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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3925387 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60698 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60698) diff --git a/old/60698-h.zip b/old/60698-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ed47481..0000000 --- a/old/60698-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60698-h/60698-h.htm b/old/60698-h/60698-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 8c6da45..0000000 --- a/old/60698-h/60698-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1180 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bargain Basement, by Charles L. 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Fontenay - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Bargain Basement - -Author: Charles L. Fontenay - -Release Date: November 16, 2019 [EBook #60698] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARGAIN BASEMENT *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="353" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>bargain basement</h1> - -<h2>By CHARLES L. FONTENAY</h2> - -<p class="ph1"><i>How could it give away such buys?<br /> -Very easy—by doing a business in<br /> -pennies and a profit in billions!</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1959.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Jack Hanshaw was madder than a wet hen and his roommate, Ken Adaman, -was enjoying his misfortune hugely.</p> - -<p>"Not a blame thing!" snarled Jack, fiddling with the knobs of the -television set. "Not even static lines. First they give me a set -without a plug-in cord, and now this one's got a no-good picture tube."</p> - -<p>"You get what you pay for," said Ken, laughing. "I've warned you about -these so-called bargains. But what's this about the plug-in cord?"</p> - -<p>Ken had been at work the day before, when Jack first brought the new -television set into their apartment and discovered that omission.</p> - -<p>"I didn't see any point in saying anything about that last night," -admitted Jack. "After I bought the thing yesterday and brought it home, -I found out it didn't have a cord to plug it in—not even a connection -in the back for a cord. I took it back to them and they said something -about the wrong kind of power and fixed it up for me last night."</p> - -<p>"You got stung, old buddy," said Ken, unwinding his long legs from the -arm of the easy chair. "They probably made it from junk parts."</p> - -<p>"It doesn't look like it," said Jack stubbornly.</p> - -<p>It didn't. The television set was shiny and new-looking, although -rather odd. With a thirty-five-inch screen, it was only about six -inches thick, and it had a strange antenna of concentric circles on top -instead of the conventional rabbit ears. There were only two dials, -one for the channels (it was lettered instead of numbered) and one for -off-on and volume.</p> - -<p>"I'd take it back and demand my money," said Ken.</p> - -<p>"I'll take it back, all right, but if they'll fix it, I don't want my -money back. Guess how much it cost me."</p> - -<p>"Well...." Ken pulled a stubby pipe from his coat pocket and began to -pack it slowly from a humidor on the chairside table. "Knowing your -bargains, I'd say about a hundred and fifty dollars."</p> - -<p>"Two dollars," said Jack. "Two dollars and no strings attached."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ken whistled. "I smell a sucker game somewhere."</p> - -<p>"Maybe so, but what's two dollars? The materials are worth more than -that as junk. And if they fix it.... How about going along with me to -return it, Ken?"</p> - -<p>Ken lit his pipe carefully and glanced at his wristwatch.</p> - -<p>"Okay," he said, "if we can be back in an hour. I'm curious to see -this place, but I've got a date with Lorene tonight and I have to get -cleaned up."</p> - -<p>Jack winced. The roommates were competitors for the hand of Lorene -Shavely, the pert brunette in the tobacco store down the street. But -Ken was getting so much the better of it that it could be called -competition in name only by now.</p> - -<p>"It's only about five blocks, on Gehannon Street," Jack said. "We'll be -back in time."</p> - -<p>He repacked the television set in its box.</p> - -<p>"Ardex," said Ken, reading the name on the box. "Off-brand. I never -heard of it before."</p> - -<p>They set out, Jack carrying the box under one arm. The set was -remarkably light for its size.</p> - -<p>The street lights were coming on along Gehannon Street, for it was -five o'clock on a winter afternoon. Jack bought a late edition from a -newsboy on the corner.</p> - -<p>"Probably closed by now," said Ken.</p> - -<p>But it wasn't. Just past Wing Fan's Chinese laundry, Jack turned into -an alley and went down a flight of concrete steps. There was a door -there, leading into a basement under the Eat-A-Bite Restaurant. It was -unlighted, and there were no signs there to indicate anything but that -the Grove Brothers Circus, Greatest Show on Earth, was coming to town -two years ago.</p> - -<p>But when they opened the battered wooden door, the light inside -was like fairyland. Soft, of many changing hues, it lit a spotless -expanse of floor that stretched away farther than Ken had realized the -basement extended. The floor was broken by merchandise-loaded counters -and gleaming machines. Here and there a clerk moved, in raiment that -changed color with the light.</p> - -<p>One of the clerks approached them. He was black-eyed, black-haired and -handsome, and wore a tunic and balloon trousers.</p> - -<p>"Ah, Mr. Hanshaw!" he exclaimed, recognizing Jack. "Glad to see you -back again. But I see you have the—uh—television with you. Still -having trouble?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah," said Jack. "The screen's no good. No picture at all."</p> - -<p>The clerk looked puzzled. "The tube couldn't be bad. It must be in the -transmission facilities."</p> - -<p>"You mean the TV stations? I don't see how—"</p> - -<p>"Different methods of transmission," said the clerk hastily. "Just a -minute, Mr. Hanshaw, and I'll see what our communications man can do -about this."</p> - -<p>He took the box from Jack and started off.</p> - -<p>"Wait," said Jack. "Here's your newspaper."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>With a smile of thanks, the man accepted the paper and disappeared into -the depths of the basement store.</p> - -<p>"What's with the newspaper business?" demanded Ken.</p> - -<p>"That's part of the bargain," said Jack. "When I bought the television -set, I agreed to bring him a late newspaper every time I come in the -store."</p> - -<p>"Hmm. Queer setup. And what kind of funny clothes is he wearing?"</p> - -<p>"Store uniform, I guess."</p> - -<p>"Some uniform," remarked Ken, who worked in a men's clothing store. -"That fabric's spun glass, I think. And some of these people in 'store -uniforms' seem to be customers."