Samantha Smart by Maxwell Puggle Read Free Book Online

Carolina to parents Vincent Bergen of Atlanta, Georgia and Violet Edelstein of New York, New York. His father was (not surprisingly) a professor of biochemistry at the University of North Carolina and his mother a published writer of poetry and short stories. He would be seventy-five years old this year.
    “I’ve done some further research,” The Professor cleared his throat. “In this timeline, there does in fact exist an author of poetry and short stories, in New York City, a Violet Edelstein. According to the museum’s database she is still alive. Ninety-six years old, Samantha.”
    “So, you think we should find her–this Dr. Bergen’s mother... what do you think she could tell us?” Samantha wondered.
    “Well, for one thing,” Professor Smythe went on, “She could tell us whether or not she ever married a man named Vincent Bergen, and if they in fact had a child. That could help us a lot to narrow down the time-area that’s been so largely affected by whatever my error was.”
    “I see,” Samantha chimed in, catching on. “So, if they did
get married and have Elliot, we know something happened to
him,
but if they were never married or never had him, then we know something must’ve happened to
them.
”
    “Precisely,” The Professor beamed. “Now, Samantha–I have an address for you here–it’s for Ms. Edelstein’s agent. I’ve made an appointment for you at three o’clock this afternoon to meet with him under the pretext of some school report you’re doing... ”
    “School report?” Samantha interrupted, a bit alarmed.
    “Just make something up,” The Professor went on. “School report, school paper interview, I don’t care–we just need to get to Violet Edelstein and ask her about Vincent Bergen and any children they may or may not have had.”
    “But those are pretty personal questions, Professor!” Samantha protested.
    “Samantha, do you ever want to see your home again?” The Professor asked sternly. “I, for one, would really like to.
And
I would like very much to see your mother again, as I know you would as well. Just come up with some more innocent questions and slip in the bits about marriage and children, all right?” Samantha swallowed and nodded. “Good–now get along then; here’s forty dollars and the address,” he thrust some money and a bit of paper into her hands. “I’ve written down some essential questions you may want to ask her. You’ll have to leave Polly here for this one, I’m afraid, but don’t worry, I’ll be here trying to get this befuddling Mayan time machine to work a bit more accurately; I believe we’re going to be needing it soon.”
    Polly looked forlorn as Samantha left, but The Professor was right–she had caused quite enough trouble already in this timeline and would most certainly not be welcome in the offices of some esteemed literary agent. It was almost two o’clock, so Samantha had to rush a bit as the agent’s office was downtown in Chelsea. She read the address, at Seventh Avenue and Twenty-sixth streets, to the driver of a taxi-boat she managed to flag down, and she was off like lightning to explore more of the freakishly changed cityscape.
    The sun felt good on her back now, and Samantha took in the sights around her as they sped down to Columbus Circle and onto Broadway, which cut diagonally over to Seventh Avenue. It seemed to her that overall there were far fewer boats in the city than there had been cars, and as a result of this it appeared that all ‘one-way’ rules had been abolished, so that any boat could go either way on any given ‘street.’
    Most of midtown Manhattan’s skyscrapers seemed perfectly intact if thirteen feet shorter–they all still looked monstrous to Samantha. Seventh Avenue had a more open feel as they turned onto it, though going past Thirty-fourth Street she still felt tiny in the shadow of the Empire State Building on their right, while she wondered if trains even still ran through Penn