“Well then.” Paulie focused on Miriam. “You had more luck, huh? Not just a walk in the woods?”

“Well, apart from Brill half freezing to death while I was trying not to get arrested, it was fine.”

“Getting. Arrested.” Paulette picked up the teapot and poured herself a mug. “You’re not getting away with that, Beckstein. Didn’t they accept your press pass or something?”

“It’s Boston, but not as we know it,” Miriam explained. “Uh, about two miles southeast of here I found myself on the edge of town. They speak English and they drive automobiles, but that’s about as far as the similarities go.” She pulled out her dictaphone and turned the volume up: “zeppelin overhead, with a British flag on it! Uh, four propellers, sounds like diesel engines. There goes another steam car. They seem to make them big deliberately, I don’t think I’ve seen anything smaller than a fifty-eight Caddy yet.”

Paulette closed her mouth with a visible effort. “Did you take photographs?” she asked.

“Uh-huh.” Miriam grinned and held up her wrist “You’ll have them just as soon as I get my Casio secret agent watch plugged into the computer. I knew those Inspector Gadget toys would come in handy sooner or later.”

“Toys.” Paulette rolled her eyes.

“Well, now we’ve got a whole new world to not understand,” said Miriam. “Any constructive suggestions?”

“Yep.” Paulette put her mug down. “Before you go over again, girl, we work out what you’re going to do. You need a lawyer or business manager over there, right? And you need money, and somewhere to live, and we need to find a place on the far side that’s away from human habitation in Brill’s world and we can rent on our own side. Right? And we need to understand what you’re messing with before you get yourself arrested. So spill it!”

Miriam reached into her bag and pulled out two books then dumped them on the table with a bump. “History lesson time. Watch out for the one with the brown paper cover,” she warned. “It bites.”

Paulette opened that one first, looked at the flyleaf, and sucked in her breath. “Communist?” she asked.

“Nope, it’s much weirder than that.” Miriam picked up the other book.

“I’ll start with this one, you start with that one, then we’ll swap.”

Paulette glanced at the window. “It’s nearly eleven, for Pete’s sake! You want I should pull an overnighter?”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” Miriam put her book down and looked at her. “I’ve been meaning to raise this for a while. I’ve been staying here, and I didn’t mean to. I really appreciate you putting Brill up, but two guests is two too many and—”