</p> - -<p>Indeed, some of the perhaps two dozen people visible, all dressed like -the clerk, appeared to be making purchases.</p> - -<p>While waiting for the clerk to return, the two of them looked around at -the nearby counters.</p> - -<p>"Funny thing about this place," said Ken, "is I don't know what seventy -per cent of these gadgets they're selling are. Those I can recognize -look strange. Like that set of dishes—I'm no housewife, but I've never -seen shapes like those before."</p> - -<p>"I noticed that, too," said Jack. "But anything they've got that we can -use, we can't afford not to buy, at the prices they ask."</p> - -<p>"Let's wait and see how the television set turns out," suggested Ken.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The clerk returned, empty-handed.</p> - -<p>"My communications man thinks he can fix your comm—television set -so it will be all right, if you can bring us a technical manual on -television sets. I hate to ask you to go to such trouble—"</p> - -<p>"What! You mean you've got a television repairman who doesn't have a -manual on the things?"</p> - -<p>"Not on the type you need," said the clerk apologetically. "It wouldn't -matter what brand or trade name the manual applies to."</p> - -<p>"Why can't you have your communications man go out and buy his own?" -demanded Ken. "Or order one?"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="355" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Well—let's just say it would cause great inconvenience at this -time. Mr. Hanshaw, I realize it would inconvenience you also, so in -return for the favor I will be willing to give you, free, any item of -merchandise in the store."</p> - -<p>"Fair enough," agreed Jack, his eyes gleaming. "I'll bring it tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"Incidentally, sir, would your friend be interested in a purchase while -you are here?"</p> - -<p>"No, absolutely not," said Ken, turning away.</p> - -<p>Jack caught his arm. "Oh, come on, Ken! Price these things, anyhow. -You'll be astonished. Show Mr. Adaman something he can use."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Adaman?" The clerk's eyes widened delightedly. "Why, sir, that's -my name, too. Edigo Adaman."</p> - -<p>"Mine's Kenneth Adaman," said Ken shortly, but he showed more interest.</p> - -<p>"It isn't a common name," said Edigo. "Are you by any chance a -merchant, Mr. Adaman?"</p> - -<p>"You might say so. I'm a clerk in a men's clothing store."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Edigo nodded gravely. "My family has been in the mercantile business -for many generations," he said. "My father owns this store and it will -be the largest in the Americas when we finish it. Now, Mr. Adaman, do -you see anything that interests you? Anything at all?"</p> - -<p>"Well," said Ken, moving over to a counter, "is this a watch?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir, and a very good one." Edigo picked it up. It was a thin -dial, with three hands and twenty-four numerals instead of the usual -twelve.</p> - -<p>"It's very nice-looking. But it's a pocket watch, isn't it? I wear a -wristwatch."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no," said Edigo. "Hold out your arm."</p> - -<p>Ken obeyed. Edigo placed the dial on his wrist, and it clung without -apparent support.</p> - -<p>"Say, that's keen!" exclaimed Ken. "Some sort of magnetism, I suppose? -How much?"</p> - -<p>"Would—would fifty cents be too much?" asked Edigo anxiously.</p> - -<p>"Fifty cents? Sold!" Ken pulled a coin from his pocket.</p> - -<p>"Oh, no, sir. Not the cash. Deposit it in the account, please, and -bring me the deposit slip. Mr. Hanshaw knows the bank."</p> - -<p>"That's right," said Jack. "Broadway National, account of Supercolossal -Mercantile Company. Here's the deposit slip on the two dollars for the -television set."</p> - -<p>"And we'll have it straightened out for you right away, Mr. Hanshaw, if -you can only bring us the manual."</p> - -<p>As the two of them headed for the door to the basement, Ken said to -Jack in a low tone: "There goes another customer out ahead of us. I'm -going to stop him outside and see if he can give us the answers to some -of the things I don't understand about this place."</p> - -<p>The customer, dressed like Edigo and all the others in the basement, -went through the door just ahead of them. Jack caught it just before -it shut. But when he and Ken mounted the steps, the man was nowhere in -sight, either up or down the alley.</p> - -<p>"Where could he have gone?" asked Ken in amazement. "He'd have had to -run like hell to get out of the alley before we got up here."</p> - -<p>They walked to the mouth of the alley and emerged into the glare of the -neon lights. Ken held up his new watch and looked at it in a stunned -sort of way.</p> - -<p>"Say, you know something?" he said thoughtfully. "That fellow Edigo -Adaman looks vaguely familiar to me."</p> - -<p>"I noticed that, too," said Jack. "Look like any of your relatives?"</p> - -<p>Ken considered. "No, not in the least."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Several days later, Jack was in the tobacco store chatting with Lorene. -Mr. Schmit, the store's owner, registered silent disapproval in the -background, but was not likely to protest openly unless Lorene slighted -a customer.</p> - -<p>Jack had told Lorene about the strange bargain basement the day after -he and Ken visited it. He found that Ken had mentioned it to her that -night, too.</p> - -<p>"I couldn't find the kind of complete television manual they need at -any of the bookstores," said Jack gloomily. "I had to have one of them -order me one, and while I'm waiting, no television. The man said it was -color TV, too. I can't understand any store that big not getting its -own manuals."</p> - -<p>"Have you ever been upstairs?" asked Lorene.</p> - -<p>"Upstairs? There's nothing there but the Eat-A-Bite Restaurant."</p> - -<p>"Oh. Ken said they had something like elevators going up, and it looked -like they might have floors above."</p> - -<p>"I didn't know Ken had been back after that night," said Jack in -surprise. "He didn't say anything to me about it. I got the impression -he thought the whole thing was a fake."</p> - -<p>Lorene's black eyes sparkled as she smiled, and she turned a cheek to -exhibit oddly cut earrings.</p> - -<p>"He brought me these earrings from there. I'd think you'd be buying -other things, too, Jack, at those prices, instead of moping over that -television set."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I have," said Jack. "I bought several suits of clothes at a -dollar each. They didn't have any in stock except those funny outfits -they wear in the store, but I took them a picture from a magazine -advertisement and they made me some suits to order."</p> - -<p>"Is that one of them?" asked Lorene, gazing critically at the somewhat -baggy suit he was wearing.