Hepointed，andthereatthetipofhisfingerandslidingdowntheairwithwingsflappingslowlyandatthespeedofanexceptionallylanguidsnail——wasabee。
AndsowecameoutupontheLeas。Therethethingseemedmadderthanever。Thebandwasplayingintheupperstand，thoughallthesounditmadeforuswasalow-pitched，wheezyrattle，asortofprolongedlastsighthatpassedattimesintoasoundliketheslow，muffledtickingofsomemonstrousclock。Frozenpeoplestooderect，strange，silent，self-conscious-lookingdummieshungunstablyinmid-stride，promenadinguponthegrass。Ipassedclosetoalittlepoodledogsuspendedintheactofleaping，andwatchedtheslowmovementofhislegsashesanktoearth。“Lord，lookhere！“criedGibberne，andwehaltedforamomentbeforeamagnificentpersoninwhitefaint-stripedflannels，whiteshoes，andaPanamahat，whoturnedbacktowinkattwogailydressedladieshehadpassed。
Awink，studiedwithsuchleisurelydeliberationaswecouldafford，isanunattractivething。Itlosesanyqualityofalertgaiety，andoneremarksthatthewinkingeyedoesnotcompletelyclose，thatunderitsdroopinglidappearstheloweredgeofaneyeballandalittlelineofwhite。“Heavengivemememory，“saidI，“andIwillneverwinkagain。“
“Orsmile，“saidGibberne，withhiseyeonthelady’sansweringteeth。
“It’sinfernallyhot，somehow，“saidI。“Let’sgoslower。“
“Oh，comealong！“saidGibberne。
Wepickedourwayamongthebath-chairsinthepath。Manyofthepeoplesittinginthechairsseemedalmostnaturalintheirpassiveposes，butthecontortedscarletofthebandsmenwasnotarestfulthingtosee。Apurple-facedlittlegentlemanwasfrozeninthemidstofaviolentstruggletorefoldhisnewspaperagainstthewind；thereweremanyevidencesthatallthesepeopleintheirsluggishwaywereexposedtoaconsiderablebreeze，abreezethathadnoexistencesofarasoursensationswent。Wecameoutandwalkedalittlewayfromthecrowd，andturnedandregardedit。
Toseeallthatmultitudechanged，toapicture，smittenrigid，asitwere，intothesemblanceofrealisticwax，wasimpossiblywonderful。Itwasabsurd，ofcourse；butitfilledmewithanirrational，anexultantsenseofsuperioradvantage。Considerthewonderofit！
AllthatIhadsaid，andthought，anddonesincethestuffhadbeguntoworkinmyveinshadhappened，sofarasthosepeople，sofarastheworldingeneralwent，inthetwinklingofaneye。“TheNewAccelerator——“Ibegan，butGibberneinterruptedme。
“There’sthatinfernaloldwoman！“hesaid。
“Whatoldwoman？“
“Livesnextdoortome，“saidGibberne。“Hasalapdogthatyaps。
Gods！Thetemptationisstrong！“
ThereissomethingveryboyishandimpulsiveaboutGibberneattimes。
BeforeIcouldexpostulatewithhimhehaddashedforward，snatchedtheunfortunateanimaloutofvisibleexistence，andwasrunningviolentlywithittowardsthecliffoftheLeas。Itwasmostextraordinary。Thelittlebrute，youknow，didn’tbarkorwriggleormaketheslightestsignofvitality。Itkeptquitestifflyinanattitudeofsomnolentrepose，andGibbernehelditbytheneck。Itwaslikerunningaboutwithadogofwood。“Gibberne，“Icried，“putitdown！“ThenIsaidsomethingelse。“Ifyourunlikethat，Gibberne，“Icried，“you’llsetyourclothesonfire。Yourlinentrousersaregoingbrownasitis！“
Heclappedhishandonhisthighandstoodhesitatingontheverge。
“Gibberne，“Icried，comingup，“putitdown。Thisheatistoomuch！
It’sourrunningso！Twoorthreemilesasecond！Frictionoftheair！“
“What？“hesaid，glancingatthedog。
“Frictionoftheair，“Ishouted。“Frictionoftheair。Goingtoofast。Likemeteoritesandthings。Toohot。And，Gibberne！Gibberne！
