Johnson didn't have to inspect the ring; he'd seen it before, and he
counted out twenty dollars. That was the only item he'd give me a
decent price on. He knew I'd be back for it.
"How's the time machine coming along, Ted?" He had a little smirk, the
way some people do when they hear I'm building a time machine. "Get in
touch with Mars yet?"
"I have no interest in Mars," I told him. "I plan to make contact with
the future--about thirty years from now. And for your information, the
time machine is practically finished. The first test will be tonight."
He wasn't smirking now, because he never forgot the way I passed him
in school and he had a good respect for my brain. He looked a little
thoughtful--only a little, because that's all he was capable of.
"You get to the future, Ted, suppose you bring me a newspaper. I'll
make it worth your while. I've always treated you fair and square,
Ted, now haven't I?"
I looked over his shelves. Too many of those dust-covered items were
mine. And I didn't have to be a telepath to know what he was thinking.
"Maybe you'd like a paper with the stock market quotations, Uncle? From
about thirty years from now, say?"
The smirk was completely gone now. "You get something like that, Ted,
I'll pay you! Wouldn't help you out any, because you have nothing to
invest. Me now, I could buy something that will keep me in my old age.
I'd give you a--hundred bucks for something like that."
I laughed at him. A hundred dollars! Uncle always had his nerve. He was
scowling when I left, still trying to figure how he could get in on
the gravy, because outside of Marilyn he was the only person who ever
thought I might succeed.
* * * * *
Marilyn cooked dinner for us while I was putting the final touches on
the time machine.
"Tonight we celebrate," she said. "Steak."
It smelled wonderful, but the occasional whiff of ozone from my
equipment was more exciting. I'd told Marilyn we had about an hour
before I could make the test, but with my working faster than I had
expected and her getting behind with the meal, she was just putting
the steaks on the table when I was done with the machine.
"Oh, but let's eat first, Ted!" she said.
"I couldn't eat! After so much work--" I stared in fascination at the
master switch--the door. "This is it, Marilyn! What I've been working
toward all these years!"
She saw the way I felt and maybe she was a little excited herself.
"Go ahead, Ted," she told me.