</p> - -<p>"No," said Jack sheepishly. "I thought they were too nice to wear to -work. They're that spun glass, or whatever it is. Go dancing with me -tonight and I'll wear one."</p> - -<p>"Can't," said Lorene. "I've got a date with Ken."</p> - -<p>"I never get to go out with you any more, Lorene," Jack said glumly. -"What have I done to make you turn me down every time?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing," said Lorene candidly. "I like you as a friend, Jack. But -Ken—well, he's got that extra something I can't resist. We're going to -get married, you know."</p> - -<p>"No, I didn't," said Jack, but he wasn't very surprised.</p> - -<p>Just then Ken breezed in.</p> - -<p>"Hi, honey," he said. "Hello, Jack. Say, you two, come out and take a -look at my new car."</p> - -<p>"New car!" squealed Lorene. "Oh, Ken! But I can't leave the store. I'll -have to look from the door."</p> - -<p>"It's down the block," said Ken. "I'll drive by, and you can get a good -look tonight. Come on, Jack."</p> - -<p>Jack went with him. The automobile was one of those low-slung, -half-block-long affairs like one Jack vaguely remembered seeing -pictured in a foreign car magazine.</p> - -<p>"That's not yours," he said flatly. "Those things cost ten or fifteen -thousand dollars."</p> - -<p>"Cost me fifty," said Ken smugly. "I got it at our friend Edigo's -store. Fifty bucks."</p> - -<p>"You mean they carry things like that?"</p> - -<p>"I took them a picture and they made it for me," said Ken. "Had to -widen that door and put runways up the steps to drive it out of there. -It cost me twice as much as the car to get the door widened and then -bricked back the way it was. They worked on the inside and I got a crew -to work on the outside."</p> - -<p>"Seems to me they'd have had it out in the street for you, instead of -building it in the basement and then having to get it out," said Jack -critically, gazing up and down the gleaming length of black and chrome.</p> - -<p>"Ha!" said Ken slyly. "That's just it, son. They couldn't. I've found -out the secret of our friends in the bargain basement."</p> - -<p>"Secret? You mean there <i>is</i> something phony about it?"</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you while we're driving around in this dream wagon. But -first let me show you something."</p> - -<p>He went to the front of the car and raised the hood. Inside was the -strangest little engine Jack had ever seen.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Turbo-jet," said Ken proudly. "And if you'll notice, you can't see -inside the car—one-way glass. And it's got radar brakes and a hundred -other new gadgets on it."</p> - -<p>"But I thought the turbo-jet engine was still in the future," protested -Jack.</p> - -<p>"It is," said Ken solemnly. "That's where our bargain basement is—in -the future."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The big car swept along the superhighway as silently as a floating -cloud. The speedometer read 160. Ken explained that was 160 kilometers, -or about 100 miles an hour. He buzzed it up to 200 kilometers once when -some youngsters in a souped-up sports car sought to race with them.</p> - -<p>"They use solar power," Ken explained, "but it's broadcast power and -wouldn't work in a car sent back to the past. They made one like the -picture, which just showed the outside, and I suppose they assumed we -use turbo-jets back in this period. It must be pretty ancient to them."</p> - -<p>"Why would people from the future want to set up a store in the -basement under the Eat-A-Bite Restaurant?" protested Jack.</p> - -<p>"Not <i>from</i> the future—<i>in</i> the future. For some reason, that -basement door is in a time fault. People from now can go through it -into the future and come back, and bring inanimate objects with them. -But the people from the future can't come back to the past for some -reason—that's why they can't go out and get things themselves, and -that's why they want us to bring them rare antiques, like newspapers -and books."</p> - -<p>"Maybe," said Jack doubtfully. "How did you guess all this?"</p> - -<p>"A little deduction. I had some conversations with Edigo while I was -shopping there. He said he just dug that basement as the lower floor of -his new fifty-story building; but actually that basement's been there -for years and is supposed to be empty. It belongs to old man Caswell, -who owns the building the Eat-A-Bite's in, and God knows how he's going -to react if he ever walks into it and finds that store. And it's not -just that. The costumes, the strange objects they have for sale, even -that peculiar accent."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"How far in the future?" asked Jack.</p> - -<p>"I don't know. Pretty far, I expect. How much interest does that -bank account draw? You know, the one in their name, where we've been -depositing the money for the things we bought?"</p> - -<p>"Three per cent, I think, compounded quarterly."</p> - -<p>"It would have to be compounded to amount to anything in a couple of -hundred years or so."</p> - -<p>"I still don't get it. Why do they sell things so cheap? Will prices be -that much lower in the future?"</p> - -<p>"Probably a lot higher," said Ken. "They don't even use the same sort -of money we do—that's why they don't just ask us to make deposits -of their own money for them. But they can afford to sell us at these -ridiculously low prices because the deposits in their name draw -compound interest and build up to a lot higher than the value of the -merchandise in the future—<i>their</i> time. I expect every dime we deposit -for them means a hundred dollars or more to them in their equivalent of -our money."</p> - -<p>"I just don't see that," said Jack. "We're in their past. How could -they have us deposit money to build up for them, unless, to them, the -deposits are already there?"</p> - -<p>"Edigo—you know, Jack, that fellow still reminds me of somebody I -know—Edigo explained it to me when I made him admit this future -business was true. The future can be changed, and we could change the -present if we could influence the past. And don't I wish I could manage -<i>that</i> trick!" Ken added greedily. "So every time we put a dime in -their account—pop!—at their end, they've got an extra hundred dollars -or more in the bank."</p> - -<p>"I suppose so," said Jack thoughtfully. "But how about this fellow -Edigo digging the basement? The basement's already there now. The real -one, I mean."</p> - -<p>"In a hundred years, two hundred years, you think it'll still be -there?" demanded Ken scornfully. "Old Caswell's basement's going to -fill in again, and some time in the future, this fellow Edigo Adaman's -going to dig it out again. You know, Jack, with that name, he could be -a descendant of mine."</p> - -<p>"He seemed to think he might be, from what he said that first evening."</p> - -<p>"Look, buddy, we'll have to go back," said Ken, pulling the car into a -cloverleaf to turn around. "I've got a date with Lorene tonight, and -I'm sure anxious to see her face when she climbs into this buggy."