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Name: __________________________ Date: _____________
1. The period of climate change in Europe between 1300 and 1450 is known as the
A) Great Schism.
B) "little ice age."
C) Black Death.
D) Great Flood.
2. What battle provided the English and King Edward III a tremendous victory over
mounted French knights in 1346?
A) Orléans
B) Normandy
C) Avignon
D) Crécy
3. What English weapon provided an advantage against the mounted French knights in the
battles of Poitiers and Agincourt?
A) Battle axe
B) Longbow
C) Sword
D) Crossbow
4. How were the consequences of the "little ice age" experienced in Europe?
A) Economic disruptions in one region had serious implications for its trading partners
in other, distant regions.
B) Economic disruptions were responded to effectively by drawing on a broad pool of
potential resources.
C) Economic disruptions were experienced severely in specific regions but
sufficiently isolated to inhibit a general economic downturn.
D) Economic disruptions were not severely felt, for economic risk had been widely
diversified.
Page 1
5. How did minority groups suffer during the subsistence crises of the fourteenth century?
A) Jews and lepers were accused of poisoning wells to kill Christians, and as a result,
many were killed, beaten, or heavily fined.
B) Muslims and Jews were denied rations for city storage supplies, resulting in
widespread death from starvation among these populations.
C) Muslims and Jews would only receive grain supplies if they gave over their
children to be raised as Christians.
D) Lepers and gypsies were considered unworthy of sharing in limited food supplies,
and so were slaughtered.
Page 2
10. The establishment of new colleges and universities in the years following the Black
Death
A) greatly weakened the international nature of medieval culture.
B) resulted in universities that were generally similar to the internationally oriented
earlier universities.
C) enhanced the role of the papacy in European affairs.
D) led to the foundation of the Dominican and Franciscan orders.
11. During the Hundred Years' War, the English kings were supported by some French
barons because the latter
A) disapproved of the Babylonian Captivity.
B) were promised estates in England.
C) wanted to stop the French monarchy's centralizing efforts.
D) were economically dependent on the English wool trade.
13. One important mode of influencing public opinion, used by the English and French
kings during the Hundred Years' War, was
A) publishing broadsheets.
B) distributing free grain to the populace.
C) purchasing votes.
D) instructing priests to deliver patriotic sermons.
14. How did the English induce panic among the French troops at the Battle of Crécy?
A) By coordinating their attack with naval forces and striking the French all at once
B) By allying with the Flemish and trapping the French troops along the coast as the
tide was arriving
C) By using the longbow to send a torrent of arrows into the French, followed by
artillery from the ring of cannon
D) By using trained dogs in battle, which drove the French horses toward a cliff
Page 3
15. Which of the following characterizes Joan of Arc's experience in the French military?
A) She was forbidden from entering the battlefield but offered strategic advice from
the royal court.
B) The king made her co-commander of the army, and she led it to a string of
victories.
C) Her enthusiasm could not overcome her inexperience, and her military blunders
cost thousands of lives.
D) The king used her as a propaganda tool to show divine favor for his military
activities, while firmly controlling the army behind the scenes.
16. In issuing the Statute of Laborers (1351), what were English lords attempting to do?
A) Grant limited rights to workers
B) Fix the number of guild members
C) Forbid the creation of craft unions
D) Freeze salaries and wages at pre-1347 levels
18. What characteristic distinguished the English Parliament from other representative
assemblies?
A) The English Parliament had a clear bicameral legislature with some representation
for the commoners.
B) The nobles participated in the legislature rather than simply bringing their cases
directly to the king.
C) The English Parliament provided a clear source of authority so that the politics of
the royal court never gained significant political weight.
D) The frequency of the English Parliament's meetings established the sense and
expectation that its authorization was required for certain types of legislation.
Page 4
19. What were the achievements of the Avignon popes before the Great Schism?
A) They established political dominance throughout Italy and established a
bureaucracy to govern the region.
B) They established direct papal control over the monastic orders and their clerical
wealth.
C) They reformed the financial administration of the church and centralized its
government.
D) They forced Islam out of its remaining footholds in Spain and the Balkans.
20. During the Great Schism, how did the powers of Europe align themselves?
A) Along economic lines, with wealthier countries gaining more from the division
B) Along the lines of traditional political alliances, with France and her allies
supporting the French pope and the others favoring the Italian pope
C) Along religious lines, with regions influenced by Celtic Christianity supporting the
French pope and others regions supporting the Italian pope
D) Along political lines, with the powers that had traditional monarchies supporting
the French pope and the city-states supporting the Italian pope
22. In which of the following ways did Charles VII of France expand his authority?
A) He expelled the English from all French soil except Calais.
