The Time Warp Wonder Read online

  CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

  The bells on the helmet rang as Phil’s eyes darted back and forth.

  “I don’t have a hamster,” Phil said. “What kind of question is that?”

  Joe and Frank traded sideways glances. If Phil didn’t have a hamster, why were the lie detector bells ringing out of control?

  “Next question,” Frank piped up. “Do you own a hamster? As a pet?”

  “No,” Phil replied quickly.

  This time the bells didn’t ring.

  “Then by any chance,” asked Joe, “do you have someone else’s hamster in your room?”

  CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

  “Arrrgh!” Phil cried. He pulled off the helmet with the jangling bells. “What’s with all the questions about hamsters? I don’t want to do this anymore.”

  “But your club isn’t here yet,” Frank said.

  “I promised to help my mom make snacks,” Phil said, handing the helmet back to Joe. “You guys know the way out. I’ll see you Monday.”

  As Phil headed toward the kitchen, Joe whispered, “We also know the way to Phil’s room.”

  “What does that mean?” whispered Frank.

  “It means,” Joe whispered back, “it’s time for a little hamster hunt.”

  Joe kept the bells from ringing as he and Frank climbed the stairs to Phil’s room. It looked like a mad scientist’s lab, filled with things Phil had invented.

  Joe placed the lie detector helmet on Phil’s desk. Then he and Frank searched the room for any hamster signs.

  “I see a ton of gadgets and gizmos,” Frank said, “but no hamster.”

  “I don’t see any hamster stuff either,” added Joe. “No hamster cage, toys, or bag of cedar chips—”

  “Wait, Joe,” Frank cut in. He pointed to a table against one of the walls. On it was something bulky covered with a white sheet.

  “What do you think is under there?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Joe said. “Let’s check it out.”

  The brothers walked toward the table. When Joe saw something sticking out from under the sheet, he gulped.

  “Frank . . . it’s a paw!” he said. “The same hamster paw I saw in Phil’s pocket.”

  “What’s that whirring noise?” Frank asked. “We have to see what’s underneath the sheet!”

  He yanked the sheet away. Lying on the table was a hairy hamster with flashing red eyes!

  “Holy cannoli!” Joe cried.

  The hamster gave a sudden jerk. Frank and Joe jumped back as it rolled off the table onto the floor. It landed on both feet with a CLUNK before lumbering forward!

  “Now I know what Phil did with Crusty,” Joe shouted. “He created a Frankenhamster!”

  Chapter 7

  Hairy Scary

  WHIRRRRRR! The Frankenhamster lumbered forward.

  Frank and Joe were about to run out of the room, when Phil and more kids filed in. The brothers recognized some kids from the Junior Inventors Club.

  “What are you doing in my room?” Phil asked.

  Austin Ling, the nine-year-old president of the club, stepped forward. “And what are you doing with our latest invention?” he asked with a nod at the Frankenhamster.

  “Invention, huh?” Joe snorted. “More like mad science!”

  “Is that Crusty, Phil?” Frank asked. “What did you do with him?”

  Phil pointed to the Frankenhamster. “Does that look like Crusty to you?” he asked. “That’s Hammy, our robo-hamster.”

  “Robo-hamster?” Joe repeated.

  “This project was supposed to be top secret,” Austin said angrily. “How did you guys find out about it?”

  “We’re detectives,” replied Frank. “It’s our job to find out things.”

  Another club member, Allison Kernkraut from the third grade, stepped forward.

  “And it’s our job to invent awesome stuff,” she said with a smile. “Hammy is for the annual Young Inventors Competition next month.”

  “Robo-hamsters don’t need food or goofy hamster toys,” Phil said. “Just double-A batteries.”

  “And you never have to clean out a yucky cage,” Allison added. “That’s the best part about owning a robo-hamster!”

  A sudden CLUNK made the kids whirl around. Hammy had fallen onto his back, and his legs were kicking in the air.

  “Hmm,” Austin said. “We’ve got to work on that.”

  While the others tended to Hammy, Phil turned to Frank and Joe. “Is that why you guys were in my room?” he asked. “You thought I had taken Crusty?”

