Isaac Newton paced about his home, trying to suppress his panic. How could he have lost such a huge manuscript? Granted, his home was a mess of experiments and other papers, but he had been careful to keep primary project secure and close at hand. It wasn't where he thought he'd last put it. Of course, it was getting harder to think with that whirring noise drilling into his head.
He turned to the tall man with the long scarf leaning over his fireplace, tapping the stones and probing the mortarwork with his noisy little device.
"Doctor," he said. "Have you seen my manuscript?"
His houseguest looked up at him with his wild blue eyes. "Which one?"
"The one I have been working on these last three years," he said. "The Principia."
The Doctor held up two fingers the approximate thickness of the manuscript. "The one yea big?"
"Yes."
"Oh, that one." The Doctor returned his attention to the fireplace. He was obsessed with the thing. Newton did not understand why; it was a normal fireplace like any other. But the Doctor had proved himself to be an invaluable sounding board and assistant, if easily distracted sometimes. Over his shoulder, he said, "I sent it over to the publishers for you."
"You did what?" Isaac exclaimed. Even though he was a scholar and a gentleman, he couldn't contain his horror. "It was not finished!"
The man shrugged. "Looked finished to me. I took the liberty of correcting a few typos, but it looked fine for it's era. You can always print revisions if you think it needs polishing."
"That was not your place to determine! I'll be the laughing stock of the university, thanks to-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the fireplace exploded. Isaac and the Doctor were clear across the room.
As he struggled to sit up, several of the loosened stones from the fireplace sprouted legs and ran off through a hole in the wall.
The Doctor doffed his hat and slung the ends of his scarf over his shoulder. "I'd love to stay and chat, Isaac, but I really must be off. I'll send some money to cover the repair bills. Ta!"
Isaac just sat there and let the Doctor run off after his stones. After a while, he reluctantly stood. A rational man would think himself going insane, but unfortunately, this was not the first time he had witnessed such strange occurrences around the Doctor. He brushed the debris off his sleeves and muttered, "Theory of gravity or not, I don't know why I continue letting him into my house."