B) He eliminated nobles' militias and troops.
C) He eliminated papal authority in French cities.
D) He suppressed peasant revolts by placing troops throughout his dominion.
Page 5
23. Confraternities were part of a movement in which
A) nuns were authorized to perform the sacraments in regions in which no priest
resided.
B) monks left monasteries in order to serve parishes without regular priests.
C) laymen and laywomen increasingly took control of parish affairs.
D) priests lived communally in order to save the church unnecessary expenses.
26. Which of the following groups joined in the Jacquerie rebellion in France, killing nobles
and destroying noble property?
A) Knights
B) Peasants and small merchants
C) Bishops
D) Bankers
27. What was the typical goal of a woman pursuing a charge of rape?
A) To restore her honorable reputation
B) To gain financial compensation
C) To punish the perpetrator
D) To prove her innocence to the church
Page 6
28. How did attitudes toward same-sex relations change from the Early to High Middle
Ages?
A) In the Early Middle Ages, Roman traditions opposing same-sex relations were
adopted by European rulers, but such laws or their application diminished by the
High Middle Ages.
B) The influence of classical Greek culture in the High Middle Ages opened the era to
an acceptance of same-sex relationships that previously the church had harshly
condemned.
C) Monastic life in the Early Middle Ages had an active component of same-sex
relationships, but the reforms of the thirteenth century banished such practices.
D) Authorities in the Early Middle Ages were little concerned with same-sex
relationships, but in the High Middle Ages, such relationships became capital
crimes.
31. How does Dante's Divine Comedy demonstrate the tensions of the fourteenth century?
A) It sympathizes with traditional noble values but recognizes the emerging merchant
class as the source of future economic growth.
B) It romanticizes noble culture but praises the growing centralized monarchies for
bringing stability.
C) It is a deeply Christian poem but also harshly criticizes some church officials.
D) It seeks to appeal to the common man but is written in the learned language of
Latin.
Page 7
32. Which of the following was characteristic of the rebellions that swept across Europe in
the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries?
A) They were primarily political movements.
B) They resulted in important reforms.
C) They involved both rural and urban laboring people.
D) They were treated with leniency by nobles.
33. What was the initial cause of the Hundred Years' War between England and France?
A) The French seizure of the port of Calais
B) The English execution of Joan of Arc
C) King Edward III of England's endorsement of Urban VI as the rightful pope
D) King Philip VI of France's seizure of Aquitaine
34. The immediate cause of the English peasant rebellion of 1381 was
A) the collection of a tax on all adult males.
B) the excommunication of John Wyclif.
C) the French victory at the Battle of Poitiers.
D) a sharp rise in grain prices.
35. "[N]ot only did talking to or being around the sick bring infection and a common death,
but also touching of the sick or anything touched or used by them seemed to
communicate this very disease to the person involved." In this quote from Giovanni
Boccaccio, what knowledge of the Black Death is he sharing?
A) Any contact with the sickened individual, or items that the sick had contact with,
would result in the infection of those initiating the physical contact.
B) The sick individual's clothing and bedding needed to be cleaned regularly.
C) The only way to avoid infection was to join a group of flagellants and be scourged
and whipped, in order to be saved by God.
D) People need absolution from God before they have contact with the infected and
the sick.
Page 8
36. According to Map 11.1: The Course of the Black Death in Fourteenth-Century Europe,
the plague spread through Europe following the expansion of what?
Page 9
37. According to Map 11.3: Fourteenth-Century Revolts, where was the largest number of
popular revolts during this period?
38. The following is an excerpt from a poem by the French troubadour Raimon de Cornet
written in the 1330s:
"Our bishops, too, are plunged in similar sin [to that of the pope],
For pitilessly they flay the very skin
From all their priests who chance to have fat livings.
For gold their seal official you can win
To any writ, no matter what's therein.
Sure God alone can make them stop their thievings."
Which of the following claims did Cornet make in this passage?
