The Runaway Skyscraper

  II.

  He was roused by another exclamation from Estelle.

  "It's getting light again," she said.

  Arthur rose and went eagerly to the window. The darkness wasbecoming less intense, but in a way Arthur could hardly credit.

  Far to the west, over beyond the Jersey hills--easily visible fromthe height at which Arthur's office was located--a faint lightappeared in the sky, grew stronger and then took on a reddishtint. That, in turn, grew deeper, and at last the sun appeared,rising unconcernedly _in the west_.

  Arthur gasped. The streets below continued to be thronged withpeople and motor-cars. The sun was traveling with extraordinaryrapidity. It rose overhead, and as if by magic the streetswere thronged with people. Every one seemed to be runningat top-speed. The few teams they saw moved at a breakneckpace--backward! In spite of the suddenly topsyturvy state ofaffairs there seemed to be no accidents.

  Arthur put his hands to his head.

  "Miss Woodward," he said pathetically, "I'm afraid I've gonecrazy. Do you see the same things I do?"

  Estelle nodded. Her eyes wide open.

  "What _is_ the matter?" she asked helplessly.

  She turned again to the window. The square was almost empty oncemore. The motor-cars still traveling about the streets were going soswiftly they were hardly visible. Their speed seemed to increasesteadily. Soon it was almost impossible to distinguish them,and only a grayish blur marked their paths along Fifth Avenue andTwenty-Third Street.

  It grew dusk, and then rapidly dark. As their office was on thewestern side of the building they could not see that the sun hadsunk in the east, but subconsciously they realized that this mustbe the case.

  In silence they watched the panorama grow black except for thestreet-lamps, remain thus for a time, and then suddenly spring intobrilliantly illuminated activity.

  Again this lasted for a little while, and the west once more beganto glow. The sun rose somewhat more hastily from the Jersey hillsand began to soar overhead, but very soon darkness fell again. Withhardly an interval the city became illuminated, and then the westgrew red once more.

  "Apparently," said Arthur, steadying his voice with a consciouseffort, "there's been a cataclysm somewhere, the direction ofthe earth's rotation has been reversed, and its speed immenselyincreased. It seems to take only about five minutes for a rotationnow."

  As he spoke darkness fell for the third time. Estelle turned fromthe window with a white face.

  "What's going to happen?" she cried.

  "I don't know," answered Arthur. "The scientist fellows tell usif the earth were to spin fast enough the centrifugal force wouldthrow us all off into space. Perhaps that's what's going to happen."

  Estelle sank into a chair and stared at him, appalled. There was asudden explosion behind them. With a start, Estelle jumped to herfeet and turned. A little gilt clock over her typewriter-desk layin fragments. Arthur hastily glanced at his own watch.

  "Great bombs and little cannon-balls!" he shouted. "Look at this!"

  His watch trembled and quivered in his hand. The hands were goingaround so swiftly it was impossible to watch the minute-hand,and the hour-hand traveled like the wind.

  While they looked, it made two complete revolutions. In one ofthem the glory of daylight had waxed, waned, and vanished. In theother, darkness reigned except for the glow from the electriclight overhead.

  There was a sudden tension and catch in the watch. Arthur droppedit instantly. It flew to pieces before it reached the floor.

  "If you've got a watch," Arthur ordered swiftly, "stop it thisinstant!"

  Estelle fumbled at her wrist. Arthur tore the watch from her handand threw open the case. The machinery inside was going so swiftlyit was hardly visible; Relentlessly, Arthur jabbed a penholder inthe works. There was a sharp click, and the watch was still.

  Arthur ran to the window. As he reached it the sun rushed up, daylasted a moment, there was darkness, and then the sun appeared again.

  "Miss Woodward!" Arthur ordered suddenly, "look at the ground!"

  Estelle glanced down. The next time the sun flashed into viewshe gasped.

  The ground was white with snow!

  "What _has_ happened?" she demanded, terrified. "Oh, what _has_happened?"

  Arthur fumbled at his chin awkwardly, watching the astonishingpanorama outside. There was hardly any distinguishing betweenthe times the sun was up and the times it was below now, as thedarkness and light followed each other so swiftly the effect wasthe same as one of the old flickering motion-pictures.

  As Arthur watched, this effect became more pronounced. The tallFifth Avenue Building across the way began to disintegrate. In amoment, it seemed, there was only a skeleton there. Then thatvanished, story by story. A great cavity in the earth appeared,and then another building became visible, a smaller, brown-stone,unimpressive structure.

  With bulging eyes Arthur stared across the city. Except for theflickering, he could see almost clearly now.

  He no longer saw the sun rise and set. There was merely a streak ofunpleasantly brilliant light across the sky. Bit by bit, buildingby building, the city began to disintegrate and become replacedby smaller, dingier buildings. In a little while those began todisappear and leave gaps where they vanished.

  Arthur strained his eyes and looked far down-town. He saw a forestof masts and spars along the waterfront for a moment and whenhe turned his eyes again to the scenery near him it was almostbarren of houses, and what few showed were mean, small residences,apparently set in the midst of farms and plantations.

  Estelle was sobbing.

  "Oh, Mr. Chamberlain," she cried. "What is the matter? What hashappened?"

  Arthur had lost his fear of what their fate would be in hisabsorbing interest in what he saw. He was staring out of the window,wide-eyed, lost in the sight before him. At Estelle's cry, however,he reluctantly left the window and patted her shoulder awkwardly.

  "I don't know how to explain it," he said uncomfortably, "but it'sobvious that my first surmise was all wrong. The speed of the earth'srotation can't have been increased, because if it had to the extentwe see, we'd have been thrown off into space long ago. But--haveyou read anything about the Fourth Dimension?"

  Estelle shook her head hopelessly.

  "Well, then, have you ever read anything by Wells? The 'TimeMachine,' for instance?"

  Again she shook her head.

  "I don't know how I'm going to say it so you'll understand, buttime is just as much a dimension as length and breadth. From what Ican judge, I'd say there has been an earthquake, and the ground hassettled a little with our building on it, only instead of settlingdown toward the center of the earth, or side-wise, it's settled inthis fourth dimension."

  "But what does that mean?" asked Estelle uncomprehendingly.

  "If the earth had settled down, we'd have been lower. If it hadsettled to one side, we'd have been moved one way or another, but asit's settled back in the Fourth Dimension, we're going back in time."

  "Then--"

  "We're in a runaway skyscraper, bound for some time back beforethe discovery of America!"