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  Time Travel Adventures of The 1800 Club

  BOOK XI

  Robert P. McAuley

  Copyright: Robert P. McAuley and Smashwords 2015

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which has been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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  The Premise

  The Time Travel Adventures Of The 1800 Club is a 21 st Century haven for people seeking to escape New York City’s frantic pace. Dressed in clothes their ancestors might have worn during the 1800s, members enjoy foods of the period and read periodicals featuring news of a particular date in 1865. However, the 1800 Club also has an astounding secret . . . Time Travel. Members travel back in time nudging famous persons and key events just enough to ensure history unfolds, as it should. Guardians-of-the-past, living in the future, send robotic probes back through the ages, discovered that, at critical time-junctures, pivotal figures stray from vital tasks and actions. These Time Watchers of the past can’t go back and fix the glitch in the timeline because the atmosphere they breathe has been cleaned up over the years and the air of the past is almost unbreathable for them. Then an 1800 Club member from the 2000s are sent back to guarantee that events get back on track. The 1800 Club’s members aid Lincoln, Roosevelt, Bat Masterson, Mark Twain and many others. Without subtle interventions by these unknown agents, the famous might have been only footnotes, rather than giants of history.

  Chapter 1: The Nellie Bly Mission.

  When Nellie Bly disappears on a short sailing trip, Bill Scott, the president of the 1800 Club, goes back to rescue her and disappears as well. It takes a group effort from the people of the future and the members of the 1800 Club to locate them and the deadly vessel that saved them from a watery grave.

  Chapter II: The Mona Lisa Mission.

  A casual story over a cup of tea starts the 1800 Club on a wild hunt to retrieve the painting from the past and return it to the Louvre.

  On Line: Bill and Shirley, Time Travelers.

  Dear reader, once again Bill Scott and Shirley Holmes reunite and, as it is their private story with nothing to do with a club mission, I’ve placed it on line

  at no cost to you. The link follows the second chapter.

  Dear reader, I once read a time travel book where the main character went back over one hundred years in the past to retrieve an object from a house. He entered the house, picked up the object and brought it back to his time. To me it was upsetting that he took us back in time and never once said anything about the house! Never described anything! He might as well have just gone back to a park where things never change. That is why I try to bring the reader along with me as I travel through time. RPM

  Chapter 1

  The Nellie Bly Mission

  DATELINE: MARCH 9, 2070 PLACE: HISTORY TRACKING CENTER, NEW YORK CITY

  Jerry Sullivan sat with his elbows on the long table in the conference room, his chin resting on his folded hands. He inserted a cube into the hologram unit before him and watched as a scene came to life on the tabletop. One of Jerry’s favorite parts of watching a hologram was to try to guess where it was recorded before looking at the information that appeared at the bottom right of the hologram.

  “New York, Pier 38,” he said to himself as he watched the Bothina, a large, two-funneled ship that was tied up to the pier as its passengers disembarked. Noting the horse-drawn carriages and cobblestone streets along with the cut of clothes the people wore, he added, “Winter, 1887.” He looked at the information provided in the hologram and pumped his fist as he read the words: “New York City, Pier 38, January 29, 1890.” He shook his head and said with a shrug of his narrow shoulders, “1890! Well, I was close with 1887.”

  The hologram panned the area and Jerry saw a large crowd carrying signs and all seemed to be searching for someone.

  Well, he thought, that’s what people do on the waterfront; look for friends and family disembarking.

  He then noticed that while there were some men in the crowd, there were ten times as many women. One of the signs was turned by the offshore wind and he got his first hint of what the crowd was all about. The black lettering on the white sign said, Elizabeth Bisland: World Traveler!

  Jerry mentally shrugged his shoulders, Elizabeth Bisland? Wonder who she was? He adjusted the lens setting and zoomed in on another sign.

  Around The World in 76 Days!

  He sat back a moment, pushed back his longish, curly brown hair and thought, I always thought that Nellie Bly went around the world in seventy-two or seventy-three days. I wonder who Elizabeth Bisland was?

  He got up from his seat and powered up the History Tracking computer that was set up on a large desk at the end of the conference room. He typed in: What female traveled around the world in 1890?

  Elizabeth Jane Cochrane AKA Nellie Bly

  A large block of copy appeared.

  ‘While working for the New York World newspaper, a promotional gimmick was proposed by Miss Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, that one of their reporters should travel around the world as Phileas Fogg did in the fiction book by Jules Verne, Around The World in Eighty Days. However, she would do it faster than eighty days. Miss Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, whose pen name was Nellie Bly, volunteered to go herself and after many nays, got the assignment. However, Miss Cochrane decided to take a short cruise to see if seasickness might affect her and she disappeared while aboard the John M. Stout, a small steamer that left New York City on October 1, 1889 for Virginia. It was assumed that Miss Cochrane became seasick and during the night fell overboard. For the around the world trip, she was replaced by fellow reporter Kevin O’Leone who left at 9:40 a.m. on November 14, 1889. Mister O’Leone boarded the Hamburg American Line’s Augusta Victoria and began his 24,899-mile journey that ended in failure on January 29, 1890 at 3:00 p.m. The winner was Miss Elizabeth

  Bisland who was hired by John Brisben Walker, owner of Cosmopolitan, to do the same, but head in the opposite direction. Miss Bisland returned on January 25, 1890 at 3:51 p.m.’

