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studied the pale markings, Griffin realized what the pages contained.
    His uncle’s inventions!
    A dazzling array of complex machinery, all carefully drawn with a fountain pen, sprawled over the notebook pages. Griffin felt that he had never in his life seen so many amazing ideas displayed at once!
    Griffin marveled at his uncle’s creativity. It seemed that there was no end to the things he planned to build. He slowly turned the pages, noting the name of each invention and the description and illustration beside each one.
    The Snodgrass Sweeper . Next to the description, Griffin saw a sketch of a funnel-shaped device with a brush-driven propeller inside of it.
    The Snodgrass Electronic Ear . A listening device held next to a man’s head with curling wires extending for many yards in front of him. At the base of the wires, Griffin saw something that looked like the end of a doctor’s stethoscope. He assumed that the invention was supposed to allow the listener to eavesdrop on conversations.
    Could be useful , Griffin thought. But not very polite .
    He turned the page.
    The Snodgrass Foot Wing . Griffin tried to muffle a laugh when he saw the sketch. It was a mechanical wing attached to an old boot. Was it supposed to make someone fly or run really fast? In spite of his uncle’s brilliance, Griffin felt that he might be prone to a couple of crackpot ideas once in a while.
    He perused the rest of the journal, casually noting the many devices. Most were devoted to some aspect of self-defense or crime solving. But occasionally, there were sketches of things so unusual that Griffin had a hard time making sense of them.
    He was about to return the journal to the bedside table when his eyes fell on the description of a truly remarkable device.
    The Snodgrass Chrono-Teleporter . Griffin raised his eyebrows as he studied the illustration. He’d seen his uncle working on this device back on Baker Street, and Rupert had told him that it was shaping up to be the greatest invention he’d ever made. The mechanical drawing extended over several pages, detailing intricate clockworks and mathematical formulae.
    But when he turned to the last detailed sketch, he had to smirk. All of this incredibly complicated machinery was contained in a very unlikely shell.
    â€œWhy, it’s just a silly old teapot,” he said.
    â€œThere’s nothing silly about it, boy,” croaked an irritated voice.
    Griffin jumped at the sound. His eyes shot from the journal to the bed, and he felt the notebook slip from his hands, hitting the floor with a thud as he stared, unbelieving, at what he saw.
    His uncle’s eyes were open!
    Happy tears blurred his vision as Griffin moved automatically to his uncle’s bedside. Rupert, who was still very pale, stared up at him with a weak version of his usual scowl.
    â€œIt’s not a teapot at all, boy,” he growled. “It’s a device made for traveling through time. Anyone with half a brain could’ve seen that.”
    But the outrageous claim didn’t register with Griffin. All he could think about was the fact that God had heard his prayers and that his uncle Rupert was going to be okay. Relief flooded through him as he gave his uncle’s hand a gentle squeeze. Then Griffin rushed back toward the door and called down the deserted hallway.
    â€œDad, come quick!” Griffin shouted. “Uncle Rupert is awake!”

7
HOMECOMING
    T he carriage ride from the hospital seemed to last an eternity to Griffin, and felt even longer for Rupert. Every jostle and bump elicited a cry of pain from the bruised and battered detective. The doctors had concluded that Rupert’s arm had not been broken but was badly sprained and that his cracked ribs would be just fine in a matter of weeks. But Griffin’s uncle was absolutely certain that the bumpy ride was bound to make the recovery last much longer.
    While they traveled, Rupert scowled and spat at the