  Joe didn’t answer. He picked up his lie detector helmet and held it out to Phil. “Could you put this on, Phil?” he asked.

  “Joe, what are you doing?” asked Frank. “We already asked Phil a bunch of questions.”

  “Not all the questions,” Joe said.

  “Okay, I’ll do it,” Phil said. “But only because it’s a pretty neat invention.”

  The bells jangled as Phil pulled on the helmet. When they stopped ringing, Joe asked the first question: “I saw a little furry paw sticking out of your pocket yesterday. Was it Crusty’s paw?”

  “Nope,” Phil said.

  Frank and Joe waited for the bells to ring. They did not.

  “Next question, Phil,” Joe said. “Was that paw in your pocket Hammy’s paw?”

  “Yup!” Phil said with a smile.

  The bells stayed silent. Phil was telling the truth.

  “I made the paws myself out of papier-mâché!” Phil explained proudly. “I brought one to school to show Austin. After school we attached the paws to Hammy.”

  The bells remained silent. Phil was telling the truth again.

  “I have no idea why Crusty was missing from my time machine,” Phil said as he took off the helmet, “and I don’t want Chet to be mad at me forever.”

  “We’ll find Crusty, Phil,” Joe promised. “Even if we have to travel back in your time machine!”

  “Joe,” Frank sighed.

  The brothers thanked Phil and the Junior Inventors Club. After leaving the Cohen house, they began to walk home.

  “We forgot to tell Phil about the weird hamster pictures we’ve been getting,” Joe said.

  “It’s a good thing we didn’t,” Frank said. “Phil’s club would think he really invented a time machine.”

  “What’s so crazy about that?” Joe asked. He stopped walking to cross Phil’s name off their suspect list. “Our only suspect now is Adam.”

  “We still don’t have any clues that Adam took Crusty,” Frank said. “Except that we saw him run out of the lunchroom.”

  “I can think of another clue,” said Joe with a frown. “He’s a bully!”

  When he and Frank reached the Hardy house, they found a surprise on their doorstep. It was a pizza box!

  “Pizza for dinner,” Joe exclaimed. “Awesome!”

  “Why would Mom and Dad leave it outside to get cold like that?” Frank asked.

  Joe thought it was weird too, especially when he heard his parents’ voices inside the house. “The delivery guy always rings the bell,” he said. “So what’s up?”

  Frank opened the box. There was no pizza inside. But there was a sheet of paper taped to the inside of the lid.

  “It’s a picture,” Frank said, peeling it off.

  Joe looked at the photo and said, “It’s like those old-timey pictures I see in my history books.”

  The photo showed a crowd of people. The men wore high hats. The women wore long dresses with wide skirts.

  Frank pointed to a man standing behind a speaker’s podium. “There’s something else we see in our history books—a president!”

  Joe recognized the president right away. “That’s Abraham Lincoln!” he said.

  But then he saw another surprise. Standing sideways in the crowd was a furry creature dressed in a coat and high hat.

  “The guy behind the podium may be President Lincoln,” Joe pointed out, “but the guy with the furry face and
whiskers—is Crusty!”

  Chapter 8

  Fetching Find

  Joe couldn’t believe his eyes as he studied the picture. “Abraham Lincoln was president in the middle of the 1800s,” he told Frank, “which means Crusty is back there now.”

  Joe counted his fingers as he did the math. “First Crusty was back in the days of dinosaurs, then in the Middle Ages, and now he’s in the 1800s!”

  “So?” Frank said.

  “So Crusty is going forward in time!” Joe said excitedly. “Soon he’ll be back home with Chet and Iola!”

  Frank looked to see if the hamster had a white spot. But his coat covered his stomach.

  “Even if it is Crusty, where did he get all those clothes?” Frank asked. “I don’t remember Phil having a tiny hamster wardrobe in his time machine.”

  “Then how do you explain the picture in the pizza box?” asked Joe.

  “I told you a hundred times,” Frank groaned. “The person who took Crusty is just messing with us.”

  “The person took all the pizza, too,” Joe said, “with extra cheese and anchovies.”

  “How do you know the pizza had anchovies?” Frank asked.

