Luis grabbed the pack of food Tyler had put together Casey picked up Steel and followed Luis and Tyler out the door and through the backyard They stopped at the shed while Luis used the strange tree-shaped key in the heavy lock on the shed door Are we ready for another adventure Casey asked when the lock fell open Luis nodded He felt bad that he hadnʼt told his dad about what they had done But he was afraid his father would stop them from helping Uncle Cyrus It had been hard waiting that morning for him to leave His father was headed out to the shed when he got a phone call from his mom She was in Puerto Rico taking care of Luisʼs grandmother and needed his father to send her more money Luis glanced back at the house
Don't worry weʼll be back in a couple of minutes from now no matter how long the adventure lasts Tyler said Your dad wonʼt have time to get to the bank and back again I know Luis said But if we get stuck Dad wonʼt know I have to leave a note for him They walked across the shed to the time machine It was quiet After the last trip they had remembered to put back the green tarp that covered it when they first found it Luis took the journal from his great-great great-great-uncle Cyrus He tore out a blank piece of paper and wrote on it Dad I’m leaving this in case something goes wrong Tyler and Casey and I found the key to the shed and the time machine We’ve used it twice It’s a long story But we found Uncle Cyrus He’s trapped in time with the machine We’re trying to help him I’m sorry I didn’t tell you If we aren’t back tonight something is wrong Please find us
Luis pulled a chair next to the machine He set the note on top of the journal and set them both on the chair Okay Iʼm ready now he said Casey entered the secret code their ages on the keyboard that opened the time machineʼs door She pressed 10 10 10 It had been too easy to figure out that their fathers had used their ages as the code Inside the machine remained quiet Okay so whereʼs your uncle Tyler asked He bent down and tapped Steelʼs back with the handle of his crutch The robot cat stood silent Casey walked around the small room We donʼt know where Cyrus wants us to go We canʼt just take off into any time Itʼs too dangerous Steelʼs eyes glowed red His whiskers shook I am here Cyrusʼs voice said through Steelʼs speakers Please set the dates on the machine
and come quickly You must be here before we go under Luis raised his eyebrows Under Under what Under the ground Cyrus said Luis grinned at his friends Underground They had been in space and in a haunted house and now they were going someplace completely different Please set the date for April 12 1923 Cyrus said Luis waited until his friends were in their seats He set the dials on the control panel Okay here we go again he said as he pressed the button Luis took a deep breath closed his eyes and waited for the pressure that came with twisting through time His face felt tight then loose as if flapping in the wind of a strong storm His body seemed