</p> - -<p>"Sure," said Jack. "But drop me off at the bargain basement, will you? -I've got an idea for something I want to buy."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Edigo looked at Jack curiously. There was that odd familiarity to the -man's face that Jack couldn't quite place.</p> - -<p>"We have strict regulations against influencing an individual's -attitudes by artificial means," he said. "But I don't suppose it's -against the law in your time, is it?"</p> - -<p>"Not unless it's a dangerous or habit-forming drug," said Jack. -"Possession of certain drugs, you know, can get you a stiff prison -sentence. But there are milder things, like perfumes and alcohol, that -influence people temporarily. That's sort of what I had in mind, only -with a stronger effect—not a habit-forming drug."</p> - -<p>"Hmm," murmured Edigo. "What we have wouldn't have been discovered in -your time and wouldn't be covered by law. And it isn't dangerous or -habit-forming. It's prescribed by psychologists in certain cases. But I -am not sure I should—"</p> - -<p>"One hundred dollars," said Jack.</p> - -<p>"It's a great deal for five klens' worth of.... All right. Would you -prefer it in liquid, tablet or powder form?"</p> - -<p>"How about like this?" suggested Jack, handing over a package of -chewing gum.</p> - -<p>"Yes, it could be mixed in that. If you can wait a few minutes, I'll -have our chemist prepare it."</p> - -<p>Edigo went away with the chewing gum, and Jack gave himself over to -doubts. Perhaps it wasn't fair, but what was that old saying about love -and war? Jack convinced himself that Ken hadn't been fair in getting -that flashy car.</p> - -<p>What if Ken had thought of the same thing?</p> - -<p>A momentary chill passed over Jack. But no. Ken didn't need it.</p> - -<p>In a few moments, Edigo returned with the chewing gum. It looked no -different. Jack couldn't tell whether it was the same gum, with a new -ingredient added, or new sticks put in the old wrappers. It didn't -matter.</p> - -<p>"Thank you. I'll deposit the hundred dollars right away," said Jack. He -took the gum and left.</p> - -<p>He went straight to the tobacco store. He was just in time. Lorene was -getting her hat and jacket on to return home. Surprisingly, Ken was not -waiting outside for her with the new car.</p> - -<p>"I'll walk you home, Lorene," suggested Jack.</p> - -<p>"All right," she agreed, smiling at him. "Ken was to pick me up, but he -phoned and said he had to work late on inventory."</p> - -<p>They left the store together.</p> - -<p>"Have some chewing gum," suggested Jack, offering her a stick. It was -much better than trying to slip liquid or a tablet in a milk shake.</p> - -<p>"Not right now," she said. "It's too soon before supper."</p> - -<p>"Oh, come on," he invited jovially. "You only live once. I'll have -some, too."</p> - -<p>No harm in that. It couldn't change his feelings much, anyhow.</p> - -<p>She accepted a stick, and they chewed as they walked. Jack could guess -her feelings from the intensification of his own. Suddenly Lorene was -the most beautiful woman in the world—Cleopatra, Helen, the Queen of -Sheba. He would have died for her gladly.</p> - -<p>He took her hand in his and squeezed it. She leaned against his -shoulder and turned starry eyes up to him. That walking kiss was the -most ecstatic thing he had ever experienced.</p> - -<p>"Let's get married, Lorene," he said huskily. "Now."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Jack, yes," she sighed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ken took the announcement rather hard. After all, he and Lorene already -had set their wedding date. He looked very thoughtful, but Jack was not -worried. Ken would never suspect that Lorene had been won away from him -by a package of chewing gum doctored with some unknown drug from the -future.</p> - -<p>Jack and Lorene would not be able to get married until the next day, -because the city hall had closed for the afternoon and they were unable -to get a license. They spent the evening shopping in the bargain -basement for Lorene's trousseau, ordering things from pictures in -magazine advertisements, and planning for the future.</p> - -<p>"I'll get them to make us a car like Ken's," said Jack, "and maybe we -can work out some way of buying a house through them. With this setup, -we can live like royalty, even on my salary."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Their wedding was a peculiar one—as the minister pronounced them man -and wife, Jack's clothing vanished. He was kissing his bride when a -sudden chill and the gasps of those around him made him realize he was -in his underwear.</p> - -<p>He borrowed a suit from the minister and took Lorene back to the -apartment. Ken was packing his things.</p> - -<p>"I'll move my stuff to a hotel until I can find another apartment," -said Ken. "Call me a cab, will you, old man? Somebody's stolen my car."</p> - -<p>Jack and Lorene were to leave on their honeymoon the next day. That -afternoon he announced his intention of going to the bargain basement -and lodging a complaint.</p> - -<p>"That suit and shirt I had on were clothes I bought there," he said. -"If their stuff's going to disintegrate like that, it's not worth even -what little I paid for it. After that trouble with the television -set.... Say, what happened to the television set? I'll bet Ken took it -with him!"</p> - -<p>"And to think I almost married him!" shuddered Lorene.</p> - -<p>On the way to the bargain basement, Jack explained to Lorene what Ken -had told him: how the bargain basement existed in the future, and the -door to it was a fault in time.</p> - -<p>They passed Wing Fan's laundry and turned into the alley. They went -down the steps to the basement door and opened it.</p> - -<p>A blank wall of raw earth met their eyes.</p> - -<p>"What in blazes!" exclaimed Jack.</p> - -<p>There were footsteps in the alley above them. Old man Caswell came down -the steps with a policeman in tow.</p> - -<p>"My basement!" Caswell was complaining bitterly, almost shouting. "I -was going to rent it today, and somebody fills it up with dirt. Why, I -ask you, <i>why</i>? Why would anybody want to fill my basement with dirt?"</p> - -<p>He caught sight of Jack and Lorene standing to one side.</p> - -<p>"You!" he cried. "You have anything to do with this?"</p> - -<p>"Absolutely nothing," Jack assured him. "I thought there was a store -here."</p> - -<p>"Store!" snorted Caswell. "Dirt!"</p> - -<p>Jack and Lorene got away and made their way back to the street.</p> - -<p>"Was there really a store there, Jack?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"We're really married, aren't we, honey? I mean yes, there was. I don't -know what happened."</p> - -<p>He looked at her, smiling, and the smile faded.</p> - -<p>"Oh, oh," he said slowly. "I think I know now."</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"I know now who Edigo Adaman reminded me of. You!