Chapter 10
The time-lost scientist and girls stood searching the railroad map.
Emmett found a likely place. "Here," he pointed. "This spur runs off the main line three miles down to Clayton Ravine. There's a long stretch of track that will still exist in 1985. This is where we'll push the DeLorean with the locomotive. Funny, this map calls Clayton Ravine Shonash Ravine. Must be an old Indian name for it. It's perfect. Nice long run that goes clear across the bridge over the ravine, you know, over near that Hilldale housing development."
"Sounds like a plan," agreed Catherine, "but..."
"But?"
Bess finished the though. "According to this map... there is no bridge."
"Well, there's only one thing for it: we must investigate," Emmett said dramatically.
The trio stopped their horses and gazed at the ravine. The track ran to the lip of the ravine and stopped dead.
"Unless we wait around for two years we can scratch this idea," Catherine lamented.
"Catherine, you're not thinking fourth dimensionally," Emmett chided.
"No? I still don't see."
"As long as we get up to 88 miles per hour before we reach the edge of the ravine..." began Bess.
"...we'll instantaneously arrive at a point in time where the bridge is completed, safe and still in use. We'll have track under us, and coast safely across the ravine!
"Um, what about the... locomotive," Catherine said in a small voice.
Emmett gave a slightly wicked grin. "It'll be a spectacular wreck. Too bad no one will be around to see it."
Bess's eye's lit up. "We could always come back to see it some time.
"Ahhh! Help me!" called a voice nearby.
Everyone whipped around to see a buckboard pulled by horses, out of the control of the woman riding. They were headed towards the edge of the ravine.
"Great Scott!" Emmett exclaimed.
"Oh!" Bess voiced in like manner.
Catherine just stared dumbly.
Emmett quickly reacted. "Git!" he prodded his horse.
The girls followed close behind. Emmett managed to catch the buckboard and ride close beside. "Jump!" he commanded.
The woman jumped into the safety of his strong arms. The horses all pulled up before the edge of the ravine. The buckboard wasn't so lucky: it overturned, broke from the hitching, and tumbled into the ravine. Emmett slowed his own horse.
The woman sat with her hat squashed down over her face. "Oh, thank you, sir, you saved my..." She pulled her hat up and found herself looking into his eyes. "...life," she managed to finish after an awkward pause.
Emmett stared back at her for several moments, wide-eyed. "Emmett Brown, at your service, Miss..."
"Um... um... Clayton. Clara Clayton," she supplied with a stammer.
"Clara." He paused to reflect. "What a beautiful name."
Bess and Catherine gave each other knowing looks. Finally Catherine interrupted to say, "We'd better see what's left of her, um, belongings, at the bottom of the, er, ravine."
Emmett barely heard her, but he realised what was happening when the girls began to ride off towards the rocky trail that lead to the bottom of the ravine.
"That was a fairly successful rescue operation," Bess noted to Catherine. For emphasis, she pointed towards one of the buckboard horses, which was laden with Clara's belongings, a little the worse for wear. Clara rode the other horse beside Emmett, and the teens followed a little way behind.
The small company reached Clara's cabin - she had explained how she was to be the new schoolteacher - and the girls helped the scientist to unload the horse's burden onto the porch.
"May I help you inside with these?" Emmett offered.
"Oh no, that won't be necessary. You've done more than enough already," Clara answered.
"But it's really no trouble."
Bess interjected, saying, "Doc, she says it's fine, and we gotta get going."
Catherine nodded and said in a slightly more polite ton than her friend, "Ma'am, good luck with the school teaching and everything."
"Clara, I'll straighten everything out with Mr Statler from the buckboard rental - don't you worry about that," Emmett offered. "Since I happened to be there, I feel a little responsible."
"Oh, well, that would be very gentlemanly of you, Mr Brown ... Emmett. You know, I'm almost glad that snake spooked those horses. Otherwise, we might never have met. I suppose it was destiny. Well, thank you for everything."
"You're quite welcome."
"I will...see you again, won't I?"