  Joe pointed to pieces of toppings stuck to the box. “See the hairy little fish?” he said. “Who likes those things on their pizza anyway?”

  “Hey,” Frank said slowly. “Didn’t Adam tell us he likes anchovies on his pizza?”

  Joe’s eyes lit up. “Adam does like anchovies!” he declared. “If the pizza was his, so was the picture in the pizza box!”

  “We’re throwing this stinky thing away,” said Frank, shutting the box. “Then, first thing tomorrow, we’re finding Adam.”

  “What if Adam doesn’t answer our questions?” Joe asked. “The pizza box can’t be our only evidence.”

  Frank agreed, until he got an idea.

  “You tried out your science project on Phil,” he said with a grin. “I’m trying mine out on Adam Ackerman!”

  “Are you sure it’s October, Frank?” Joe asked. “It’s almost as hot as summer.”

  “It’s October for sure,” said Frank. He pointed to someone’s porch draped with cobwebs and paper spiders. “That’s the third house with Halloween decorations we’ve seen this morning.”

  It was Sunday after breakfast as the brothers made their way to the Ackerman house. In Frank’s hand was a Frisbee coated with powdered sugar.

  “All that dusty stuff is making my nose tickle,” Joe complained. “Why did you sugarcoat your Frisbee again?”

  “Because I’m going to throw the Frisbee at Adam,” Frank explained. “When Adam catches it, he’ll leave his fingerprints all over the powdered sugar.”

  “Then what?” Joe asked.

  “Then we run with the Frisbee to school,” Frank explained, “and match Adam’s fingerprints with the fingerprints on the time machine’s door handle.”

  “Why do we need his fingerprints, Frank?” Joe asked.

  “To match the door on the other side of the time machine. We know his fingerprints will be on the door on the side we were all facing when Crusty disappeared. But if Adam’s fingerprints are on the door on the other side of the machine, then that means he snuck around to the other side when the mist was everywhere. And if we know that, then we know he took Crusty!”

  “Wow. Good thinking, Frank. Only one issue; it’s Sunday,” Joe said. “Are you sure the school is open?”

  “I know it’s open for school clubs,” said Frank. “Let’s hope the lunchroom is open too, so we can get to Phil’s time machine!”

  Joe felt his stomach sink when they reached the Ackerman house. Meeting with the biggest school bully was never fun!

  Frank rang the doorbell. No one answered.

  “Maybe the Ackermans are in their backyard,” he said. “It’s a nice day.”

  “No day with Adam is a nice day, Frank,” Joe muttered. “But let’s check out the back.”

  Frank and Joe walked around the house. They slowed as they approached an open window.

  “I think I hear Adam’s voice,” Frank whispered.

  The window was low enough for the boys to look through. Inside the Ackermans’ den were Adam and his friend Tony Riccio. Adam’s back was toward the window as he sat at a computer station. Tony stood nearby, taking pictures of—

  “A hamster!” Joe whispered.

  The little hamster was wearing an astronaut helmet. He stood calmly on a stack of books while Tony took more pictures.

  “That hamster can’t belong to Adam,” Frank whispered. “He just has two dogs.”

  “Woof!”

  Frank and Joe turned away from the window. Standing behind them were two dalmatians.

  “Two big dogs, Frank!” Joe gulped.

  Joe tried to wave the dogs away, but it was too late. They kept barking until Adam and Tony turned toward the window.

  “Hey!” Adam growled when he saw Frank and Joe. “What are you doing here?”

  “We’re playing Frisbee!” Joe said as he grabbed the sugarcoated Frisbee from Frank. “Catch!”

  “Joe, what are you doing?” Frank hissed.

  “Getting Adam’s fingerprints,” Joe whispered.

  He tossed the Frisbee, and it soared through the open window. So did the dogs!

  “Woof, woof, woof!”

  Adam caught the Frisbee. His dogs leaped all over him to get it!

  “Hardys!” Adam shouted from under his persistent pets. “You’ll be sorry!”

  Chapter 9

  Squeeze Play

  “Come on, Joe,” Frank said. “Let’s go!”

  The brothers raced away from the window. They froze when they saw Mrs. Ackerman carrying supermarket bags toward the house.