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He didn't tell her the rest. He didn't tell her he was almost sure -that, the way things would have been, Lorene and Ken would have been -married and Edigo would have been their descendant.</p> - -<p>But Edigo had changed all that when he sold Jack a drug that Jack -used, to make sure that Ken wouldn't marry Lorene, but that he would -instead. And since Ken and Lorene wouldn't be married now, Edigo would -never be born, and would never have the idea of building a fifty-story -building at that spot, starting it by digging a basement.</p> - -<p>So that was what happened to the suit and Ken's car and the television -set. Since the basement wasn't to be built there, they wouldn't be, so -they weren't—they never had been.</p> - -<p>The strange thing about it was that Jack remembered it all, and even -stranger, he was still married to Lorene, and he wouldn't have been -except for the drug. But then that had to be, because if he hadn't -married her, she'd have married Ken—and then the basement would have -been, and he'd have gotten the drug, and Ken wouldn't have married -Lorene because Jack would have, and then there wouldn't have been any -basement....</p> - -<p>Jack sighed. He was happy that the circle stopped where it did.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bargain Basement, by Charles L. 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Fontenay - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Bargain Basement - -Author: Charles L. Fontenay - -Release Date: November 16, 2019 [EBook #60698] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARGAIN BASEMENT *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - bargain basement - - By CHARLES L. FONTENAY - - _How could it give away such buys? - Very easy--by doing a business in - pennies and a profit in billions!_ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1959. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Jack Hanshaw was madder than a wet hen and his roommate, Ken Adaman, -was enjoying his misfortune hugely. - -"Not a blame thing!" snarled Jack, fiddling with the knobs of the -television set. "Not even static lines. First they give me a set -without a plug-in cord, and now this one's got a no-good picture tube." - -"You get what you pay for," said Ken, laughing. "I've warned you about -these so-called bargains. But what's this about the plug-in cord?" - -Ken had been at work the day before, when Jack first brought the new -television set into their apartment and discovered that omission. - -"I didn't see any point in saying anything about that last night," -admitted Jack. "After I bought the thing yesterday and brought it home, -I found out it didn't have a cord to plug it in--not even a connection -in the back for a cord. I took it back to them and they said something -about the wrong kind of power and fixed it up for me last night." - -"You got stung, old buddy," said Ken, unwinding his long legs from the -arm of the easy chair. "They probably made it from junk parts." - -"It doesn't look like it," said Jack stubbornly. - -It didn't. The television set was shiny and new-looking, although -rather odd. With a thirty-five-inch screen, it was only about six -inches thick, and it had a strange antenna of concentric circles on top -instead of the conventional rabbit ears. There were only two dials, -one for the channels (it was lettered instead of numbered) and one for -off-on and volume. - -"I'd take it back and demand my money," said Ken. - -"I'll take it back, all right, but if they'll fix it, I don't want my -money back. Guess how much it cost me." - -"Well...." Ken pulled a stubby pipe from his coat pocket and began to -pack it slowly from a humidor on the chairside table. "Knowing your -bargains, I'd say about a hundred and fifty dollars." - -"Two dollars," said Jack. "Two dollars and no strings attached." - - * * * * * - -Ken whistled. "I smell a sucker game somewhere." - -"Maybe so, but what's two dollars? The materials are worth more than -that as junk. And if they fix it.... How about going along with me to -return it, Ken?" - -Ken lit his pipe carefully and glanced at his wristwatch. - -"Okay," he said, "if we can be back in an hour. I'm curious to see -this place, but I've got a date with Lorene tonight and I have to get -cleaned up." - -Jack winced. The roommates were competitors for the hand of Lorene -Shavely, the pert brunette in the tobacco store down the street. But -Ken was getting so much the better of it that it could be called -competition in name only by now. - -"It's only about five blocks, on Gehannon Street," Jack said. "We'll be -back in time." - -He repacked the television set in its box. - -"Ardex," said Ken, reading the name on the box. "Off-brand. I never -heard of it before." - -They set out, Jack carrying the box under one arm. The set was -remarkably light for its size. - -The street lights were coming on along Gehannon Street, for it was -five o'clock on a winter afternoon. Jack bought a late edition from a -newsboy on the corner. - -"Probably closed by now," said Ken. - -But it wasn't. Just past Wing Fan's Chinese laundry, Jack turned into -an alley and went down a flight of concrete steps. There was a door -there, leading into a basement under the Eat-A-Bite Restaurant. It was -unlighted, and there were no signs there to indicate anything but that -the Grove Brothers Circus, Greatest Show on Earth, was coming to town -two years ago. - -But when they opened the battered wooden door, the light inside -was like fairyland. Soft, of many changing hues, it lit a spotless -expanse of floor that stretched away farther than Ken had realized the -basement extended. The floor was broken by merchandise-loaded counters -and gleaming machines. Here and there a clerk moved, in raiment that -changed color with the light. - -One of the clerks approached them. He was black-eyed, black-haired and -handsome, and wore a tunic and balloon trousers. - -"Ah, Mr. Hanshaw!" he exclaimed, recognizing Jack. "Glad to see you -back again. But I see you have the--uh--television with you. Still -having trouble?" - -"Yeah," said Jack. "The screen's no good. No picture at all." - -The clerk looked puzzled. "The tube couldn't be bad. It must be in the -transmission facilities." - -"You mean the TV stations? I don't see how--" - -"Different methods of transmission," said the clerk hastily. "Just a -minute, Mr. Hanshaw, and I'll see what our communications man can do -about this." - -He took the box from Jack and started off. - -"Wait," said Jack. "Here's your newspaper." - - * * * * * - -With a smile of thanks, the man accepted the paper and disappeared into -the depths of the basement store. - -"What's with the newspaper business?" demanded Ken. - -"That's part of the bargain," said Jack. "When I bought the television -set, I agreed to bring him a late newspaper every time I come in the -store." - -"Hmm. Queer setup. And