Emmett gave an answer that was not exactly truthful. "Of course, you'll see lots of me, I'm sure, I have a shop in town. I'm a local scientist... uh... uh... blacksmith."
"Science? What sort of science? Astronomy? Chemistry?" Clara wondered.
"Actually I'm a student of all sciences."
"Hey Doc, we gotta get going," Bess urged.
"C'mon," Catherine agreed.
"Oh yes, well, excuse us Clara, we have to get... going."
The three began leaving, and Doc turns to wave back to Clara. "Toodle-oo."
She waved back as they left.
Catherine started making objections as soon as they were out of earshot. "What do ya mean, you're gonna be seeing lots of her, Doc?"
"Well, I might see her again, just in passing."
Bess laughed. "That isn't what it sounded like to me. Or looked like. Didn't you see the way she was looking at you Doc?"
"Well, she did have quite a scare, right?" Emmett tried to rationalise. "After all, Miss Clayton almost ended up at the bottom of Clayton Ravine... Clayton Ravine!"
Catherine gulped. "Uh Doc, d'you know Clayton Ravine was named after a teacher? They say she fell in there a hundred years ago."
"A hundred years ago? That's this year!"
Bess said a little morbidly, "Every kid in school knows that story because we all have teachers we'd like to see fall into the ravine."
"Great Scott!" Emmett stopped his horse and continued, "Then she was supposed to go over in that wagon...and now, I may have seriously altered history."
Bess tried the easy way out. "Look, Doc, what's the worst that could happen, huh? So they don't name the ravine after her. Let's just get the DeLorean ready and get out of here."
But Emmett ignored her and said to himself, "I wish I'd never invented that infernal time machine, which caused nothing but disaster."
He rode off slowly. The girls gave each other questioning looks and followed him.
September 5 1885
Hill Valley California
The time-travelling trio left off working on the DeLorean's wheels and gathered around a table in the blacksmith shop the elder had acquired. This table held a newly build model railroad.
"Right, girls, lets go over the entire plan and layout again. I apologise for the crudity of the model."
Catherine grinned. "Yeah, I know, Doc, it's not to scale. It's OK, Doc."
Bess nodded. "I've heard about your previous modelling experience, not that it's happened yet..."
"All right. Tomorrow night, Sunday, we'll load the DeLorean on to the tracks here on the spur right by the old abandoned silver mine. The switch track is where the spur runs off the main line 3 miles into Clayton... no, Shonash, Ravine. The train leaves the station at 8:00 Monday morning. We'll stop it here, uncouple the cars from the tender, throw the switch-track, and hijack... no, borrow," here he smirked at his correction, "the locomotive and use it to push the time machine. According to my calculations we'll hit 88 miles per hour just before we hit the edge of the ravine, at which point we'll instantaneously arrive in 1985 and coast safely across the completed bridge."
Catherine saw a catch. "Just before we hit the edge? That sounds rather close."
Don't worry, I have it all worked out, just like the lightning.
"Just make sure the time circuits stay set right."
"Don't worry, I had that little fault corrected in the future."
Bess spotted an interesting sign near the model windmill. She interrupted, saying, "What does this mean? 'Point of no return'?"
Ah yes, that's our failsafe point. Up until that point we can stop the locomotive before it plunges over the ravine. But once we pass that windmill, it's the future or bust."
Catherine started to look worried again.
A few minutes later, Emmett was sorting out the electricity to power the model.
"Here you go, Bess. Connect that to the positive terminal." She did so. "All right, girls, you both all set?"
"Sure am," agreed Bess as Catherine nodded.
Emmett pushed the switch down to start the train moving. He gave a commentary in a sing-song voice.
"Train pulling out of the station! Coming up the switch track! Stop at switch track! Throw switch!" Bess threw the switch. Pull up to the DeLorean! Pushing the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour!" The train reached a model representing the DeLorean, labelled 'time machine' Emmett gradually increased the speed.
Both the model DeLorean and the train fell off the table once they hit the 'ravine'. Catherine neatly caught the car, and the train lands onto a pillow placed underneath in preparation.
