The Time Hunters and the Box of Eternity (18 page)

‘
Get in, Will. Now!
’
Uncle Percy yelled
again.

This time, Will heard him and, grinning at the bloodied Kruger,
threw himself into the time machine.

Relieved they were all safe, Becky
’
s gaze fell on the seven prisoners.
‘
We must save them.
’

Uncle Percy shook his head as he typed on to Barbie
’
s timepad.
‘
I
’
m sorry, Becky, I
really am,
’
he said sadly.
‘
But they
’
re history....
’

Becky didn
’
t have time to protest, when streams of light filled the taxi. From
the corner of her eye, she saw Chapman, his teeth bared with rage, let out a
wild, guttural scream.

Then, with a
crack
, Beryl vanished, leaving nothing but an empty
space.

*

What none of them could possibly have known was what happened next:
a crazed Chapman heaved the prisoners to their feet and lined them up against
the garage wall. Snatching a Tommy gun from one of Capone
’
s men, he fired
mercilessly at them, again and again, until each one of them slumped lifelessly
to the ground.

The dog was the only survivor.

Chapter 18

Israel
’
s Message

Becky stared at the Time Room walls, her pulse racing as she grasped
for breath. Glancing round, she saw disbelief on everyone
’
s faces as they
struggled to grasp their safe return to Bowen Hall. The sudden silence seemed
as disturbing as the thunder of gunshots from which they had just escaped.
Slowly, dazed, they exited the time machine.

‘
Well, that was
hair-raising stuff, wasn
’
t it?
’
Uncle Percy said, blood returning to his cheeks.
‘
Still, we
’
re home, safe and
sound. No harm, no foul.
’

Everyone stared blankly at him. Then Joe spoke up.
‘
But what about the
painting? In case you hadn
’
t noticed, Chapman
’
s got it.
’

‘
I wouldn
’
t worry about that. As
a matter of fact, I would say everything worked out as planned.
’

‘
So you planned on a
shootout with Al Capone?
’
Becky replied flatly.
‘
Coulda done with knowing that one.
’

‘
No … granted, that was
unforeseen,
’
Uncle Percy admitted.
‘
But let
’
s just say I did anticipate certain events that may come as
something of a surprise to you.
’

Joe was getting exasperated now.
‘
What are you jabbering on about?
’

‘
All in good time, Joe.
All in good time.
’

Normally, Becky would have been annoyed by Uncle Percy
’
s evasiveness, but at
that moment there was only one thing on her mind.
‘
Who
’
s George Chapman?
’

Uncle Percy shrugged indifferently.
‘
Let
’
s worry about him later.
’

Becky wasn
’
t nearly satisfied.
‘
I think we should worry about him now!
’

‘
Really?
’
Uncle Percy replied.
‘
I don
’
t.
’

Feeling her temper rise, Becky was about to give him a piece of her
mind when Joe interjected.
 
‘
And how did Beryl just
appear like that?
’

‘
Ah, I
’
m glad you asked,
’
Uncle Percy replied,
seemingly relieved he didn
’
t have to answer to Becky.
‘
I
’
ve only just installed the system, actually. Embedded within Beryl
’
s circuitry, is a
voice remodulation device, a temporally autorated Intronicater, and a biogene
locator. All of which is a very long-winded way of saying that this -
’
He held up his key
fob,
‘
- is
a very sophisticated dog whistle. I shout
Taxi
and Beryl comes running.
’

‘
Wicked,
’
Joe said, nodding his
appreciation.

‘
You really are a total
egghead, Perce,
’
Bruce said.
‘
I gotta get me one of those fixed to Sweet Sue.
’

‘
I
’
d be delighted to
install it for you, Bruce.
’

‘
Thank you kindly,
’
Bruce said.
‘
Which reminds me … any
chance I can use a Portravella to go and get her?
’

‘
Of course.
’

‘
Excuse me,
’
Becky interrupted,
rather irritably.
‘
But will you answer my question. Who is George -
’

Just then, Barbie
’
s head popped up from behind a workstation.
‘
Nice to have you back,
sir.
’

Becky growled with frustration.

‘
It
’
s nice to be back,
Barbie,
’
Uncle Percy replied.

‘
I judge from your
rapidly decreasing heart-rates, you
’
ve been engaged in some incident of note.
’

‘
You could say that,
Barbie.
’

Barbie seemed confused.
‘
I believe I just did, sir.
’

‘
It
’
s just an expression,
Barbie. It means
‘
to agree.
’’

‘
Very well, sir. I
shall update my linguistic databank.
’

‘
It was pretty ace,
Barbie,
’
Joe said, beginning to feel his normal self.
‘
We fought Al Capone, battled this
scalpel-wielding nutter with a moustache like a dead hamster, and sliced off
half of Otto Kruger
’
s face.
’

Barbie bowed.
‘
Then Barbie is delighted Master Joseph survived the extreme
violence.
’
Just then, the workstation gave three shrill rings and the words,
‘
Incoming Call
’
flashed across the
screen.
 