what kind of funny clothes is he wearing?" - -"Store uniform, I guess." - -"Some uniform," remarked Ken, who worked in a men's clothing store. -"That fabric's spun glass, I think. And some of these people in 'store -uniforms' seem to be customers." - -Indeed, some of the perhaps two dozen people visible, all dressed like -the clerk, appeared to be making purchases. - -While waiting for the clerk to return, the two of them looked around at -the nearby counters. - -"Funny thing about this place," said Ken, "is I don't know what seventy -per cent of these gadgets they're selling are. Those I can recognize -look strange. Like that set of dishes--I'm no housewife, but I've never -seen shapes like those before." - -"I noticed that, too," said Jack. "But anything they've got that we can -use, we can't afford not to buy, at the prices they ask." - -"Let's wait and see how the television set turns out," suggested Ken. - - * * * * * - -The clerk returned, empty-handed. - -"My communications man thinks he can fix your comm--television set -so it will be all right, if you can bring us a technical manual on -television sets. I hate to ask you to go to such trouble--" - -"What! You mean you've got a television repairman who doesn't have a -manual on the things?" - -"Not on the type you need," said the clerk apologetically. "It wouldn't -matter what brand or trade name the manual applies to." - -"Why can't you have your communications man go out and buy his own?" -demanded Ken. "Or order one?" - -"Well--let's just say it would cause great inconvenience at this -time. Mr. Hanshaw, I realize it would inconvenience you also, so in -return for the favor I will be willing to give you, free, any item of -merchandise in the store." - -"Fair enough," agreed Jack, his eyes gleaming. "I'll bring it tomorrow." - -"Incidentally, sir, would your friend be interested in a purchase while -you are here?" - -"No, absolutely not," said Ken, turning away. - -Jack caught his arm. "Oh, come on, Ken! Price these things, anyhow. -You'll be astonished. Show Mr. Adaman something he can use." - -"Mr. Adaman?" The clerk's eyes widened delightedly. "Why, sir, that's -my name, too. Edigo Adaman." - -"Mine's Kenneth Adaman," said Ken shortly, but he showed more interest. - -"It isn't a common name," said Edigo. "Are you by any chance a -merchant, Mr. Adaman?" - -"You might say so. I'm a clerk in a men's clothing store." - - * * * * * - -Edigo nodded gravely. "My family has been in the mercantile business -for many generations," he said. "My father owns this store and it will -be the largest in the Americas when we finish it. Now, Mr. Adaman, do -you see anything that interests you? Anything at all?" - -"Well," said Ken, moving over to a counter, "is this a watch?" - -"Yes, sir, and a very good one." Edigo picked it up. It was a thin -dial, with three hands and twenty-four numerals instead of the usual -twelve. - -"It's very nice-looking. But it's a pocket watch, isn't it? I wear a -wristwatch." - -"Oh, no," said Edigo. "Hold out your arm." - -Ken obeyed. Edigo placed the dial on his wrist, and it clung without -apparent support. - -"Say, that's keen!" exclaimed Ken. "Some sort of magnetism, I suppose? -How much?" - -"Would--would fifty cents be too much?" asked Edigo anxiously. - -"Fifty cents? Sold!" Ken pulled a coin from his pocket. - -"Oh, no, sir. Not the cash. Deposit it in the account, please, and -bring me the deposit slip. Mr. Hanshaw knows the bank." - -"That's right," said Jack. "Broadway National, account of Supercolossal -Mercantile Company. Here's the deposit slip on the two dollars for the -television set." - -"And we'll have it straightened out for you right away, Mr. Hanshaw, if -you can only bring us the manual." - -As the two of them headed for the door to the basement, Ken said to -Jack in a low tone: "There goes another customer out ahead of us. I'm -going to stop him outside and see if he can give us the answers to some -of the things I don't understand about this place." - -The customer, dressed like Edigo and all the others in the basement, -went through the door just ahead of them. Jack caught it just before -it shut. But when he and Ken mounted the steps, the man was nowhere in -sight, either up or down the alley. - -"Where could he have gone?" asked Ken in amazement. "He'd have had to -run like hell to get out of the alley before we got up here." - -They walked to the mouth of the alley and emerged into the glare of the -neon lights. Ken held up his new watch and looked at it in a stunned -sort of way. - -"Say, you know something?" he said thoughtfully. "That fellow Edigo -Adaman looks vaguely familiar to me." - -"I noticed that, too," said Jack. "Look like any of your relatives?" - -Ken considered. "No, not in the least." - - * * * * * - -Several days later, Jack was in the tobacco store chatting with Lorene. -Mr. Schmit, the store's owner, registered silent disapproval in the -background, but was not likely to protest openly unless Lorene slighted -a customer. - -Jack had told Lorene about the strange bargain basement the day after -he and Ken visited it. He found that Ken had mentioned it to her that -night, too. - -"I couldn't find the kind of complete television manual they need at -any of the bookstores," said Jack gloomily. "I had to have one of them -order me one, and while I'm waiting, no television. The man said it was -color TV, too. I can't understand any store that big not getting its -own manuals." - -"Have you ever been upstairs?" asked Lorene. - -"Upstairs? There's nothing there but the Eat-A-Bite Restaurant." - -"Oh. Ken said they had something like elevators going up, and it looked -like they might have floors above." - -"I didn't know Ken had been back after that night," said Jack in -surprise. "He didn't say anything to me about it. I got the impression -he thought the whole thing was a fake." - -Lorene's black eyes sparkled as she smiled, and she turned a cheek to -exhibit oddly cut earrings. - -"He brought me these earrings from there. I'd think you'd be buying -other things, too, Jack, at those prices, instead of moping over that -television set." - -"Oh, I have," said Jack. "I bought several suits of clothes at a -dollar each. They didn't have any in stock except those funny outfits -they wear in the store, but I took them a picture from a magazine -advertisement and they made me some suits to order." - -"Is that one of them?" asked Lorene, gazing critically at the somewhat -baggy suit he was wearing. - -"No," said Jack sheepishly. "I thought they were too nice to wear to -work. They're that spun glass, or whatever it is. Go dancing with me -tonight and I'll wear one." - -"Can't," said Lorene. "I've got a date with Ken." - -"I never get to go out with you any more, Lorene," Jack said glumly. -"What have I done to make you turn me down every time?" - -"Nothing," said Lorene candidly. "I like you as a friend, Jack. But -Ken--well, he's got that extra something I can't resist. We're going