A) That the French people had forgotten their Christian duties
B) That God had forsaken France
C) That church officials could be bribed to ignore their spiritual and moral obligations
D) That church officials had made a formal pact with the Devil
Page 10
39. The following is an excerpt from the transcript of the trial of Joan of Arc (Evaluating the
Evidence 11.2):
"Asked whether she had heard her voice since Saturday, she answered: 'Yes, indeed,
many times.' . . . Asked what it said to her when she was back in her room, she replied:
'That I should answer you boldly.' . . . Questioned as to whether it were the voice of an
angel, or of a saint, or directly from God, she answered that the voices were those of
Saint Catherine and of Saint Margaret. And their heads are crowned with beautiful
crowns, most richly and preciously. And [she said] for [telling you] this I have leave
from our Lord. . . ."
This exchange between Joan and her interrogators suggests which of the following?
A) That Joan was aware of the fact that she might be in the thrall of the Devil
B) That Joan was uncertain about who spoke to her, knowing only that the voices
were divine
C) That Joan believed that all of her spiritual messages were given to her directly from
Christ
D) That Joan believed herself to be in frequent communication with God and the
saints
40. The following is an excerpt from Christine de Pizan's "Advice to the Wives of Artisans"
(Evaluating the Evidence 11.3):
"She ought to oversee them to keep them from idleness, for through careless workers the
master is sometimes ruined. And when customers come to her husband and try to drive a
hard bargain, she ought to warn him solicitously to take care that he does not make a
bad deal. She should advise him to be chary of giving too much credit if he does not
know precisely where and to whom it is going, for in this way many come to poverty,
although sometimes the greed to earn more or to accept a tempting proposition makes
them do it."
This passage provides evidence in support of which of the following statements?
A) The significant involvement of the wives of artisans in their husbands' businesses
B) The sharp gender divisions of labor within artisan households
C) The legal barriers to the participation of women in artisanal work
D) The opposition of the church to the involvement of women in economic activities
Page 11
41. The following is an excerpt from an account of a speech given by the English rebel
leader John Ball in the 1360s (Thinking Like a Historian):
"My good friends, matters cannot go on well in England until all things shall be in
common; where there shall be neither vassals nor lords; when the lords shall be no more
masters than ourselves. How ill they behave to us! For what reasons do they thus hold
us in bondage? Are we not all descended from the same parents, Adam and Eve? When
Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman? What reason can they give,
why they should be more masters than ourselves? . . . Let us go to the King and
remonstrate with him; he is young, and from him we may obtain a favorable answer,
and if not we must ourselves seek to amend our condition."
Based on the evidence provided by this passage, John Ball was determined to
A) murder all lords and princes.
B) fight for social and economic equality.
C) put an end to monarchy in England.
D) force the Roman Catholic Church out of England.
43. How did early-fourteenth-century French kings respond to the Great Famine and its
consequences?
A) By investing in manufacturing and industry
B) By investing in the reclamation of new lands
C) By attempting to stop grain speculation
D) By ignoring the suffering of their people
Page 12
45. Which of the following was an important difference between the plague that struck
Europe in the fourteenth century and the one that struck India and China in the
nineteenth century?
A) There are no reports of massive rat die-offs in fourteenth-century records.
B) The medieval plague was transmitted only through fleabites.
C) The fourteenth-century outbreak spread much slower than the nineteenth-century
epidemic.
D) The fourteenth-century outbreak caused much less death and disruption than the
nineteenth-century epidemic.
46. Which of the following was one of the causes of the Hundred Years' War?
A) A dispute over the succession to the Spanish throne
B) Disagreements over rights to land
C) Economic conflicts over long-distance trade
D) A religious dispute over the power of the papacy
47. The English public was convinced that the Hundred Years' War was waged to
A) secure individual freedoms for English people.
B) safeguard England from a French invasion.
C) secure for King Edward the French crown he had been unjustly denied.
D) end the interference of the French in English foreign policy.
48. Between 1309 and 1376, a period known as the Babylonian Captivity, popes lived in
A) Avignon.
B) Milan.
C) Paris.
D) Mainz.
49. The Great Schism began with the deposition of _____________ by the College of
Cardinals.
A) Leo III
B) Urban VI
C) Pius XI
D) Boniface VII
50. What sparked the peasant rebellions in Flanders that erupted in the 1320s?
A) Civil war between noble factions
B) Religious conflict and controversy
C) Invasion by the Spanish
D) The imposition of burdensome taxes
Page 13
51. How did the Black Death spread in the Middle Ages?
52. What caused the Great Famine of Europe between 1315 and 1322?
54. What caused the proliferation of prostitution in the late Middle Ages?
55. What caused the popular uprisings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries? Who
participated in them?