I’malloverprickingandasortofperspiration。Youcanseepeoplestirringslightly。Ibelievethestuff’sworkingoff！Putthatdogdown。“
“Eh？“hesaid。
“It’sworkingoff，“Irepeated。“We’retoohotandthestuff’sworkingoff！I’mwetthrough。“
Hestaredatme。Thenattheband，thewheezyrattleofwhoseperformancewascertainlygoingfaster。Thenwithatremendoussweepofthearmhehurledthedogawayfromhimanditwentspinningupward，stillinanimate，andhungatlastoverthegroupedparasolsofaknotofchatteringpeople。Gibbernewasgrippingmyelbow。
“ByJove！“hecried。“Ibelieve——itis！Asortofhotprickingand——yes。Thatman’smovinghispocket-handkerchief！Perceptibly。
Wemustgetoutofthissharp。“
Butwecouldnotgetoutofitsharplyenough。Luckily，perhaps！
Forwemighthaverun，andifwehadrunweshould，Ibelieve，haveburstintoflames。Almostcertainlyweshouldhaveburstintoflames！Youknowwehadneitherofusthoughtofthat……Butbeforewecouldevenbegintoruntheactionofthedrughadceased。
Itwasthebusinessofaminutefractionofasecond。TheeffectoftheNewAcceleratorpassedlikethedrawingofacurtain，vanishedinthemovementofahand。IheardGibberne’svoiceininfinitealarm。
“Sitdown，“hesaid，andflop，downupontheturfattheedgeoftheLeasIsat——scorchingasIsat。ThereisapatchofburntgrasstherestillwhereIsatdown。ThewholestagnationseemedtowakeupasIdidso，thedisarticulatedvibrationofthebandrushedtogetherintoablastofmusic，thepromenadersputtheirfeetdownandwalkedtheirways，thepapersandflagsbeganflapping，smilespassedintowords，thewinkerfinishedhiswinkandwentonhiswaycomplacently，andalltheseatedpeoplemovedandspoke。
Thewholeworldhadcomealiveagain，wasgoingasfastaswewere，orratherweweregoingnofasterthantherestoftheworld。Itwaslikeslowingdownasonecomesintoarailwaystation。Everythingseemedtospinroundforasecondortwo，Ihadthemosttransientfeelingofnausea，andthatwasall。AndthelittledogwhichhadseemedtohangforamomentwhentheforceofGibberne’sarmwasexpendedfellwithaswiftaccelerationcleanthroughalady’sparasol！
Thatwasthesavingofus。Unlessitwasforonecorpulentoldgentlemaninabath-chair，whocertainlydidstartatthesightofusandafterwardsregardedusatintervalswithadarklysuspiciouseye，and，finally，Ibelieve，saidsomethingtohisnurseaboutus，Idoubtifasolitarypersonremarkedoursuddenappearanceamongthem。Plop！Wemusthaveappearedabruptly。Weceasedtosmoulderalmostatonce，thoughtheturfbeneathmewasuncomfortablyhot。Theattentionofeveryone——includingeventheAmusements’Associationband，whichonthisoccasion，fortheonlytimeinitshistory，gotoutoftune——wasarrestedbytheamazingfact，andthestillmoreamazingyappinganduproarcausedbythefactthatarespectable，over-fedlap-dogsleepingquietlytotheeastofthebandstandshouldsuddenlyfallthroughtheparasolofaladyonthewest——inaslightlysingedconditionduetotheextremevelocityofitsmovementsthroughtheair。Intheseabsurddays，too，whenwearealltryingtobeaspsychic，andsilly，andsuperstitiousaspossible！
Peoplegotupandtrodonotherpeople，chairswereoverturned，theLeaspolicemanran。HowthemattersettleditselfIdonotknow——weweremuchtooanxioustodisentangleourselvesfromtheaffairandgetoutofrangeoftheeyeoftheoldgentlemaninthebath-chairtomakeminuteinquiries。Assoonasweweresufficientlycoolandsufficientlyrecoveredfromourgiddinessandnauseaandconfusionofmindtodosowestoodupand，skirtingthecrowd，directedourstepsbackalongtheroadbelowtheMetropoletowardsGibberne’shouse。ButamidstthedinIheardverydistinctlythegentlemanwhohadbeensittingbesidetheladyoftherupturedsunshadeusingquiteunjustifiablethreatsandlanguagetooneofthosechair-attendantswhohave“Inspector“writtenontheircaps。