to -get married, you know." - -"No, I didn't," said Jack, but he wasn't very surprised. - -Just then Ken breezed in. - -"Hi, honey," he said. "Hello, Jack. Say, you two, come out and take a -look at my new car." - -"New car!" squealed Lorene. "Oh, Ken! But I can't leave the store. I'll -have to look from the door." - -"It's down the block," said Ken. "I'll drive by, and you can get a good -look tonight. Come on, Jack." - -Jack went with him. The automobile was one of those low-slung, -half-block-long affairs like one Jack vaguely remembered seeing -pictured in a foreign car magazine. - -"That's not yours," he said flatly. "Those things cost ten or fifteen -thousand dollars." - -"Cost me fifty," said Ken smugly. "I got it at our friend Edigo's -store. Fifty bucks." - -"You mean they carry things like that?" - -"I took them a picture and they made it for me," said Ken. "Had to -widen that door and put runways up the steps to drive it out of there. -It cost me twice as much as the car to get the door widened and then -bricked back the way it was. They worked on the inside and I got a crew -to work on the outside." - -"Seems to me they'd have had it out in the street for you, instead of -building it in the basement and then having to get it out," said Jack -critically, gazing up and down the gleaming length of black and chrome. - -"Ha!" said Ken slyly. "That's just it, son. They couldn't. I've found -out the secret of our friends in the bargain basement." - -"Secret? You mean there _is_ something phony about it?" - -"I'll tell you while we're driving around in this dream wagon. But -first let me show you something." - -He went to the front of the car and raised the hood. Inside was the -strangest little engine Jack had ever seen. - -"What is it?" he asked. - -"Turbo-jet," said Ken proudly. "And if you'll notice, you can't see -inside the car--one-way glass. And it's got radar brakes and a hundred -other new gadgets on it." - -"But I thought the turbo-jet engine was still in the future," protested -Jack. - -"It is," said Ken solemnly. "That's where our bargain basement is--in -the future." - - * * * * * - -The big car swept along the superhighway as silently as a floating -cloud. The speedometer read 160. Ken explained that was 160 kilometers, -or about 100 miles an hour. He buzzed it up to 200 kilometers once when -some youngsters in a souped-up sports car sought to race with them. - -"They use solar power," Ken explained, "but it's broadcast power and -wouldn't work in a car sent back to the past. They made one like the -picture, which just showed the outside, and I suppose they assumed we -use turbo-jets back in this period. It must be pretty ancient to them." - -"Why would people from the future want to set up a store in the -basement under the Eat-A-Bite Restaurant?" protested Jack. - -"Not _from_ the future--_in_ the future. For some reason, that -basement door is in a time fault. People from now can go through it -into the future and come back, and bring inanimate objects with them. -But the people from the future can't come back to the past for some -reason--that's why they can't go out and get things themselves, and -that's why they want us to bring them rare antiques, like newspapers -and books." - -"Maybe," said Jack doubtfully. "How did you guess all this?" - -"A little deduction. I had some conversations with Edigo while I was -shopping there. He said he just dug that basement as the lower floor of -his new fifty-story building; but actually that basement's been there -for years and is supposed to be empty. It belongs to old man Caswell, -who owns the building the Eat-A-Bite's in, and God knows how he's going -to react if he ever walks into it and finds that store. And it's not -just that. The costumes, the strange objects they have for sale, even -that peculiar accent." - - * * * * * - -"How far in the future?" asked Jack. - -"I don't know. Pretty far, I expect. How much interest does that -bank account draw? You know, the one in their name, where we've been -depositing the money for the things we bought?" - -"Three per cent, I think, compounded quarterly." - -"It would have to be compounded to amount to anything in a couple of -hundred years or so." - -"I still don't get it. Why do they sell things so cheap? Will prices be -that much lower in the future?" - -"Probably a lot higher," said Ken. "They don't even use the same sort -of money we do--that's why they don't just ask us to make deposits -of their own money for them. But they can afford to sell us at these -ridiculously low prices because the deposits in their name draw -compound interest and build up to a lot higher than the value of the -merchandise in the future--_their_ time. I expect every dime we deposit -for them means a hundred dollars or more to them in their equivalent of -our money." - -"I just don't see that," said Jack. "We're in their past. How could -they have us deposit money to build up for them, unless, to them, the -deposits are already there?" - -"Edigo--you know, Jack, that fellow still reminds me of somebody I -know--Edigo explained it to me when I made him admit this future -business was true. The future can be changed, and we could change the -present if we could influence the past. And don't I wish I could manage -_that_ trick!" Ken added greedily. "So every time we put a dime in -their account--pop!--at their end, they've got an extra hundred dollars -or more in the bank." - -"I suppose so," said Jack thoughtfully. "But how about this fellow -Edigo digging the basement? The basement's already there now. The real -one, I mean." - -"In a hundred years, two hundred years, you think it'll still be -there?" demanded Ken scornfully. "Old Caswell's basement's going to -fill in again, and some time in the future, this fellow Edigo Adaman's -going to dig it out again. You know, Jack, with that name, he could be -a descendant of mine." - -"He seemed to think he might be, from what he said that first evening." - -"Look, buddy, we'll have to go back," said Ken, pulling the car into a -cloverleaf to turn around. "I've got a date with Lorene tonight, and -I'm sure anxious to see her face when she climbs into this buggy." - -"Sure," said Jack. "But drop me off at the bargain basement, will you? -I've got an idea for something I want to buy." - - * * * * * - -Edigo looked at Jack curiously. There was that odd familiarity to the -man's face that Jack couldn't quite place. - -"We have strict regulations against influencing an individual's -attitudes by artificial means," he said. "But I don't suppose it's -against the law in your time, is it?" - -"Not unless it's a dangerous or habit-forming drug," said Jack. -"Possession of certain drugs, you know, can get you a stiff prison -sentence. But there are milder things, like perfumes and alcohol, that -influence people temporarily. That's sort of what I had in mind, only -with a stronger effect--not a habit-forming drug." - -"Hmm," murmured Edigo. "What we have wouldn't have