  “Are you boys here to visit Adam?” she asked with a smile. “Why don’t you come inside and surprise him?”

  “Um . . . I think we already surprised him, Mrs. Ackerman,” Joe said. Frank nudged him with his elbow.

  “We will, Mrs. Ackerman,” Frank said. “Thanks.”

  As they followed Adam’s mother, Joe whispered, “Why are we going into the house, Frank?”

  “Because Mrs. Ackerman is being nice!” his brother whispered back. “That’s why.”

  “Okay, okay,” Joe sighed, “but Adam won’t be nice when he sees us again!”

  Adam was still on the floor when Frank and Joe entered the den. Tony grunted as he tried prying the Frisbee from one dog’s mouth. The hamster, still wearing his space helmet, watched from the stack of books.

  “Sorry, Adam,” Joe said. “I should know not to throw a Frisbee into the house.”

  “Or near dogs, genius!” Adam snapped as he stood up. “You know how they get around Frisbees!”

  Adam dusted powdered sugar off his shirt. “And what’s with all this sugar on your Frisbee? I look like a jelly doughnut.”

  “It’s part of Frank’s project for the science fair,” Joe said. “Tell him about it, Frank . . . . Frank?”

  Joe looked around the room for his brother. He found Frank facing the computer. Joe looked over Frank’s shoulder. On the screen there was a picture of a hamster in outer space!

  “This picture is like the others we got,” Frank said, “of the hamster traveling through time.”

  Adam’s eyes lit up when he heard about the pictures. He puffed his chest out proudly.

  “How did you like the big one on your garage door?” he asked. “I used a special program on my dad’s laptop to project the picture hundreds of times its size!”

  “So that was you hiding in the hedges,” Joe said. “How come we didn’t see you?”

  “I guess I’m a fast runner,” said Adam.

  Joe frowned as he recalled Adam running from the lunchroom. “We know that,” he said. “You’re also fast at something else.”

  “Oh yeah?” Adam asked. “What?”

  Joe pointed to the hamster. “Snatching Crusty out of Phil’s time machine—”

  “Um, Joe,” Frank interrupted.<
br />
  Joe turned to Frank. “What?”

  “That’s not Crusty,” Frank said. “Crusty has a white spot on his stomach. That hamster doesn’t.”

  Joe looked at the hamster’s stomach. Frank was right. No white spot. No Crusty.

  “Oh. Okay,” Joe said. “Who is he, then?”

  “My pet hamster,” Tony answered. “His name is Squeaky!”

  “I wanted you to think Squeaky was Crusty,” Adam told the brothers, “and that he really did travel back in time.”

  “Ha!” Joe scoffed. “As if I would ever believe that!”

  Frank raised an eyebrow at Joe. Seriously?

  “Next I was just going to put Squeaky in outer space,” Adam said excitedly. “So you would think he was on his way to the future!”

  “Why did you do all that, Adam?” asked Frank.

  “Because it’s fun,” Adam said with a shrug. “And I wanted to mess with you.”

  “That explains the hamster pictures,” Joe said. “But it doesn’t explain something else.”

  “What?” Adam asked, annoyed.

  “Why did you run out of the lunchroom?” asked Joe.

  Adam’s face suddenly burned red. “The mist and all those lights on the time machine reminded me of something,” he snapped.

  “Reminded you of what?” Frank asked.

  “I bet it reminded Adam of a creepy Halloween house we went to last week,” Tony said, and laughed. “He was so scared, he ran out of that, too. You should have seen him—”

  “Zip it, Tony!” Adam cut in.

  Frank and Joe traded grins. So Adam hadn’t taken Crusty. He was scared of creepy Halloween houses. But that wasn’t all they had learned about Adam . . . .

  “We didn’t know you were so good with computers, Adam,” Frank said. “How did you make those pictures?”

  “I looked online for pictures of different times in history,” Adam explained, “and then I used a special program to make it look like Squeaky was there.”

  “I took the pictures of Squeaky,” said Tony. “It’s a good thing Jet Set Pet had teeny Halloween costumes for hamsters.”

  Adam gazed at his computer and sighed.