, a fight or a race. I hung
around the bar that had long ago replaced the speakeasy, until the
inevitable payoff, got myself a hamburger and headed out the door. All
the envelopes I was supposed to use were gone and I felt shaky,
knowing that the next place I'd see was the room with the wire mesh
cage and the hooded motors.

It was.

* * * * *

She was on the other side of the cage, and I had five bankbooks and
envelopes filled with cash amounting to more than $15,000, but all I
could think of was that I was hungry and something had happened to the
hamburger while I was traveling through time. I must have fallen and
dropped it, because my hand was covered with dust or dirt. I brushed
it off and quickly felt my face and pulled up my sleeves to look at my
arms.

"Very smart," I said, "but I'm nowhere near emaciation."

"What made you think you would be?" she asked.

"Because the others always were."

She cut the motors to idling speed and the vibrating mesh slowed down.
I glared at her through it. God, she was lovely--as lovely as an ice
sculpture! The kind of face you'd love to kiss and slap, kiss and
slap....

"You came here with a preconceived notion, Mr. Weldon. I'm a
businesswoman, not a monster. I like to think there's even a good deal
of the altruist in me. I could hire only young people, but the old
ones have more trouble finding work. And you've seen for yourself how
I provide nest eggs for them they'd otherwise never have."

"And take care of yourself at the same time."

"That's the businesswoman in me. I need money to operate."

"So do the old people. Only they die and you don't."

She opened the gate and invited me out. "I make mistakes occasionally.
I sometimes pick men and women who prove to be too old to stand the
strain. I try not to let it happen, but they need money and work so
badly that they don't always tell the truth about their age and state
of health."

"You could take those who have social security cards and references."

"But those who don't have any are in worse need!" She paused. "You
probably think I want only the money you and they bring back, that
it's merely some sort of profit-making scheme. It isn't."

"You mean the idea is not just to build up a fortune for you with a
cut for whoever helps you do it?"

"I said I need money to operate, Mr. Weldon, and this method serves.
But there are other purposes, much more important. What you have go