Chapter 2

           IthinkthatatthattimenoneofusquitebelievedintheTimeMachine. Thefactis,theTimeTravellerwasoneofthosemenwhoaretooclevertobebelieved: youneverfeltthatyousawallroundhim;youalwayssuspectedsomesubtlereserve,someingenuityinambush,behindhislucidfrankness. HadFilbyshownthemodelandexplainedthematterintheTimeTraveller’swords,weshouldhaveshownhimfarlessscepticism. Forweshouldhaveperceivedhismotives; aporkbutchercouldunderstandFilby. ButtheTimeTravellerhadmorethanatouchofwhimamonghiselements,andwedistrustedhim. Thingsthatwouldhavemadetheframeofalessclevermanseemedtricksinhishands. Itisamistaketodothingstooeasily. Theseriouspeoplewhotookhimseriouslyneverfeltquitesureofhisdeportment;theyweresomehowawarethattrustingtheirreputationsforjudgmentwithhimwaslikefurnishinganurserywithegg-shellchina. SoIdon’tthinkanyofussaidverymuchabouttimetravellingintheintervalbetweenthatThursdayandthenext,thoughitsoddpotentialitiesran,nodoubt,inmostofourminds: itsplausibility,thatis,itspracticalincredibleness,thecuriouspossibilitiesofanachronismandofutterconfusionitsuggested. Formyownpart,Iwasparticularlypreoccupiedwiththetrickofthemodel. ThatIrememberdiscussingwiththeMedicalMan,whomImetonFridayattheLinnaean. HesaidhehadseenasimilarthingatTubingen,andlaidconsiderablestressontheblowingoutofthecandle. Buthowthetrickwasdonehecouldnotexplain. 

           ThenextThursdayIwentagaintoRichmond—IsupposeIwasoneoftheTimeTraveller’smostconstantguests—and,arrivinglate,foundfourorfivemenalreadyassembledinhisdrawing-room. TheMedicalManwasstandingbeforethefirewithasheetofpaperinonehandandhiswatchintheother. IlookedroundfortheTimeTraveller, and—‘It’shalf-pastsevennow,’saidtheMedicalMan. ‘Isupposewe’dbetterhavedinner?’