With a start, Sir Charles Draykelsworth awoke.

"Good Lord," he exclaimed, looking at his watch. It was late; no fewer than three hours had passed since he had first sat down to read his newspaper. Oh, the irony of it all! His expedition was due to begin in just a few days, yet here he was, dozing the afternoon away.

"I shall not," he vowed, "allow this to happen again." He stood, dropped his newspaper, and, with bold, purposeful strides, walked down the street.

Draykelsworth moved briskly through the traffic, pausing only to admire the odd window-dressing or fruit-cart. As time went on, however, his strides grew more deliberate and his expression more severe. He had to see a man about a horse.

After twenty-odd minutes, he came to the offices of Mr Jeremiah Addlesby, master stabler.

"Addlesby, old chum," Draykelsworth shouted as he entered the office, "I trust the day finds you well!"

There was no reply.

"Addlesby? Enough kidding about, man. We've work to do. Addlesby?"

For a moment, the room was silent. Then, so suddenly that Draykelsworth could hardly believe his eyes, the stabler was at his desk. It was almost as if the man could move from one place to another without passing through the areas in between. What a fanciful thought that was!

"I say, Addlesby," Draykelsworth said, "however did you get here?"

"Oh," the stabler replied, "quite a trick, that, isn't it?"

"Indeed. Oh, yes, indeed!"

"And lucrative, too. You see, now that I've no need for auxilliary transport, I'm free to make my own horse and carriage available for hire. At a reasonable price, of course. Wouldn't do for one to get too greedy simply because one can move about with the power of thought."