56. What evidence do we have of the “little ice age” of the fourteenth century?
58. Describe the events that led to the execution of Joan of Arc.
60. Why did so many nobles turn to crime in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries?
61. Was the Black Death of the fourteenth century a crucial turning point in European
history? Use evidence from the text to argue for or against this thesis.
62. In addition to all the other crises of the later Middle Ages (and in large part resulting
from these crises and adding to them), there was an outbreak of popular uprisings all
across Europe. What caused these uprisings? Against whom were they directed? What
tactics did each side use? What were the goals of the rebels? How successful were they?
Page 14
63. The Hundred Years' War had serious consequences for both England and France. What
were the immediate political, social, and economic results of the war on both sides of
the English Channel? What were the long-term implications? Which side seems to have
won?
64. How did marriage change during the late Middle Ages?
65. The problems of the papacy, exemplified by the Babylonian Captivity, gave rise to the
conciliar movement and led to schism in the church. What were the underlying causes
of this development? What were the religious, social, and political consequences of this
crisis in the Christian church?
A) Plague that first struck Europe in 1347 and killed perhaps one-third of the population.
B) A war between England and France from 1337 to 1453, with political and economic causes
and consequences.
C) The period from 1309 to 1376 when the popes resided in Avignon rather than in Rome.
D) People who believed that the plague was God's punishment for sin and sought to do penance
by flagellating (whipping) themselves.
E) The division, or split, in church leadership from 1378 to 1417 when there were two, then
three, popes.
F) Voluntary lay groups organized by occupation, devotional preference, neighborhood, or
charitable activity.
G) Deliberative meetings of lords and wealthy urban residents that flourished in many European
countries between 1250 and 1450.
H) A massive uprising by French peasants in 1358 protesting heavy taxation.
I) Law issued in 1366 that discriminated against the Irish, forbidding marriage between the
English and the Irish, requiring the use of the English language, and denying the Irish access to
ecclesiastical offices.
J) People who believed that the authority in the Roman Church should rest in a general council
composed of clergy, theologians, and laypeople, rather than in the pope alone.
Page 15
69. Jacquerie
71. confraternities
72. conciliarists
74. flagellants
Page 16
Answer Key
1. B
2. D
3. B
4. A
5. A
6. A
7. B
8. B
9. B
10. A
11. C
12. C
13. D
14. C
15. B
16. D
17. A
18. D
19. C
20. B
21. C
22. A
23. C
24. B
25. B
26. B
27. A
28. D
29. C
30. D
31. C
32. C
33. D
34. A
35. A
36. C
37. A
38. C
39. D
40. A
41. B
42. C
43. C
44. D
Page 17
45. A
46. B
47. C
48. A
49. B
50. D
51. Answer would ideally include: The plague spread from towns in southwestern China in
1331, traveling across the various trading routes and with Mongol armies, in rats that
followed the various migratory groups. Fleas living on infected rats would drink their
blood and then transfer the disease to humans and other animals. The disease would
pass from human to human through coughing and sneezing.
52. Answer would ideally include: Students should identify the changing climate as a cause,
which resulted in excessive rain and colder temperatures than what had existed between
1000 to 1300. This led to damaged crops and greatly diminished harvests. The
diminishing crop levels affected the food supply for not only humans but also livestock,
which provided additional food for the developing cities and medieval communities
across Europe.
53. Answer would ideally include: The Babylonian Captivity was the period between 1309
and 1376 when the popes resided in Avignon, France, relocating from the Vatican in
Rome. The papacy came into conflict with secular rulers during the Middle Ages, as
Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France had some severe disagreements during
the pope's term. Upon the death of Pope Boniface VIII and the ascension of the French
Pope Clement V, King Philip IV pressured Clement to move the papacy to southeastern
France, to better control and influence the church and its policies. The term Babylonian
Captivity refers to the period of time that the ancient Hebrews were held in captivity in
Babylon.
54. Answer would ideally include: In the late Middle Ages, there were prohibitions on
marriage for certain groups of men, such as apprentices and university students. In
addition, marriage was occurring later in life for most men, so villages and cities were
occupied by large numbers of young men with no family responsibilities. These young
men sought sexual services outside of the marriage vows and would make payment for
these services. This gave rise to legal houses of prostitution in most cities.
