The guard is too startled, and maybe even too afraid, to stop you as you dart past him and out of the jail house. You run down the street as fast as you can. As you stop to catch your breath, a thin, bearded man driving a coach pulls up next to you. “You seem to be in some trouble,” he calls out. “Can I be of help?”

Too tired to make up any story, you begin to tell him everything that has happened to you. He is very excited by your story and invites you to a nearby tavern, where you have your first good meal since you left Red Creek ranch. Your host hardly eats anything. He looks pale and seems to have a bad cough.

When you finish recounting your tale, he says, “It is strange that we have met. I have tuberculosis, and no doctor in Boston can help me. My only hope is to reach a future time.”

“I think it’s my only hope too,” you say.

“If we help each other, I think we can find our way back to your time-my new time,” he replies. The two of you shake hands on it and set out on your quest the next day at sunrise.

Together, you are successful in finding your way to the present time. Your friend from the past is cured with the help of modern medicines and later becomes a history teacher who is known throughout the country for his amazing knowledge of life in colonial America.