ld reach them. He began to walk slowly. He had to be very careful.
They were looking for him--and they had weapons. Incredible weapons.

He would be lucky to still be alive when the sun set. His team and
Fixit cart were gone--and all his tools. Cole reached into his
pockets, searching through them hopefully. He brought out some small
screwdrivers, a little pair of cutting pliers, some wire, some solder,
the whetstone, and finally the lady's knife.

Only a few small tools remained. He had lost everything else. But
without the cart he was safer, harder to spot. They would have more
trouble finding him, on foot.

Cole hurried along, crossing the level fields toward the distant range
of hills.

The call came through to Reinhart almost at once. Dixon's features
formed on the vidscreen. "I have a further report, Commissioner."
Dixon scanned the plate. "Good news. The man from the past was sighted
moving away from Petersville, along highway 13, at about ten miles an
hour, on his horse-drawn cart. Our ship bombed him immediately."

"Did--did you get him?"

"The pilot reports no sign of life after the blast."

Reinhart's pulse almost stopped. He sank back in his chair. "Then he's
dead!"

"Actually, we won't know for certain until we can examine the debris.
A surface car is speeding toward the spot. We should have the complete
report in a short time. We'll notify you as soon as the information
comes in."

Reinhart reached out and cut the screen. It faded into darkness. Had
they got the man from the past? Or had he escaped again? Weren't they
ever going to get him? Couldn't he be captured? And meanwhile, the SRB
machines were silent, showing nothing at all.

Reinhart sat brooding, waiting impatiently for the report of the
surface car to come in.

* * * * *

It was evening.

"Come on!" Steven shouted, running frantically after his brother.
"Come on back!"

"Catch me." Earl ran and ran, down the side of the hill, over behind a
military storage depot, along a neotex fence, jumping finally down
into Mrs. Norris' back yard.

Steven hurried after his brother, sobbing for breath, shouting and
gasping as he ran. "Come back! You come back with that!"

"What's he got?" Sally Tate demanded, stepping out suddenly to block
Steven's way.

[Illustration]

Steven halted, his chest rising and falling. "He's got my intersystem
vidsender." His small face twisted with rage and misery. "He better