55. Answer would ideally include: Nobles and clergy lived on the food produced by peasant
labor, thinking little of adding taxes to the burden of peasant life. While peasants had
endured centuries of exploitation, the difficult conditions of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries spurred a wave of peasant revolts across Europe. Peasants were sometimes
joined by those low on the urban social ladder, resulting in a wider revolution of poor
against rich.
56. Answer would ideally include: Evidence from nature emerges through the study of
Alpine and polar glaciers, tree rings, and pollen left in bogs. Human-produced sources
include written reports of rivers freezing and crops never ripening, as well as
archaeological evidence such as the collapsed houses and emptied villages of
Greenland, where ice floes cut off contact with the rest of the world and the harshening
climate meant that the few hardy crops grown in earlier times could no longer survive.
57. Answer would ideally include: Believing that the Black Death was God's punishment for
humanity's wickedness, some Christians turned to the severest forms of asceticism and
Page 18
frenzied religious fervor, joining groups of flagellants, who whipped and scourged
themselves as penance for their and society's sins. Groups of flagellants traveled from
town to town, often growing into unruly mobs.
58. Answer would ideally include: In 1430 the Burgundians captured Joan. Charles refused
to ransom her, and she was sold to the English. A church court headed by a pro-English
bishop tried her for heresy, and though nothing she had done was heretical by church
doctrine, she was found guilty and burned at the stake in the marketplace at Rouen.
59. Answer would ideally include: After his election in 1378, Pope Urban VI attacked
clerical luxury, denouncing individual cardinals and bishops by name, and even
threatened to excommunicate some of them. In response, the cardinals declared Urban's
election invalid and excommunicated the pope. They then elected Cardinal Robert of
Geneva, the cousin of King Charles V of France, as pope. Cardinal Robert took the
name Clement VII. There were thus two popes in 1378—Urban at Rome and Clement
VII at Avignon.
60. Answer would ideally include: During periods of peace, many nobles once again had
little to do. Moreover, they were hurt by inflation, which undermined the buying power
of their income from agriculture. Although many were living on fixed incomes, their
chivalric code demanded lavish generosity and an aristocratic lifestyle. Many nobles
thus turned to crime as a way of raising money.
61. Answer would ideally include: In favor of the thesis, students might follow the text in
arguing that the plague contributed in the long term to the splintering of the church and
the Reformation. They could cite the high death rate among priests, the unorthodox
practices sanctioned by church officials during the crisis, the appearance of flagellants,
and the decline of funeral practices. The founding of new colleges and universities could
also be relevant. They might also make the case that the Black Death helped catalyze the
development of capitalism and weakened serfdom. This argument hinges on
depopulation, which, the text points out, caused inflation, reducing the real income of
many landlords and benefiting merchants, and forced lords to give peasants better terms
for their service. Depopulation also resulted in a certain opening up of the guild system.
As a counterargument, students could state that the Black Death simply reinforced
existing trends in Europe. Heresy and criticism of corruption in the church predated the
plague, as did the endowment of new colleges and universities to supply the church and
government bureaucracies with personnel. In the economic realm, they could argue that
the commercialization and urbanization of Europe were creating new opportunities for
serfs to escape servitude and undermining the economic power of the landholding
nobility well before the onset of the Black Death.
62. Answer would ideally include: This question refers to the general unrest in the lower
classes. A thoughtful essay will consider not just peasant uprisings but also urban riots
either connected with or isolated from rural uprisings. The Peasants' Revolt in England
and the Jacquerie rebellion in France are good examples. Students should discuss as
causes the general socioeconomic conditions—such as feudal obligations, rising rents
on lands, a decreasing opportunity to become artisanal masters, fur-collar crime, plague,
famine, and taxation—and describe the brutality of each side. They should consider the
goals, usually limited to alleviation of economic problems and relaxation of manorial
obligations, along with aristocratic failure to respond. They must assess the overall
success of the uprisings. In France, lack of effort to alleviate problems led to further
Page 19
revolts; in England, despite noble resistance, serfdom disappeared by 1550. A good
conclusion will connect the success of the Peasants' Revolt in England to general trends
of late medieval society.
63. Answer would ideally include: In this comparative essay, students should explain the
impact of the war on both states. For France, immediate consequences included
population loss, decreased agricultural productivity, loss of trade, decline of
international status, and a disaffected peasantry. For England, they included loss of
manpower for local government, a breakdown of order at the local level, an increased
number of beggars and criminals, and a slump in the wool industry. The discussion of
long-term consequences should focus on the emergence of national consciousness; the
connection of royal and national interests, which were linked to military success in both
states; and the growing power of the English Parliament and the lack of such a
development in France.