  Jerry opened his thermos of hot tea, poured a cup and sat back as he started to read about Nelly Bly.

  One hour later he put the cap back on the empty thermos and opened the door to see which member of the Hologram/Drone group was on duty.

  It had been set up at the beginning of the History Tracking program that whenever one of the history trackers was on duty checking over the latest batch of holograms brought back by one of the group’s drones, one of the Hologram/Drone or H/D group was stationed outside of the conference room. This time it was Ted, the H/D group leader, and the slim dark haired man looked up as Jerry opened the door.

  “Good afternoon, Mister Sullivan. Anything interesting?”

 
“Not sure, Ted,” he answered with a shrug. “Will you get the group together?”

  “On the way, sir,” he answered as he walked down the hallway to the call center as Jerry went back into the room and read more about Miss Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, also known as Miss Nellie Bly.

  Thirty-five minutes later the other four members of the History Tracking group were seated at the conference table.

  Jerry watched them enter and sign in before taking their seats and thought, Wow, what a special group this is. How many times have the five of us faced a possible worldwide catastrophe and got it straightened out wearing a grin? Of course, if they’re like me the grin was just a front.

  He smiled as each took no particular seat and ended up facing him from the left to the right: John Hyder, Joseph Sergi, Maryellen Muldey and Alexis Shuntly.

  “Hi guys”

  All nodded as Alexis said, “Hey, Jerry.” With a small wave as she squinted her green eyes at him through thick glasses, “What have you got?”

  With his usual shrug of his shoulders whenever he was uncertain, Jerry answered, “Not sure, Alexis. Have you ever heard of a Miss Elizabeth Bisland?”

  He big green eyes became two slits as she shook her head, “No, I can’t say that I have. Is this about her?”

  “Her and Nellie Bly,” answered Jerry.

  “Nelly Bly?” Maryellen Muldey said as she suddenly looked up from her open laptop. “Great woman. She was one of the first, if not the first investigative reporters and she also went around the world on her own at a time when a woman being unescorted was a no-no.”

  “And,” quipped Joseph Sergi entering the conversation, “I believe Elizabeth Bisland did the same thing: circled the world.”

  “Why was there a race anyway?” asked John Hyder as he absent-mindedly tugged at his long blond and gray sideburns.

  Jerry answered, “In 1873 the French writer Jules Verne published a novel, ‘Around the World in Eighty Days,’ and in it his main character, Phileas Fogg, circled the globe in eighty days. Well, in 1888, Nellie Bly pitched the idea to her boss that she should do it in less time and send in a report every day to increase sales of the newspaper. He loved the idea, but wanted a male reporter to go. She said that if she didn’t get the assignment, she would quit and take the idea to another newspaper and he could watch their sales grow. He gave in and on November 14, 1889 she started the assignment. Still, it was a publicity stunt.”

  “And she won?” asked John.

  Jerry nodded as he stood, “That’s the problem. But first let me give you the backstory. Nellie Bly was a young, energetic woman who got a job with the New York World newspaper and, according to Wikipedia, the online information site: -She was the first female investigative reporter.

  -She posed as a poor sweatshop worker to expose the cruelty and terrible conditions that the women suffered.

  -Wrote articles about poverty and government corruption while staying in Mexico for six months; was kicked out for doing so.

  -Worked for the New York World.

  -First assignment at the New York World was to be committed to the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island and report about the conditions and treatment there.

  -Published book ‘Ten Days in a Mad-House’ after her ten-day stay in the insane asylum.

  -Launched the ‘stunt age’ the era when women risked their lives and reputations to get into the world of the press.

  -When NYW wanted to send a man around the world in 80 days and report on it she threatened them that she would do it in less time for another newspaper. They let her do it and 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds after she left Hoboken Pier she was back. During her journey, her experiences were recorded and published daily. She quit the NYW when she got back though, because they didn’t give her a raise, which she thought she deserved since she was the one who increased the paper’s circulation with her worldwide journey.

  -1893 she came back to the NYW and wrote pieces about women’s rights and fighting injustice. Here she boosted public awareness of social problems, exposed corruption in public and private sectors, and was the spokeswoman for women everywhere, especially giving voice to unwed mothers and women citywide.

