Read Alexander Graham Bell: Master of Sound #7 for Free Online

mother’s skin.
    Maisie slipped her cold hand into her pocket, and touched the magnet there. She had a feeling that this magnet belonged to the boy standing in front her, the boy who could make a dog talk.

    As soon as Felix saw Maisie and Hadley enter the theater, relief washed over him. He tried to catch his sister’s attention, but she was too busy talking to the boy walking beside her. Hadley was distracted too, but not by a boy. Instead, Felix could tell by the look of wonder on her face that she was too awed by being back in time to even think about him or her sister. He saw that same look on Rayne’s face as the idea of time travel settled over her.
    Felix sighed, watching Maisie and Hadley, three boys, and a woman he guessed was the boys’ mother make their way to the front row. He supposed there was nothing he could do now except enjoy the show.
    The theater was opulent, all red velvet seats and fancy gold trim on the walls. Felix let the Scottishbrogues in the air buzz in his ears. The people here were hard to understand, and for now he stopped trying and let himself sink into the plush seat.
    The lights flickered.
    The crowd quieted.
    A lone man, distinguished looking with his thick black beard and mane of dark hair, stepped onto the stage. His piercing eyes seemed to land on every person in the audience, drawing them in. When he finally opened his mouth and spoke, his voice echoed through the theater.
    Rayne pushed an elaborately printed program into Felix’s hand. The man on the stage’s face peered out at him, and beneath his picture, the words: PROFESSOR ALEXANDER BELL PRESENTS CHARLES DICKENS’S
DAVID COPPERFIELD
. MARCH 25, 1862. 2000 HOURS.
    Hadley pointed to the date, her eyes blazing with excitement.
    Felix nodded. 1862, he thought. By now he had learned enough about history to know what was happening back in the United States—the Civil War had begun, and Clara Barton was in Washington, DC, petitioning President Lincoln to let her on thebattlefield. What, he wondered, was happening here in Scotland?
    Professor Bell’s voice, loud and authoritative, each word perfectly enunciated, interrupted Felix’s thoughts. The man demanded attention, and for the next three hours, he had Felix’s. And that of everyone else in that theater as well. The audience sat rapt as Professor Bell told them the story of David Copperfield, whose life in London involved enough death and love and evil characters to keep Felix on the edge of his red velvet seat.

    “Stop applauding,” Felix whispered to Rayne, who had jumped to her feet so enthusiastically when the curtain came down that the woman in front of them had uttered
Americans
in disgust. “We’ve got to get to Maisie and Hadley before they leave.”
    “But Felix,” Rayne said, her eyes fixed on the stage where Professor Bell stood taking his bows, “that was the most amazing performance I’ve ever seen.”
    “I know,” Felix said, pulling her toward the end of the row. “But if we lose them, we’re in big trouble.”
    Luckily, the audience stayed put, applaudingthrough four curtain calls and allowing Felix to practically drag Rayne to the front of the theater.
    And luckily, too. Even though Hadley was as mesmerized as her sister, Maisie was frantically searching for Felix.
    When their eyes met, Maisie broke into a smile, waving her brother over to where she stood.
    The boy next to her studied Felix and Rayne with curiosity.
    “You have these vinyl coats, too,” he said.
    Felix glanced down at his slicker.
    “That was the most incredible show,” Rayne gushed.
    “Father is said to do Dickens better than Dickens,” said the taller boy.
    Maisie looked surprised. “Wait, Aleck. Professor Bell is your father?” she asked.
    The boy nodded.
    In an instant, all the facts collided for Felix.
    But before he could ask the question, Maisie beat him to it.
    “Then
you
must also be a Bell? Alexander—”
    Aleck was nodding. “Right,” he said.