64. Answer would ideally include: As a result of crises like the Great Famine, people began
to identify the need for couples to be economically independent before marriage. This
would require couples to work as servants, saving money for marriage and developing
skillsets, or to wait until their parents had died and the family property dispersed. With
women marrying later, they would be more prepared to assume the responsibility of
managing a household. A woman marrying later also meant that she would reduce her
childbearing time, and fewer children would be born.
65. Answer would ideally include: Students must address the problems of the church at the
time, including such matters as the decline of papal prestige, identification with French
policies, lack of spiritual objectives, and the extravagance of the papal court. Next, they
should fully discuss political aspects of the Great Schism. The subsequent calls for
reform and the confusion of the common people should be examined. Students should
then consider the conciliar movement, including its roots and supporters, such as
Marsiglio of Padua and John Wyclif; what these individuals argued for; and the impact
of the Council of Constance. Their discussion should include John Hus—his ideas, his
followers, and his fate. Students should conclude by addressing the conciliar
movement's impact on Europe. For the people, pre-Reformation movements offered
spiritual support; for the states, they offered increased control over their clergies; and
finally, they caused the continued decline of papal prestige.
66. C
67. I
68. B
69. H
70. A
71. F
72. J
73. E
74. D
75. G
Page 20
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Second chance
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Language: English
SECOND CHANCE
By ROBERT HOSKINS
Illustrated by SUMMERS
Johnson winced, as the first of the blows fell. The picture on the
screen seemed far away, but the memory of physical pain was
suddenly freshened. As hands and feet lashed out, repeatedly,
raining down a storm of punishment on the quivering mass of flesh in
the center of the picture, once-tortured nerves twinged in sympathy.
"Brutal little monsters, aren't they?" said Cavendish.
"I got back at them," said Johnson. "Every last one of them. I was the
last kid they beat up."
"Mmmm. Still, that didn't change the fact that you had already
received a nasty beating yourself. No matter how sweet revenge,
wouldn't it have been sweeter to have avoided the beating
altogether?"
Johnson massaged his crippled hand as he watched the tortured boy
make a break away from his tormentors. A foot shot out, and the boy
went sprawling. His chin hit the pavement; only the adult saw the
biggest of the tormentors bring booted foot down on pathetic fingers.
The foot twisted, and the man looked away.
"Shut it off!" he shouted.
"Certainly." Cavendish reached out and the screen went dead.
Getting up, he went to the bar in the corner of the room and returned
with a tumbler half-full of amber liquid. "Here, you need this."
Johnson tossed off the drink, gasping as the liquor burned its way
down to his stomach. "Ahhhh!" He wiped his mouth on the back of
his good hand.
"What do you think of my little machine, Mr. Johnson?" Cavendish
settled himself behind a cluttered desk, hands folded over his
paunch, looking extremely satisfied with himself. Pointed mustache
and faintly slanted eyes heightened the effect of a cat with a stolen
canary.
"Your gadget is effective," admitted Johnson. "Just how powerful is
it?"
"Fifty years seems the limit it can probe. I've tried increasing the
power, but beyond fifty years things quickly fade away into a gray
fog. That's why I wanted to see you so urgently. Another few weeks,
and this particular event in your life will be irrevocably lost." He
glanced at the crippled hand. "Considering the direct consequences,
I thought it would be a good place to start."
"Assuming that I want to have anything to do with this at all."
"Of course," said Cavendish, blandly. "Everything is always an
assumption."
"Your machine. It can actually send me back through time?"
"In effect, yes."
"I don't believe it."
"I think you do, Mr. Johnson. You want to believe it, therefore you do
believe it. A man like yourself, aware of missed opportunities...."
"I haven't missed many chances in my day," said Johnson. "If I had,
I'd never have become what I am today."
"Rich."
"I'd rather call it powerful."
"As you like." Cavendish shrugged. "After all, what is money but
power? With it, you have the power to do things, make a living, run a
business, increase your standing in the community. Without it....
Everything becomes negative. You have the power to die, but
nothing more."
"You need money, too."
"Of course. I've never denied it. Science has never been a
particularly profitable field of endeavor—at least, not on my level. For
you, science has made money. For me, it merely uses it."
"You want money from me."
"Naturally. You have enough for both of us."
