past, escorted by her husband. An orderly went by with a trolley laden with jingling bottles.

"Lets go out and walk around the gardens," said Dad. He led the way.

A nurse stopped them for a moment to let them know when the doctor would see them. They thanked her and went out into the heat of the summer day. The sun was just beginning to climb into the sky.

Tad ran ahead, and raced round the large duck-pond. The ducks skimmed away to the other side, and then skimmed back when he ran to where they were. Seagulls walked about the lawns, and some children busied themselves on the swings, under the watchful eye of a rotund grandmother.

Later on that day, after all the questions had been asked, and all the tests had been run. Dad drove the car back home. Beside him sat his wife, cooing and holding Melanie as if she would never let her go. In the back seat, Tad and Debbie sat waiting to get out. They wanted to tell the Professor what had happened.

It was as they were coming up the last small rise in the road, and approaching the corner where they turned, that the third strange thing happened. It happened faster than a blink, like the day turning into night before a boy can surface in a pool. One moment they were slowing down along the familiar stretch of road, and the next instant they were several miles back and traveling smoothly towards home along the sealed highway.

"What the!?" gasped Dad.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"I must be dreaming! I was about to turn into our driveway when we were back here again! What's going on here! Did I fall asleep, and dream we were nearly home?"

"You must have. You've been up all night, and you know how you get when you miss out on your sleep."

Dad rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so. That must be it."

But Tad had noticed the jump too. He had been watching the fence wire at the time. It seemed to rise and fall as if it was flying beside the car. Suddenly it disappeared and the line of trees appeared again. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew he had seen the same bit of road with the same bit of forest twice that day.

The second time Dad made his approach to his driveway