been through in such a short time, how dangerous it had been, and of Ms. Sparks lurking inside his beloved hotel.
“Sure, Remi,” he said. “It’s going swell. I just hope the second half is easier than the first.”
“Don’t count on it,” Remi said.
Along one side of the safe was a collection of crumpled manila envelopes. The envelopes had the appearance of having been well used, with paint splatters and small notations and schematic drawings in weathered pencil everywhere on their surfaces. Remi pulled one out and found that it had a red wax seal keeping it shut, just like the envelope they’d been given. The seal had a letter W pressed into it.
“Looks official,” Leo said. “And there are dozens of them. I wonder what’s inside.”
Remi turned the envelope over and gasped.
“No way.”
There were words written there in a wispy, Merganzer D. Whippet style.
Master plans: The Pinball Machine
Leo beamed as he started pulling out envelopes. Each one was crumpled and worn at the edges, full withthe sense of having been on location when the real work was happening.
“Remi,” Leo whispered. “These are the master plans. It’s amazing!”
Leo read two:
Master program and schematic: Blop
Plan model: The Double Helix
“The Double Helix!” Leo yelled. “I LOVE the Double Helix!”
The Double Helix was a secret elevator that ran up the middle of the Whippet Hotel, but really, it was more like the best thrill ride ever. Fast, treacherous, spinning, twisting!
Remi read two more:
Master plan: The Flying Farm Room
The Realm of Gears
And this particular envelope had another note scratched on it, a note that had been written more recently: Open only when traveling in the Realm of Gears.
“Whoa, Leo,” Remi whispered. “The Realm of Gears. Isn’t that one of the places Ingrid said something about?”
“I think you’re right,” Leo agreed. “It sounds like there are instructions inside.”
“But remember what she said: If we needed over a million, we’d have to go there. So we’re fine. There’s no reason to take the envelope, I guess.”
“Actually,” Leo said, “I didn’t want to worry you, but yeah, we’re in some trouble. She wants seven million, not seven hundred thousand.”
“Ouch,” Remi said. “I don’t think selling my comics will get us that far. Or my four bucks.”
Both boys thought about what the gears might be like and whether or not the route would be dangerous. They put all the other envelopes away, but kept the one about the Realm of Gears.
“He would have wanted us to have it, right?” Remi said, looking up at Leo for guidance. Leo wasn’t older, not really, not enough to matter. But he had always seemed like a barely bigger brother, someone he could trust when he didn’t know the answer to a tough problem.
“He’s forgetful, for sure,” Leo said. “Maybe he meant to say we should take it. He didn’t say not to.”
That was all the convincing Remi needed. He liked the idea of having some insurance in case things went sideways underground. Folding the envelope the long way, Remi stuffed it in his inside jacket pocket for safekeeping.
They asked Blop how to close the safe, and the little robot explained about the golden egg, how to put it backinto the golden duck, and how to close the safe again so it would open when they came back.
“But we’d have to go to the roof to do that,” Leo said. “That duck is all the way up there now, at the end of this pole. We don’t have time for that now, not with Ms. Sparks threatening to auction off the hotel in about five hours.”
They’d made a little bit of a mess, but there was no time to pick up all the fallen books and put everything back the way it was. In fact, there was no time to stop the shelves from turning, even though Blop was determined to tell them the complicated way in which it should be done.
Instead, they ran through the Whippet Library, newly excited by the places they would need
“Sure, Remi,” he said. “It’s going swell. I just hope the second half is easier than the first.”
“Don’t count on it,” Remi said.
Along one side of the safe was a collection of crumpled manila envelopes. The envelopes had the appearance of having been well used, with paint splatters and small notations and schematic drawings in weathered pencil everywhere on their surfaces. Remi pulled one out and found that it had a red wax seal keeping it shut, just like the envelope they’d been given. The seal had a letter W pressed into it.
“Looks official,” Leo said. “And there are dozens of them. I wonder what’s inside.”
Remi turned the envelope over and gasped.
“No way.”
There were words written there in a wispy, Merganzer D. Whippet style.
Master plans: The Pinball Machine
Leo beamed as he started pulling out envelopes. Each one was crumpled and worn at the edges, full withthe sense of having been on location when the real work was happening.
“Remi,” Leo whispered. “These are the master plans. It’s amazing!”
Leo read two:
Master program and schematic: Blop
Plan model: The Double Helix
“The Double Helix!” Leo yelled. “I LOVE the Double Helix!”
The Double Helix was a secret elevator that ran up the middle of the Whippet Hotel, but really, it was more like the best thrill ride ever. Fast, treacherous, spinning, twisting!
Remi read two more:
Master plan: The Flying Farm Room
The Realm of Gears
And this particular envelope had another note scratched on it, a note that had been written more recently: Open only when traveling in the Realm of Gears.
“Whoa, Leo,” Remi whispered. “The Realm of Gears. Isn’t that one of the places Ingrid said something about?”
“I think you’re right,” Leo agreed. “It sounds like there are instructions inside.”
“But remember what she said: If we needed over a million, we’d have to go there. So we’re fine. There’s no reason to take the envelope, I guess.”
“Actually,” Leo said, “I didn’t want to worry you, but yeah, we’re in some trouble. She wants seven million, not seven hundred thousand.”
“Ouch,” Remi said. “I don’t think selling my comics will get us that far. Or my four bucks.”
Both boys thought about what the gears might be like and whether or not the route would be dangerous. They put all the other envelopes away, but kept the one about the Realm of Gears.
“He would have wanted us to have it, right?” Remi said, looking up at Leo for guidance. Leo wasn’t older, not really, not enough to matter. But he had always seemed like a barely bigger brother, someone he could trust when he didn’t know the answer to a tough problem.
“He’s forgetful, for sure,” Leo said. “Maybe he meant to say we should take it. He didn’t say not to.”
That was all the convincing Remi needed. He liked the idea of having some insurance in case things went sideways underground. Folding the envelope the long way, Remi stuffed it in his inside jacket pocket for safekeeping.
They asked Blop how to close the safe, and the little robot explained about the golden egg, how to put it backinto the golden duck, and how to close the safe again so it would open when they came back.
“But we’d have to go to the roof to do that,” Leo said. “That duck is all the way up there now, at the end of this pole. We don’t have time for that now, not with Ms. Sparks threatening to auction off the hotel in about five hours.”
They’d made a little bit of a mess, but there was no time to pick up all the fallen books and put everything back the way it was. In fact, there was no time to stop the shelves from turning, even though Blop was determined to tell them the complicated way in which it should be done.
Instead, they ran through the Whippet Library, newly excited by the places they would need
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