been discovered in -your time and wouldn't be covered by law. And it isn't dangerous or -habit-forming. It's prescribed by psychologists in certain cases. But I -am not sure I should--" - -"One hundred dollars," said Jack. - -"It's a great deal for five klens' worth of.... All right. Would you -prefer it in liquid, tablet or powder form?" - -"How about like this?" suggested Jack, handing over a package of -chewing gum. - -"Yes, it could be mixed in that. If you can wait a few minutes, I'll -have our chemist prepare it." - -Edigo went away with the chewing gum, and Jack gave himself over to -doubts. Perhaps it wasn't fair, but what was that old saying about love -and war? Jack convinced himself that Ken hadn't been fair in getting -that flashy car. - -What if Ken had thought of the same thing? - -A momentary chill passed over Jack. But no. Ken didn't need it. - -In a few moments, Edigo returned with the chewing gum. It looked no -different. Jack couldn't tell whether it was the same gum, with a new -ingredient added, or new sticks put in the old wrappers. It didn't -matter. - -"Thank you. I'll deposit the hundred dollars right away," said Jack. He -took the gum and left. - -He went straight to the tobacco store. He was just in time. Lorene was -getting her hat and jacket on to return home. Surprisingly, Ken was not -waiting outside for her with the new car. - -"I'll walk you home, Lorene," suggested Jack. - -"All right," she agreed, smiling at him. "Ken was to pick me up, but he -phoned and said he had to work late on inventory." - -They left the store together. - -"Have some chewing gum," suggested Jack, offering her a stick. It was -much better than trying to slip liquid or a tablet in a milk shake. - -"Not right now," she said. "It's too soon before supper." - -"Oh, come on," he invited jovially. "You only live once. I'll have -some, too." - -No harm in that. It couldn't change his feelings much, anyhow. - -She accepted a stick, and they chewed as they walked. Jack could guess -her feelings from the intensification of his own. Suddenly Lorene was -the most beautiful woman in the world--Cleopatra, Helen, the Queen of -Sheba. He would have died for her gladly. - -He took her hand in his and squeezed it. She leaned against his -shoulder and turned starry eyes up to him. That walking kiss was the -most ecstatic thing he had ever experienced. - -"Let's get married, Lorene," he said huskily. "Now." - -"Yes, Jack, yes," she sighed. - - * * * * * - -Ken took the announcement rather hard. After all, he and Lorene already -had set their wedding date. He looked very thoughtful, but Jack was not -worried. Ken would never suspect that Lorene had been won away from him -by a package of chewing gum doctored with some unknown drug from the -future. - -Jack and Lorene would not be able to get married until the next day, -because the city hall had closed for the afternoon and they were unable -to get a license. They spent the evening shopping in the bargain -basement for Lorene's trousseau, ordering things from pictures in -magazine advertisements, and planning for the future. - -"I'll get them to make us a car like Ken's," said Jack, "and maybe we -can work out some way of buying a house through them. With this setup, -we can live like royalty, even on my salary." - - * * * * * - -Their wedding was a peculiar one--as the minister pronounced them man -and wife, Jack's clothing vanished. He was kissing his bride when a -sudden chill and the gasps of those around him made him realize he was -in his underwear. - -He borrowed a suit from the minister and took Lorene back to the -apartment. Ken was packing his things. - -"I'll move my stuff to a hotel until I can find another apartment," -said Ken. "Call me a cab, will you, old man? Somebody's stolen my car." - -Jack and Lorene were to leave on their honeymoon the next day. That -afternoon he announced his intention of going to the bargain basement -and lodging a complaint. - -"That suit and shirt I had on were clothes I bought there," he said. -"If their stuff's going to disintegrate like that, it's not worth even -what little I paid for it. After that trouble with the television -set.... Say, what happened to the television set? I'll bet Ken took it -with him!" - -"And to think I almost married him!" shuddered Lorene. - -On the way to the bargain basement, Jack explained to Lorene what Ken -had told him: how the bargain basement existed in the future, and the -door to it was a fault in time. - -They passed Wing Fan's laundry and turned into the alley. They went -down the steps to the basement door and opened it. - -A blank wall of raw earth met their eyes. - -"What in blazes!" exclaimed Jack. - -There were footsteps in the alley above them. Old man Caswell came down -the steps with a policeman in tow. - -"My basement!" Caswell was complaining bitterly, almost shouting. "I -was going to rent it today, and somebody fills it up with dirt. Why, I -ask you, _why_? Why would anybody want to fill my basement with dirt?" - -He caught sight of Jack and Lorene standing to one side. - -"You!" he cried. "You have anything to do with this?" - -"Absolutely nothing," Jack assured him. "I thought there was a store -here." - -"Store!" snorted Caswell. "Dirt!" - -Jack and Lorene got away and made their way back to the street. - -"Was there really a store there, Jack?" she asked. - -"We're really married, aren't we, honey? I mean yes, there was. I don't -know what happened." - -He looked at her, smiling, and the smile faded. - -"Oh, oh," he said slowly. "I think I know now." - -"What?" - -"I know now who Edigo Adaman reminded me of. You!" - - * * * * * - -He didn't tell her the rest. He didn't tell her he was almost sure -that, the way things would have been, Lorene and Ken would have been -married and Edigo would have been their descendant. - -But Edigo had changed all that when he sold Jack a drug that Jack -used, to make sure that Ken wouldn't marry Lorene, but that he would -instead. And since Ken and Lorene wouldn't be married now, Edigo would -never be born, and would never have the idea of building a fifty-story -building at that spot, starting it by digging a basement. - -So that was what happened to the suit and Ken's car and the television -set. Since the basement wasn't to be built there, they wouldn't be, so -they weren't--they never had been. - -The strange thing about it was that Jack remembered it all, and even -stranger, he was still married to Lorene, and he wouldn't have been -except for the drug. But then that had to be, because if he hadn't -married her, she'd have married Ken--and then the basement would have -been, and he'd have gotten the drug, and Ken wouldn't have married -Lorene because Jack would have, and then there wouldn't have been any -basement.... - -Jack sighed. He was happy that the circle stopped where it did. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bargain Basement, by Charles L. 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