9:41 by John Nicholas; Iannuzzi

exact time that he wished to send the mouse to, and threw the power switch. Whirr, the machine’s parts began to mesh and pick up speed. The noise began to be a whine, and then a small bell sounded.
    â€œThere. Now we shall see, Margaret”. He opened the door in anticipation and curiosity. Margaret leaned in a little closer so as to see inside the machine. Reggie peered into the machine. A wry smile rippled across his face as he turned to Margaret. “You’ll notice my dear there is nothing inside the machine, nothing at all, whereas only a few moments ago there was a live mouse”.
    â€œIt really does work. Can you ever forgive me for doubting you for even a minute, Sir?”
    â€œCertainly, Margaret. I’ll admit the machine did sound a little fantastic, but I was quite sure that it would work. After all, nature is very consistent, and when the proper steps are taken, success is guaranteed. I really think this is wonderful. I’m going to try it again”.
    â€œOh, please do, Sir. It really amazes me to see such a wonder in operation”.
    Reggie placed another mouse in the machine, closed the door, and turned the dials. “Now, power on, and …” The machine didn’t start. “What in hell, don’t tell me something has gone wrong already. He reset the power switch at zero and opened the machine. The furry little white mouse inside scampered around the bottom of the machine. Reggie snared it and placed it back inside the cage. “Hand me the flashlight, will you, Margaret?”
    â€œYes, Sir. What do you think could be wrong with it, Sir?”
    â€œI don’t exactly know, probably a loose wire inside or something”. Reggie was peering inside the machine, probing from spot to spot with the light beam of the flashlight. “Aha, here we are, just as I suspected, a loose wire. Hand me the small screwdriver please, Margaret”.
    She handed him the tool; he began to tighten the wire, one hand turning the screwdriver, the other holding the light.
    â€œOh damn, I can’t get at it this way”. He placed the light down on the inside of the machine, focusing it on the spot where the loose wire hung and with both hands began to tighten the wiring. “One more turn and … there we are. I think that should take care of it”. He straightened up, closed the lid, set the dials and threw the power switch. The small engine purred and spun into life. “There we go, now let’s get that mouse and see if the machine still works”.
    Margaret was hurriedly fetching the mouse from it’s cage when Reggie looked to her in a befuddled way and said: “Margaret, did you see what I did with my flashlight?”
    The bright, orange light of the evening sun as it sat low on the horizon filtered in streams through the gaps in the immense cloud of dust that was raised by the passage of thousands of pairs of sandaled feet sauntering home from the Circus of Nero at the conclusion of the day’s games. As the crowds wended their way toward the outskirts of Rome, a slight figure was fighting through the crowd back toward the city. It was a woman, dressed in the unpretentious garb of a plebian, crying with all her might, “Domitius, Domitius, where are you?” She was calling to her son who at the moment was where she was not. Frantically, she ran and walked and ran again when the breath allowed her to, constantly calling “Domitius”. About a half-mile further back on the Via Appia, an attractive small boy of thirteen sat on a small grey-veined rock at the side of the road, absorbedly scrutinizing an object he had picked up.
    His black hair hung n points over his bronzed face, his dark eyes darting over the shiny object in his hand. It was an interesting, yea, even more, most marvelous thing that he had found. Surely there was not another tube like this in all of Rome, for he, being a vendor of wine skins, having traveled the