The Time Hunters and the Box of Eternity Read Online Free PDF Page B

away. Entering the parlour, she was surprised to see Uncle Percy
staring blankly at the fire, a thick patchwork quilt stretched over his legs, a
half-filled glass of whiskey in one hand and a photograph in the other.
    ‘ Uncle Percy? ’
    Uncle Percy jolted with a start. Looking flustered, he quickly slid
the photograph beneath the quilt. ‘ B-Becky? What are you doing up? ’
    ‘ I left my phone down
here and - ’ But she couldn ’ t finish the sentence. Staring into her uncle ’ s eyes, she saw they
were bloodshot. She knew at once he ’ d been crying.
    *
    Becky ’ s head reeled. She didn ’ t know what to do. She hadn ’ t meant to interrupt this most personal of moments
and felt like dashing back to her room, pretending she hadn ’ t seen a thing. At the
same time, she wanted to comfort him, to discover why he was upset, to do what
she knew he would do if the roles were reversed.
    Uncle Percy wiped his eyes. ‘ Deary me. I must look quite a state. ’
    Becky pulled a chair over and sat down. ‘ What ’ s wrong, Uncle Percy
…   is it to do with that photograph you ’ re trying to hide? ’
    Uncle Percy gave a sober chuckle, pulled the photograph into the
light and passed it over to Becky. ‘ You don ’ t miss a trick, do you? ’
    Becky looked down to see an attractive young woman wearing a mauve
dress that met her ankles, her long auburn hair curly and wild; her blue eyes
shone like sapphires. ‘ Who is she? ’
    ‘ Her name ’ s Stephanie Calloway. ’
    ‘ She ’ s beautiful. ’
    ‘ She was. I ’ m afraid she passed
away a long time ago. ’
    ‘ I ’ m sorry. ’
    Uncle Percy drained his glass. ‘ Yes, it was very sad. ’ He stared mournfully
at the picture. ‘ She was one of those extraordinary people in that everything she
touched was the better for her touching it. ’
    ‘ How did you know her? ’ Becky asked.
    ‘ We were students at
Oxford together. She, along with Bernard Preston and Emerson Drake, were part
of the time travelling society I told you about at Mammoth Gorge. ’
    Becky cast her mind back. ‘ The Otters. ’
    ‘ That ’ s right. Anyway,
although I didn ’ t realise it at the time, she had something of a crush on me. Of
course, I was too preoccupied with travelling to even notice. ’ He gave a mirthless
chuckle. ‘ And
besides, I always thought she would go for someone like Emerson. He was so
confident, so self-assured, and believe it or not, so very handsome in those
days. He also seemed quite keen on her. ’ His tone grew bitter. ‘ I find it difficult to
talk about the two of them in the same sentence. Steffers was truly good,
perfect in every way. And Emerson … well, it turns out he was the antithesis of
everything she stood for, everything she believed in. Evil personified… ’
    ‘ Anyway, after university
we began to spend an increasing amount of time together. She would stay at
Bowen Hall, sometimes for weeks on end. It was then I realised I was falling in
love with her. And, incredibly, she felt the same way. I ’ d never been so happy.
Anyway, I decided to ask her to marry me. Can you guess where I popped the
question? ’
    Becky smiled gently. ‘ Mammoth Gorge? ’
    ‘ That ’ s right. Anyway, I
asked and she said no. She then proceeded to tell me about her illness. I was confused,
angry. The doctors told her she only had a matter of months to live. ’ His voice cracked
now. ‘ I
couldn ’ t
believe what I was hearing. After that, I went off the rails. I even tried to
do something I said I ’ d never do… ’
    ‘ And what was that? ’
    Uncle Percy expression changed. Becky couldn ’ t tell if it was one
of regret or shame. ‘ I tried to build a time machine to take me into the future, ’ he said. ‘ I devoted all my time,
my energies to it. I became obsessed. I thought if I could learn their medical
advancements, I could cure Stephanie. I didn ’ t care about the potentially disastrous
consequences of my actions.   Anyway, I
came