“Ifyoudidn’tthrowthedog，“hesaid，“whoDID？“
Thesuddenreturnofmovementandfamiliarnoises，andournaturalanxietyaboutourselves(ourclothe’swerestilldreadfullyhot，andthefrontsofthethighsofGibberne’swhitetrouserswerescorchedadrabbishbrown)，preventedtheminuteobservationsIshouldhavelikedtomakeonallthesethings。Indeed，Ireallymadenoobservationsofanyscientificvalueonthatreturn。Thebee，ofcourse，hadgone。Ilookedforthatcyclist，buthewasalreadyoutofsightaswecameintotheUpperSandgateRoadorhiddenfromusbytraffic；thechar-a-banc，however，withitspeoplenowallaliveandstirring，wasclatteringalongataspankingpacealmostabreastofthenearerchurch。
Wenoted，however，thatthewindow-sillonwhichwehadsteppedingettingoutofthehousewasslightlysinged，andthattheimpressionsofourfeetonthegravelofthepathwereunusuallydeep。
SoitwasIhadmyfirstexperienceoftheNewAccelerator。Practicallywehadbeenrunningaboutandsayinganddoingallsortsofthingsinthespaceofasecondorsooftime。Wehadlivedhalfanhourwhilethebandhadplayed，perhaps，twobars。Buttheeffectithaduponuswasthatthewholeworldhadstoppedforourconvenientinspection。Consideringallthings，andparticularlyconsideringourrashnessinventuringoutofthehouse，theexperiencemightcertainlyhavebeenmuchmoredisagreeablethanitwas。Itshowed，nodoubt，thatGibbernehasstillmuchtolearnbeforehispreparationisamanageableconvenience，butitspracticabilityitcertainlydemonstratedbeyondallcavil。
Sincethatadventurehehasbeensteadilybringingitsuseundercontrol，andIhaveseveraltimes，andwithouttheslightestbadresult，takenmeasureddosesunderhisdirection；thoughImustconfessIhavenotyetventuredabroadagainwhileunderitsinfluence。
Imaymention，forexample，thatthisstoryhasbeenwrittenatonesittingandwithoutinterruption，exceptforthenibblingofsomechocolate，byitsmeans。Ibeganat6。25，andmywatchisnowverynearlyattheminutepastthehalf-hour。Theconvenienceofsecuringalong，uninterruptedspellofworkinthemidstofadayfullofengagementscannotbeexaggerated。Gibberneisnowworkingatthequantitativehandlingofhispreparation，withespecialreferencetoitsdistinctiveeffectsupondifferenttypesofconstitution。
HethenhopestofindaRetarderwithwhichtodiluteitspresentratherexcessivepotency。TheRetarderwill，ofcourse，havethereverseeffecttotheAccelerator；usedaloneitshouldenablethepatienttospreadafewsecondsovermanyhoursofordinarytime，——andsotomaintainanapatheticinaction，aglacier-likeabsenceofalacrity，amidstthemostanimatedorirritatingsurroundings。Thetwothingstogethermustnecessarilyworkanentirerevolutionincivilisedexistence。ItisthebeginningofourescapefromthatTimeGarmentofwhichCarlylespeaks。WhilethisAcceleratorwillenableustoconcentrateourselveswithtremendousimpactuponanymomentoroccasionthatdemandsourutmostsenseandvigour，theRetarderwillenableustopassinpassivetranquillitythroughinfinitehardshipandtedium。PerhapsIamalittleoptimisticabouttheRetarder，whichhasindeedstilltobediscovered，butabouttheAcceleratorthereisnopossiblesortofdoubtwhatever。
