"I was in the country. There were corn fields on both sides of a dirt road and I was at a crossing. I could see a figure on a horse in the distance coming toward me." He looked at Betsy. "I remembered the things you asked me to look for." The love of my life moved to the edge of her chair.
"I glanced down, but I wasn't there! I held out my hand; nothing. There was no shadow or footprints even though I seemed to be standing on grass. I tried to move and I could. It was a weird sensation; I was moving like walking in water but I had no sense of my own body."
"Slow down," Martha cautioned. "You're going too fast."
"This is fantastic!" Betsy said.
"The whole thing only lasted a minute before the damn phone rang. Oh, I forgot. I asked my mother about visiting the country or a farm and she insisted I'd never travelled anywhere but here in New Hampshire until I left for the seminary. All our relatives were city dwellers."
Betsy leaned forward. "Was there any clue where you were this time?"
Howie closed his eyes. "Only a sense it was summer because the corn was high."
We asked about buildings; there were none, only corn in the four fields separated by the cross roads. It was midday, Howie said and when we ran out of questions, he rose.
"I'm ready to try again if you guys are willing." Howie's unexpected enthusiasm was contagious, to all but Quinn. Betsy and I agreed and even Martha smiled.
Quinn shook his head and glanced at his watch. "Better get moving. I shut down my experiment at six o'clock." He adjusted his glasses and returned to his fishing journal.
West Virginia. Little girls; which one shall I seize for my very own? The choices are endless, the hunt so exciting. I've travelled many miles since my last and I'm becoming impatient for company. Up and down the hills. Is no part of this god forsaken state level or the roads straight? But I will I find another perfect one before I'm on my way! I can sense it and I'm never wrong.