0500 hours, October 26, and Wilson’s body continued to tingle as he stepped onto the wooden porch of Crazy Kate’s boardinghouse on A Street. Passing through the Gate did that to him every time.
He reached the door and tried the knob. It turned, and he pushed his way inside.
To his left was the glass oil lamp, as expected. It was lit, with the wick barely visible.
As he moved forward, he stepped on the tail of an orange tabby that had never been there before. The house cat screamed in pain and bolted between Wilson’s legs, throwing the man off-balance.
In trying to avoid the cat and regain his balance, Wilson bumped into the low table on which sat the oil lamp. Before he could react, it smashed to the floor and erupted into flames.
There was nothing he could do. The boarding house was a tinder box and exploded into a roaring conflagration.
All Wilson could do was return to the Gate and the 21st century, leaving 1875 Virginia City to burn yet again.
The Old Blog in the Desert 
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