Alex slowly opened her eyes, aware of the aching on her left side. She felt scraped and bruised, and the room was having trouble focussing itself.
As her vision slowly returned, she realized that Mr. Clemens was sitting in the chair next to her bed, deeply lost in his own thoughts. Alex reached out and touched his hand, and said, "I'm really sorry Mr. Clemens. I'm sorry I failed, and I'm sorry Susy's dead." She began to cry, filled with misery.
Sam Clemens jumped up, startled, and said, "Oh my God, Alexandra, it's not Susy we're worried about. She's fine, except for a bad bump. It's you! You've been unconscious since yesterday." He leaned over and hugged her, not aware he was pressing one of many sore spots. She didn't say anything, but switched her crying from misery to relief.
Mr. Clemens waited until her crying had calmed down. He handed her a handkerchief and did not wince when she blew her nose in it. "You saved her life, you know," he said. "You and the man who was walking alongside the coach."
"Everything happened so fast, it's a little hard to remember exactly what happened," she said. "But it looked to me like Harry Lightcap made the dog scare the horses. He was the one trying to cause the accident."
"You're right," he replied. "There were other witnesses, and that's what they said. One of them recognized him. He disappeared immediately. The police went to the boarding house to find him, but of course he never turned up there."
"What about the other man, Mr. Strong?" Alex asked.
"He disappeared too, before the police showed up. We didn't even have time to thank him, we were so concerned about Susy and you. Aunt Susan was shaken up, too, but she's fine now."
The door squeaked open slightly, and a tiny six-year-old head peeked in. "Come in, come in," Mr. Clemens boomed. "She's just fine now. Except for some bruises."
Jean rushed into the room and was about to hug Alex, but stopped when she saw the scrapes and scratches. She kissed her cheek gently instead. Clara came in, did the same, and softly said "Thank you."
Mrs. Clemens squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek, but was unable to say anything. Finally, Susy took Alex's hand, pressed gently, and simply looked at her. Then she and Alex started crying again.
Mr. Clemens, hoping no one would notice him, dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve, and stepped out of the room.
By then everyone was crying. It was so comical, that everyone started laughing in relief.
"Come on girls," Mrs. Clemens said. "Let's let Alexandra rest awhile. She must be very tired." She led them all out of the room.
Alex closed her eyes and thought over the fantastic turn of events. She hadn't failed at all! Susy would have her chance at a full life.
Now, as much as she would like to stay longer with the Clemenses, she had to think about getting back home. And it had to be as quickly as possible, so that she would cause no further changes here. Fatigue caught up with her, however, and she fell asleep again.
She was awakened by a tapping on the door. It opened, and Mr. Clemens walked in and sat beside her bed again. "Are you feeling any better now?" he asked.
"Just a few aches. Nothing important," she answered.
He stared at her for a while. "I can never thank you enough for what you did," he said. "If there's anything my family or I can do for you, please tell us. But I know you won't be with us much longer."
Startled, she started to sit up, but he gently pushed her back down onto the bed. "Wait until you're sure you're okay," he said. There was a long pause, then he continued, "While you were half unconscious, you were talking. It was very confused, but you said some very strange things."
Alex looked at him with alarm, afraid she had given away everything. She had no idea what the consequences might be if he found out who she was and where she was from!
"Now, I'm not going to ask you any questions," he said. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want me to know. But the impression I get from what you said is that you travelled a long distance to get here, and the purpose of your coming was to prevent Susy's death."
Alex began trying to reassure him with her cover story, but he held up his hand to stop her. "And I also understand that part of your travel was from the future. Our future. Over a hundred years, you said."
Alex saw that there was no way she could continue with her cover story, since she had already revealed so much. She said, "I was sent here to save Susy, so that you wouldn't stop writing. But once I met Susy - and Clara and Jean, for that matter - I realized I had to save her because I loved her. And all of you." Alex started sniffing again. Mr. Clemens did, too.
"And now you have to return, don't you?" he asked.
She nodded. "I have to leave as soon as possible, so I don't damage anything. Now that everything is set right, I don't want anything to change back the way it was."
She began to sit up again, and this time he helped her. All the dizziness was gone, and she only felt slight pain in her side. "I'm okay now," she said. She dressed, and gathered her few belongings.
"I have this for you," he said. He handed her the book that the girls had previously signed for her. She opened the cover, and saw that he had also signed "To Alexandra, with more gratitude and love than you can possibly imagine. Mark Twain."
"Come on now, let me help you. Everyone will want to say good-bye."
"I hate to do this, but I should probably leave without seeing anyone at all. I'm afraid of what I might have done by telling you so much," she said.
"You didn't really tell me anything. Not intentionally, anyway," he said, gathering up her bundle. "We'd all really like to see you stay for a good long time, but I'm sure you know what's best."
He led her out of the house down a back stairway. They silently crossed the porch, then walked together down Farmington Avenue. As they walked through the wooded area, he took out a cigar and lit it. In his white linen suit, he now looked exactly like her uncle's statue, except for his size. She giggled.
He looked at her inquiringly. "You look just like all the pictures I've seen of you," she said.
"Do people still read my books in your time?" he asked.
"Everyone recognizes you as the greatest American writer," she said. Kids love your books, especially Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. She couldn't tell him the truth about the banning of his books. She couldn't bear to hurt him, and she was too embarrassed by the small-minded people of her own time.
"That's very nice," he said quietly.
After a while, he said "Funny thing is, now that I know who you are, and I have the chance to ask you everything about my future, I find I don't want to ask you anything. I think it's better to find out as it happens. Don't you?"
Alex nodded in agreement. Then he said, "As long as I know someone remembers me."
They passed Mrs. Bloomfield's boarding house. Alex thought of going in to say good-bye, but decided against it. They reached the creek, went down the slight embankment to the path, and soon reached the Portal. "I have to go up there," she said, "but I have to go alone."
Sam Clemens nodded. "My family and I will never forget what you did for us," he said.
"Tell them good-bye for me," Alex said. They hugged a last time, and Alex climbed the bank to the Portal. She swung her legs inside, and gave a final wave to Mark Twain, knowing she would never see him, Mrs. Clemens, or Susy, Clara, or Jean again. She entered the Portal.