The narrator of William W. Stuart's 1960 story, Bull Benton, opens with a burst of aggrieved repetition: "I admit it—he beat my time. But my day is coming." The word "time" appears seven times in the first paragraph, establishing both the theme and the narrator's obsessive, colloquial voice. The rivalry with Professor Thurlow Benjamin—"Benji"—is framed as a lifelong contest, from childhood fights to a shared pursuit of Vera Milston. The excerpts show a story built on verbal energy and situational irony rather than scientific detail.

A Narrator Who Insists on His Own Vocabulary

Bull Benton's narration is distinctive for its repetitive, slangy patterns. He calls Benji a "scientifically sneaky, two-timing dog" and puns relentlessly on "time": "he took his time to beat my time—and left me behind to the bad time that belonged to him." The prose is dense with exclamation points and dashes, mimicking spoken outrage. The opening pages establish a voice that is simultaneously self-deprecating and self-justifying. Bull admits he was "maybe not handsome exactly, but clean cut, very clean cut," and describes his own brain as "deep, definitely deep, but maybe not quite as quick on its feet as some." This verbal tic—repeating a word for emphasis—runs throughout the excerpts and gives the narration a distinctive, almost manic rhythm.

Time Travel as a Plot Device, Not a Scientific Puzzle

The catalog lists "Time travel -- Fiction" as a subject, but the excerpts treat the time machine with minimal explanation. Benji's rig is described as having "bars" and a "dial or knob"; the power is about to cut off. The story's interest lies in the complications time travel creates for the love triangle, not in how it works. When Benji II vanishes, the leftover Benji says, "Of course, sweet. I told you I'd be with you, that everything will be all right, with good old Bull to help us." The machine is a means to multiply characters and misunderstandings. The climax involves police chasing a drunken Benji and Daisy through town, wrecking hydrants and a museum—a farce that undercuts any pretense of hard science fiction.

The Love Triangle Expands to Include a Second Woman

Though the catalog lists "Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Fiction," the excerpts introduce a fourth party: Daisy, who appears in an evening gown and throws eggplants at police. The rivalry between Bull and Benji over Vera is complicated by Benji's apparent involvement with Daisy. Vera's return from Chicago—"Benji!!!"—suggests the triangle is not stable. The story's title, A Husband for My Wife, implies a scheme to provide Vera with a husband, but the excerpts show Bull's perspective is unreliable and self-serving. The actual relationships may be more tangled than a simple triangle, and the ending is not revealed in the provided text.

Readers should attend to the story's tone: Bull's narration is full of bravado and resentment, but his account may be colored by jealousy. The excerpts break off before the resolution, leaving the time machine's final use and the fate of the relationships unknown. The story rewards attention to its verbal play and its treatment of time as both a theme and a pun.