, 1976. That’s a Sunday. I left the destination unchanged—the Open Book.”  
    The Open Book was a large stone sculpture on the green fronting the student cafeteria. As he climbed up onto STEWie’s platform, Dr. Little explained why he had chosen this destination for his study. “I figured there would be a lunchtime crowd, which would allow me to arrive on campus unnoticed.”  
    Abigail and I followed him up onto the platform. Nate hesitated, then climbed up as well. “Since the birth date cutoff is only a rule of thumb, I figure there’s a chance.”
    Dr. Little gave him a disapproving look, as though he personally begrudged such an unscientific attempt to circumvent one of History’s key rules. “Kirkland, no one has ever managed to travel past their birth date. It won’t work.”  
    “No harm in trying.” Still, he passed me the blanket, bottle of water, and the first aid kit he had dug up in the lab stores.
    As the lab equipment started whirring to life, I asked, “Do we know how cold it will be? Should we have grabbed an umbrella, or hats and mittens for ourselves and Sabina?”  
    Dr. Little shook his head curtly. “I checked the campus weather database. October 31 will be dry and sunny, with a midafternoon high of thirteen degrees.”
    Officer Van Underberg gasped from his position just outside the laser-mirror array.
    “That’s Celsius,” Dr. Little said with an implied of course . He adjusted his hair, which he had been letting grow to more seamlessly blend into the seventies, over his coat collar. It was, along with the beard that was undergoing the same process, still a work in progress. “About fifty-five Fahrenheit, so reasonably warm for fall. Unfortunately, last night’s low almost reached the freezing point. Let’s hope Sabina found shelter somewhere.” He sounded not unfeeling about it; rather, it was clear that he was attempting to prepare us for anything. Like Abigail and I, he had changed into bellbottoms. Above them he was wearing one of his trademark button-down vests. It was a denim one that was a slightly lighter blue than his jeans, with two pockets and four buttons. Under it he had on a white T-shirt, and a short coat covered the whole ensemble.  
    Nate thought of something. He took the two-way radio off his belt and passed it to me, then nodded at Officer Van Underberg to give his to Abigail. The officer hurried over with his radio and passed it to Abigail like a good-luck charm. Nate explained of the radios for us, “They can work without a base station if you’re not too far from each other. In case I get left behind.”  
    “ If you get left behind?” Rousing Dr. Little out of bed had made him grouchier than usual, though he was no more a fan of Nate’s than he was of mine. The pair were neighbors and a troublesome property-line tree had caused some tension between them. “You will get left behind.”
    Setting the watch I’d borrowed from the costume room to one o’clock, I heard Nate say calmly, “Dr. Little, why don’t you give your bag to Abigail? In case you get left behind with me.”
      “I’m pretty sure that I’ll arrive just fine. I’ll still be a good six months away from being born.” Still, he grudgingly pushed his duffel bag into Abigail’s arms. It held his travel gear—this typically meant local currency, a map, snack food, water, camera, a notebook, that kind of thing, perhaps a sleeping mat and blanket for extended runs.
    “Abigail,” I said, “if I get left behind, too…”
    Her eyes met mine above the duffel bag. “Don’t worry, Julia. I’ll find her.”

6

    A pleasant fall day, with the sun high up in the sky, greeted only three of us. History had