Uncle Percy looked rather surprised.
‘
Would you get that, please, Barbie?
’

‘
Certainly, sir.
’
Barbie
’
s blue eyes gleamed
amber.
‘
Keith
Pickleton is requesting a landing pass for the Time Room. Shall I input the
grounding code into his precognator?
’

‘
If you would, my dear.
’

A second later, a milk float materialised to Beryl
’
s left.

Keith Pickleton was sat in the driver
’
s seat, a look of deep concern on his round,
fleshy face. Looking over at the group, his expression changed.
‘
Oh, thank goodness,
’
he said with relief.
‘
You
’
re safe. I was getting
worried. I
’
d heard there was a gun fight on Eighth Street -
’

‘
Everyone
’
s fine, Keith,
’
Uncle Percy replied.

‘
Good.
’
Pickleton scrambled
out of the milk float, a rectangular brown paper package tucked securely
beneath his arm.
‘
Anyway, I believe this is what you asked for, old boy.
’
He passed the bundle
over to Uncle Percy, who returned a triumphant smile.

‘
Oh, smashing, Keith.
Well done.
’

‘
Not a problem,
’
Pickleton replied.
‘
As a matter of fact, I
was the only bidder. The gavel went down on fifty dollars, a bargain, I
’
d say. And if your
theory is correct I believe Emerson Drake will be as sick as the proverbial
pig.
’

Becky and Joe swapped intrigued glances.

‘
What
’
s that?
’
Joe asked.

Uncle Percy raised the package into the light.
‘
This, Joe, unless I
’
ve made an error of
gargantuan proportions, is the marker!
’

Joe gasped.
‘
What?
’

‘
This is the Israel
Hands
’
painting we
’
re looking for.
’

Joe looked baffled.
‘
So why did we nearly spend a million dollars on that massive one of
Blackbeard?
’

Uncle Percy gave a wry smile.
‘
That
’
s precisely the point, Joe. We
nearly
spent a million dollars
on the Blackbeard portrait. They
did
spend a million dollars. I bid so
enthusiastically because I wanted them to believe that painting was the one I
was after, thereby deflecting all attention from this little one by a
supposedly anonymous artist.
’

‘
You mean Chapman
’
s just spent a million
dollars on nowt?
’

Uncle Percy chuckled.
‘
I wouldn
’
t say
nowt
. In my opinion, he
’
s got a splendid piece of maritime history, but
yes, one could argue he has overpaid for it, somewhat.
’

Joe
’
s face cracked into a smile, which soon became a full-blown laugh.
Soon, everyone was laughing. Everyone, that was, except Becky.

‘
But how did you know
about
that
painting?
’
she asked, pointing at the package.

‘
That, Becky, is a long
story,
’
Uncle Percy replied.
‘
Shall we get changed out of these uncomfortable clothes and I
’
ll tell it to you?
’

*

Becky forgot all about George Chapman as she dashed back to the
Hall, threw on a pair of jeans, a sweater and a raggedy pair of trainers,
before rushing to Bowen library, where she saw Uncle Percy clutching the
unopened package. A moment later, Joe appeared, panting, behind her.

Becky
’
s gaze fell on the painting.
‘
Go on then, tell us why you think this painting
is the marker?
’

Uncle Percy took a deep breath.
‘
Well, after seeing Israel Hands
’
optomediaphibic
folio, it seemed clear we needed to know more about his life …
 
and
death, and not just the kind of
information that can be gleaned from the secondary sources we saw in the folio,
but firsthand knowledge. Actual events. With that in mind, I activated Barbie
’
s Invisiblator and
programmed her to travel back in time on a reconnaissance mission.
’

‘
Good idea,
’
Joe said, sounding
impressed.
‘
Let
’
s see the painting then?
’

‘
In a mo, Joe.
’
Uncle Percy said.
‘
Anyway, Barbie did
manage to obtain some crucial information. In short, most of what Reg said was
correct. Israel did indeed supposedly create some markers that led to
Blackbeard
’
s Treasure. She couldn
’
t find out what they were, but she does believe one of them to be
this very painting.
’
He raised the package up.
‘
You see, Israel survived the Ocracoke incident
and was captured by the Royal Navy, amazingly negotiating a pardon for his
crimes. However, at the same time he found out he was dying with only months to
live. The treasure was of no use to him anymore, and believing Blackbeard to be
dead, he thought he was the only one who knew where it was. Subsequently, he
devised the markers so his childhood friend, Edward Mallory, a priest, could
find it at some point in the future. He entrusted his fellow pirate, Richard
Young, to deliver the painting to Mallory in England. Anyway, neither the
painting or Richard Young made it back to England.
’

‘
What happened to them?
’
Joe asked.