"It couldn't be simpler!" he stated emphatically.
He was interrupted by a loud rap on the door. "Hello? Emmett?"
Emmett recognised the voice. "It's Clara! Quick, cover the DeLorean."
Catherine helped Emmett cover the DeLorean, and Bess thoughtfully concealed the model 'time machine' in her pocket.
"Hello," Clara greeted.
"Why, hello. This is quite a surprise," the interrupted scientist answered.
"Well, I hope I'm not disturbing anything."
"Oh no, we were just doing a little model railroad."
Bess smothered a snicker. Clara stated the 'reason' for her visit. "Emmett, when my bags were thrown from the wagon, my telescope was damaged. And... since you expressed an interest in science, I thought you might be able to repair it for me." Then she added, "I would pay you, of course."
"Oh, no, no, no, I wouldn't think of charging you for this."
Catherine sighed and rolled her eyes and Bess. Bess shrugged back and absent-mindedly twisted her finger around a strand of her hair.
"Well, let's have a look at it," Emmett continued. He gently opened the case and took out the telescope, closing one eye and putting the telescope to the other.
Clara explained the trouble. "I think the lens may be out of alignment, because if you move it this way, the image turns fuzzy, see?" The turned the telescope to demonstrate, moving closer to do so. "But if you turn it... the other way..."
Emmett took the telescope from his face, lowering his hand. He turned directly towards Clara and they gazed at each other. "... everything becomes... clear," he finished.
By an unremarkable coincidence, both Catherine and Bess happened to cough loudly at that moment. Clara and Emmett looked away from each other sharply, Clara stepping back towards the door, and Emmett holding the telescope with the funniest look on his face. Neither thought to ask why both girls thought to cough at the very same moment: it did not even enter their minds.
Emmett found his tongue and reported, "I will repair it right away and have it for you tonight."
"Oh, tonight's the town festival. I wouldn't dream of having you work on my telescope during such an important event. You are panning on attending, aren't you?"
Catherine managed to beat Bess that time. "Well, actually ma'am..."
"Of course, the festival..." said Emmett, ignoring her.
"You see, we need to, um..." Bess tried to back Catherine up, but was lost for an explanation.
"Well, in that case, I'll see you this evening at the festival, Emmett." Clara turned to leave, but realised she should acknowledge the girls' presence, which she had barely noticed. "Good to see you Bess and Catherine."
"Er, yes Ma'am," Catherine answered nervously
"Yeah, I mean, the same to you," Bess stumbled over Catherine's words as they tried not to look like they were up to something.
Clara turned back to look at Emmett. "Thankyou for taking care of my telescope."
"You're quite welcome."
Clara exited and Doc stared at the empty room with the most ridiculous face either of the girls had seen on him so far. Catherine looked a little strained and Bess hopped from one foot to the other, sick of standing still. Bess searched for something to break the silence. "She certainly has a nice..."
"... telescope," Catherine finished.
"Yes, that's what I was going to say, isn't it? It's a nice telescope," Bess agreed. She looked awkward and shoved her hands in her pockets. Her expression changed as her hand met a piece of paper and she pulled out the tombstone photo. Her expression changed even more. "Uh, Doc, I hate to spoil the mood, but..."
"Is something wrong?" Emmett asked in a light voice.
"Well, the tombstone has your name on it now."
"Great Scott! Let me see it." Bess handed it over, and he gave it a quick glance. "Don't worry; I half expected it, after facing Buford. It still has next Monday's date, so we'll be gone by then. It's a good think that we found a plan so quickly." Emmett seemed to brush off the threat quite easily.
"To tell the truth, I'd rather be home right now," Catherine stated.
"You mean, you'd rather be in 1985 rather than now. This is Hill Valley, remember," Bess corrected with a superior smile.
"Don't think you're smart just 'cos you can tell the time," her friend chided. "I just mean that if we were in our own time, weird things wouldn't be happening.
Fortunately, Emmett was already thinking about what to wear to the dance, and didn't think to ask what she meant by 'weird things'. Bess knew full well what she meant, however.