Young James West and Artemus Gordon, two special agents in the American West in the 19th Century, had been working for President Ulysses Grant for four years. Their careers had been initially exciting, and they had brought many criminals to justice. Yet in the last year, things had become rather dull. Gordon had been seconded on other assignments frequently, leaving West alone. West himself had noticed his voice degenerating into a toneless mumble. When Artemus returned from his last separate assignment, he was convicted of one simple fact.

“Jim, our cases have been missing something that used to make them so unique,” said Artemus.

“Do you mean you in ridiculous disguises, Arty?” asked West.

“No. In the first two years of our special agent career, we encountered four scientific firsts: Dr Miguelito Loveless came up with both a shrinking formula and the ability to travel to an alternate earth by passing through special paintings,” said Gordon.

“I know what you mean,” said West, “The first year of our career was rather colourless, but I’ll never forget the French scientist who invented a formula that enabled him to move at speeds that made everyone else look frozen in time.”

“Yes, well that’s a formula that I think I might be able to duplicate. I’ve been working on it ever since,” said Artemus, “But speaking of time, our fourth experience was with a man who was able to apply the full capacity of his brain to time travelling into his own past, retaining his knowledge of the intervening years, renewing his youth and changing history.”

“I’ve been trying that too. I took careful note of his technique when he showed us. The trouble is that we’ve been so busy taking on case after case for the President, that we’ve had very little time to really advance our experiments. Now that things have finally gone quiet, why don’t we finish the scientific research?”

It took them several weeks to do it, but Artemus eventually reverse invented the speed formula and concealed portions of it in both his own and James West’s hip flasks.

“You did it, Arty!” said West.

“Just don’t offer anyone else a drink,” said Gordon.

“I’m confident that I know the time travel technique, but I don’t want to put it to the test, unless the need comes to actually change something,” said West.

They were unable to test the speed formula either, as a telegram from Ulysses Grant sent them off on a search for an old adversary who had still not been brought in for trial.

Jarrod Barkley was becoming more depressed as time went on. His half brother Heath had moved out of Stockton to further the Barkley Ranch empire elsewhere, and hadn’t been seen around the Barkley Stockton mansion for months. Nick’s temper had not improved a lot, and he was becoming busier all the time too. Gene had taken a job in another town after finishing his studies. Audra had become a school teacher, having discovered her flare for the job during a few exciting adventures involving small children, and had taken a particular shine to working with a sweet young student named Zeb.

Jarrod himself was still grieving. A ludicrous adventure in Mineral Springs had not really done anything to soften an old and painful wound. Two years earlier his wife had been murdered by a man Jarrod had once sent to prison. They had been married for less than a month. Jarrod had almost killed the man before reigning in his revenge at the last minute. The girl had been sweet, gentle and romantic. Their courtship had been fast, and the loss of Beth Barkley had never left Jarrod remotely near a state of being fully recovered.  On this the anniversary of his Denver wedding, Jarrod did neither involve himself in Barkley Ranch business with Nick nor attend the office of his practice as a solicitor. He stayed at home, and grieved.

Downstairs in the living room, Victoria Barkley, Jarrod’s widowed mother was dusting the room herself. Silas the butler had resigned his position and taken a wife. To Victoria’s utter surprise, a very short and rather handsome man suddenly appeared just in front of a landscape portrait which was hanging on the wall.