  -When she finally married it was to a man 40 years older than her and a millionaire (Robert Seaman). His death meant she had to run his business, (The Iron Clad Manufacturing Company) and was for a while one of the leading female industrialists, until she went bankrupt and left the country due to the financial issues. She went to England and when World War I broke out, she used the opportunity to report it all from behind the scenes.

  -Came back to the U.S. because of her mother’s health and wrote for the New York Evening Journal. She died of pneumonia at St. Mark's Hospital in New York City in 1922, at age 57. She was interred in a modest grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.”

  He looked at the group and added, “She was quite a woman.”

  “As was Miss Elizabeth Bisland,” added Alexis as she looked up from her laptop and seeing that she had their attention, continued. “Hearing of the New York World newspaper publicity stunt, John Brisben Walker, who had just purchased the three-year old and still-fledging Cosmopolitan, decided to dispatch Bisland on her own journey, but in the opposite direction. Six hours after being recruited, Bisland departed westward from New York. Meanwhile, Bly left on a steamer headed to Europe.”

  Jerry nodded, “It looks like both women are cut from the same cloth.”

  “Yes,” added Joseph as he pushed back the lock of black hair from his eyes, “but there was only one winner of the ‘around the world race’ and history tells us that the winner was Nellie Bly.”

  All agreed with a nod and Jerry said, “Now for a blockbuster. Our history tracking computer claims that she was never in the race. In fact, it claims that one month before the trip was to begin she took a short cruise to test herself for seasickness and disappeared the very first night. The theory was that she did get seasick and leaning against a railing, fell overboard. So now at least we have a clue to find out what happened to Nellie Bly.” He stood and crossed his arms as he rocked on the toes and balls of his feet.

  “Besides winning the race, Nellie Bly put the spotlight on some pretty bad practices with the ‘so called’ insane asylums; the sweat shops that women and children worked in, and as it said online, she boosted public awareness of social problems, exposed corruption in public and private sectors, and was the spokeswoman for women everywhere especially giving voice to unwed mothers and women citywide. So, to me, winning the race made her a household name that opened many doors that would have stayed closed for years. I propose that we get in touch with Bill Scott and the 1800 Club.

  Alexis added, “Should be a snap for one of Bill’s people to tag along behind her.”

  Jerry nodded and then said, “All in favor of contacting Bill Scott?”

  The ayes were unanimous.

  He opened the door and motioned the young man in. Tom Wallace was now on duty and had just been briefed by Ted about the possible mission. He followed Jerry into the room.

  A quick glance at his name tag and Jerry said, “Hi, Tom, we have a mission for Mister Bill Scott of the 1800 Club so I’ll be giving you a hologram for Mister Scott shortly.”

  Tom nodded, “Which I’ll pass on to our representative to the 1800 Club.”

  “Correct.”

  The young man left the room as Jerry set up the hologram program.

  DATELINE: JULY 7, 1897 PLACE: THE 1800 CLUB’S GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY

  Bill Scott opened the steel security door that gave him entrance to the club’s garden. As it was July, everything was in bloom and he smiled as he saw the garden’s inhabitants taking advantage of the few months of warm weather by building nests and flitting among the flowers as frogs sat on the flat rock of the pond and goldfish swam in circles beneath the waterfall.

  As president of the 1800 Club, Bill spent many hours sitting on one of the garden’s stone benches just smokin
g a cigar and watching his beagle, Samson, chase butterflies or at night, fireflies. On each occasion he went back to the quieter times of the mid-eighteen hundreds.

  He checked his pocket watch, 8:05 a.m. and it was warm already.

  Going to be a hot one today, he thought as he used the key around his neck to open the high, wrought iron gate that was the only access from the street into the garden as it was surrounded by high stonewalls. Tucking the key back under his starched white shirt, he fluffed up his wine colored cravat and tilted his tall hat at a slight angle. Bill was glad that he had selected a new lightweight, dark brown jacket and pants as he tipped his hat at a well dressed couple strolling past him. He grinned to himself as he noticed the woman’s nod of approval. It’s my tan spats, he thought quite pleased with his decision to go with them.

  At the corner he saw three horse-drawn Hansom cabs standing there hoping for a customer. Bill had to hand it to the drivers, because, as there was no hitching post at the corner, the three men draped their horse’s reins on the street in front of each horse and while one weighted the end of the reins with a rock, another used a brick and the third used his wife’s iron.

  The three drivers were standing together going over a newspaper article and, as Bill approached, the driver of the first coach spotted him and asked, as he folded up the newspaper, “Cab, sir?”

  Bill nodded and said as he tilted his head at the iron, “Yes, and I compliment you on your choice of the weight you use to keep your horse from wandering.”

  “Ha!” the driver replied as he picked up the heavy iron, “I only hope that my wife doesn’t decide to change her habit of ironing at night when the weather is cooler.”

  Bill grinned and asked as the cabby reached for the carriage door, “Will you take me to Broadway and 52nd Street?”