The Case That Time Forgot by Tracy Barrett Page A

moment.
    â€œWhat?” Xander asked.
    Xena shook her head. “I’ll tell you if I get an answer.” She turned back to finish her homework, and checked her e-mail every few minutes. After her fourth attempt, she said, “Aha!” and turned the screen so that Xander could read the message.
    It was from Mr. Grayson, the curator at the Timekeepers Museum. “You two really are clock buffs, aren’t you? As it happens, I have some research to do at Big Ben and can easily get you in. I’ll move my appointment up to tomorrow and see you there after school.”
    â€œYes!” Xander pumped his fist in the air. But Xena looked disappointed. “What?” he asked.
    â€œAfter school is nowhere
near
nine-thirty,” she pointed out.
    Xander’s face fell but then he perked up. “We can at least get a look around,” he said. “We might find a way to go back there at nine-thirty. It’s better than nothing.”
    Â 
    The instant school was out on Friday afternoon, Xena and Xander met up in the corridor. People were slamming lockers all around them, butXena still lowered her voice. “Do you have your Tube map?”
    Xander nodded and pulled it out with difficulty, as a soccer ball took up most of the room in his backpack. “Here’s the nearest stop to Big Ben.” He put his finger next to a drawing of a tall steeple with a clock on it.
    They squeezed through the crowd and raced to the Tube stop. The ride seemed to take forever, but finally they got to the stop right by the Palace of Westminster.
    The huge, rectangular tower loomed over them as they hurried toward the palace. It was beautiful—four clocks with white faces under a pointy spire, at one end of the majestic palace. Pale clouds floated behind it, making it look as if the tower were gliding slowly across the sky.
    â€œWasn’t Big Ben bombed during World War Two?” Xena asked Xander as they neared the stone building.
    â€œUh-huh. Two of the clockfaces were damaged.” Neither one said what they both were thinking:
What if whatever we’re looking for was destroyed?
    They saw Mr. Grayson waving to them from the base of the tower. They broke into a trot and arrived next to him.
    â€œI’ll sign in and then we can go up,” he said. “All right?”
    â€œGreat!” Xena and Xander chorused, and watched as he went to talk to a man in a uniform.
    Xander saw two familiar figures approaching. He nudged Xena and pointed out Jake and Shane, who were walking together and talking to each other. “What are
they
doing here?” he asked.
    â€œCoincidence?” Xena hazarded, but she knew that wasn’t likely. London was a huge city, and it wasn’t like these native Londoners were there to see the sights.
    She felt uneasy and moved closer to Xander, who muttered, “Something’s up.” She nodded in agreement.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” Xander asked as soon as they were within earshot. The boys looked up, surprise on both their faces. Was it his imagination, or was Shane’s surprise fake?
    â€œWhat are
we
doing here? What are
you
doing here?” Shane asked.
    Xena said, “We’re going up the bell tower!”
    Xander groaned. Why did she have to tell them?
    â€œGood for you!” Jake said. “How did you manage that?”
    Xena explained without mentioning the amulet. But all the time she was talking, something was nagging at her—an odd sound. She couldn’t figure out what it was, only that it had come from one of the boys. “Why don’t you ask if you can come up with us?” she suggested.
    Jake and Shane looked at each other and shrugged, and then Jake said, “Why not? Might be fun.”
    As the boys walked off together down the paved path, Xander turned to her, furious. “Are you nuts?” he demanded. “Why did you invite—”
    â€œHush!”
    â€œWhat?” Xander