Space For Hire (Seven For Space) by William F Nolan Page A

"Give!"
    Nate sighed, puffing his red-Santa cheeks. "Well … when did you see me last?"
    "I saw one of you when I started this case," I told him. "But that Oliver was in another universe. You — or, rather, the other you — managed to foul up in getting me back here and sent me on another dimensional track. I was plenty steamed over it."
    "I guess I wasn't doing too well at that stage," he declared sadly. "The other me, I mean."
    "You were a little addlepated," I said. "But your intentions were sound."
    "Thanks. That's mighty decent of you."
    "So as to when I saw you last … I'd say that was about a year ago when you asked me to check on that missing electronic cow of yours."
    "Ah, yes," sighed Nate. "I feared she'd been stolen by another would-be electronic cow-inventor. But it turned out she'd simply wandered away. A loose hoof connection was responsible for her erratic behavior."
    "A drunk was half-electrocuted trying to milk her in the middle of Michigan Avenue," I reminded him.
    "Yes." A fresh sigh. "My inventions seem to attract inebriates. The wino on the horse, for example."
    "Where's all this leading?" I wanted to know.
    "To my explanation, of course. I merely wanted to fill you in on what's been happening since last we met."
    "Then snap to it."
    Nate laced and unlaced his pudgy fingers. There was no way of rushing him, so I built me another double bourbon and settled back into Brando's stomach to hear Nate out. Esma seemed amused — and Oliver's having time-yanked us out of KublaKane had put her in a good mood. Besides, since her father was one, she was used to nutty scientists.
    "After the unfortunate Michigan Avenue incident with the startled drunk," Nate said, "I turned away from electronic cows to more exacting forms of creative endeavor. I tentatively entered the area of time and parallel universes, getting my toes wet, one might say, in the great cosmic stream."
    "I'd heard you were into the schmazz," I said.
    "Indeed I was." He removed a huge Irish linen handkerchief and blew his nose like a trumpet. Then he continued. "My ultimate achievement was the snap-beam device which I employed in your rescue." Heave us a smirk. "It is a sort of spy hole into past and future. When the charged neutron isoten energy vibrations are in their proper cohesive sonic sequence I have, in effect, a window through which I may peer at past and future events. It's no cinch to set up, however."
    "And that's what you used to spot us with?" I was on my third bourbon, feeling mellow and relaxed. My ankle had quit aching. Just for the hell of it, I switched chairs and sat down on Veronica Lake. Esma stayed with Weissmuller.
    "Yes," Nate answered my question with a fresh smirk. "I was doing a bit of poking about in the near-present and picked up your energy pattern on Mercury."
    "Were you in on the whole scene?" I asked. "Did you see me stiff the dragon?"
    "Indeed I did. And a fine display of cool nerve and superb marksmanship it was!"
    I gave him smirk for smirk. "Nothing to it."
    "In fact," Oliver went on, "I became so deeply engrossed in your dramatic battle for survival I almost forgot about time-snapping you to safety."
    "You got us out and that's what matters," said Esma. "We're very much in your debt, Mr. Oliver."
    Nate flushed with pleasure. "It is always gratifying to a creator when his inventions benefit those who may need assistance."
    I waved my glass at him. "Got to find out something, Nate."
    He inclined his fat head toward me, waiting.
    "Where are we, right now, in relation to where we were in KublaKane?"
    Oliver laced his hands again. "As precisely as I can determine, you are about an Earth-day in front of yourself."
    "Meaning we picked up twenty-four hours?"
    "About that. Give or take a squidge."
    "Ok," I said, putting my empty glass on a coffee table shaped like Alan Ladd. "That gives us a little leeway on Kane. If we'd ended up a day behind ourselves he might have been able to make another attempt on Dr. Umani's