"Hi, Danny."
"Hi," said the leader of the three, looking up. "What do you want,
Janie?"
"Oh, nothing," said the girl, tossing her pony tail back over her
shoulder. "But I'll settle for a coke."
"Be my guest," said Danny Grissome, digging a dime from his
pocket. "But be a doll and drink it at the counter, hey?"
"What's the matter? My company not good enough for the big
shots?" She sniffed, but accepted the dime.
"Your company's fine," said Grissome. "But we're busy——man-type
busy. So later, hey? Later."
The boys watched her flounce sensuously through the archway
separating the back room from the front section of the store, and
knew as they watched that she was fully aware of their eyes on her.
Danny's tongue darted over his lips; he sighed.
"Man, I gotta get me some more of that. But not now. We got things
to talk about now. Important things, right, Art?"
Johnson tore his eyes from the girl. "Uh, yeah, Danny. Sure.
Anything you say."
"That's right. Anything I say. And don't you creeps ever forget it."
"So who's arguing?"
"Nobody, Flip—not yet. But I got me a feeling all of us in our little
group aren't happy. Right, Art?"
"I didn't say that," protested Johnson.
"That's what it sounded like to me."
"So excuse me for living." He shrugged. "All I said was that I don't go
for that kind of jazz. It spells trouble, big trouble. C—O—P trouble."
"Ahhh, you're a real nervous nellie, Art. I tell you, this place is a
leadpipe cinch. He leaves the money in a register my baby brother
could walk off with, and the lock on that back door is made out of
bubble-gum. Now all we gotta do is wait till about midnight, after the
patrol car swings through. It doesn't come back again for forty
minutes, and that's more than enough time for what we want to do.
What do you say?"
"I don't like it."
"You don't have to like it. Just do it. Now, what do you say?"
"Well, okay."
"Good!" Danny settled back and slapped the table. "It's settled, then.
Flip picks us up here at eleven thirty and we drive over to Blandina
and park behind the billboard on the vacant lot the next block down.
Now don't either one of you creeps go fouling up this deal."
"What's to foul?" said Flip.
"Yeah, you're right. What's to foul?" He slapped the table again.
"Hey, who wants a coke? I'll buy." He leaned around the corner of
the booth and whistled. "Hey, Janie! Fun time! Tell Sandy to fix us
three cokes and come on out and join the party!"
Art Johnson rounded the corner and approached the coke shop,
hands sweaty in anticipation of what was going to happen within the
next hour. He wished there was some way for him to back out of the
situation and still manage to save face, but it was too late. The
pattern was set, and events would ride out to their inevitable climax.
Then—
Something clicked.
The youth paused in midstride and nearly stumbled. His eyes took
on a faraway look. A boy and girl came out of the shop arm-in-arm
and nearly walked into him.
"Hey, stupid! Watch where you're going."
"Sorry," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Some people," said the boy, "live in a fog." The girl giggled, and Art
pushed his way into the packed interior of the shop.
"Hey, man!"
Danny was holding a booth open. Art pushed his way through the
crowd and slid in beside him.
"You're late," said Danny. "What happened?"
"The old lady stayed up to watch the eleven o'clock news. I had to
wait until she was in bed."
"Well, it's a good thing you made it. We were about ready to take off
without you. Come on, Flip; let's move out."
"Just a minute, Danny."
"Yeah?" The boy paused, half-risen out of his seat. After staring at
Johnson's face, he sat back down again. "What is it, Art boy?"
"The deal's off. I'm cutting out."
"What?" He shook his head in disbelief. "You crazy man?"
"No. That's why I'm cutting out." He sighed. "I didn't like this deal
from the word go. You knew that."
"Yeah. But I never thought you'd go chicken on us, Art boy. Not on
old Danny. That's me, remember? Danny Grissome. What I say,
goes. Anything I say goes. Right, Flip?"
"Right, Danny."
"Right, Art boy?"
"Not right, Danny," said Johnson, softly.
"You mean it. You really mean it!" He shook his head, sadly. "What's
the world coming to?"
"No good end, most likely," said Johnson. "But I don't intend to mess
myself up any sooner than I absolutely have to."
"I dunno." Danny shook his head again. "You don't talk like the same
Art boy I know. Hey, is that you, hiding inside that mess of goody-
goody talk, Art baby? Come on out and join the party."
"No go, Danny." Johnson shook his head. "If I'm not the same Art
boy, it's because I finally woke up."