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Dedication

To Emily

Chapter 1

“Come on you two, it’s going to rain.” Katherine searched for her twin brothers in the woods near their house. Andy and Zach liked playing Hide And Seek, sneaking up on her as she looked for them among the thick trees.

“You have to find us first,” one of them called out. Katherine hurried toward the voice just as another rumbling of thunder sounded in the distance.

“I mean it. We’ve got to go inside right now.” Katherine was in the third grade, much too grown up to play silly games with her brothers. They thought they were grown up themselves, since they were in the first grade.

Katherine lunged around the tree where she’d heard one of her brothers voices call, but he was already gone! How did they do that? It was almost as if they could pop in and out of thin air!

She heard some giggling, then spotted one of their shirt tails peeking out from behind a tree. Katherine crept closer and closer, all ready to yell, “Boo,” when the air shimmered around her just before there was another explosion of thunder.

All thought of scaring the boys was gone. “We’ve got to get home now!”

She knew she was going to have to drag them by their ears to get them to come with her. Sometimes it was tough being the oldest.

“What’s this?” Andy asked as he prodded the bark of a hollow tree nearby.

Zach said, “Move over, let me see.”

Katherine could tell the twins apart, but almost nobody else could. Andy’s eyes were just a little bluer than his brother’s, and Zach had a freckle on his cheek that didn’t quite match Andy’s.

“Come on, guys,” she prodded. “Quit stalling.”

“Wait a second. I’m almost...there. I got it!”

Katherine’s next words died in the air. A big section of the bark swung open! It was a door, hidden inside the bark of the tree!

Chapter 2

“Look, there are steps,” Andy said as he disappeared inside. Zach was right on his heels.

“Wait a second.” Katherine frowned, then followed them. After all, how far could they go?

Farther than she would have ever dreamed. The steep and narrow steps led down into the heart of the earth. They had gone down five or six steps when they heard a low, groaning noise coming from below!

Something was down there!

Katherine turned around in the narrow stairway with both boys close behind her. Before she could get to the door, though, the bark slammed shut, sealing itself so tightly that she couldn’t even see where the door had been! A soft glowing light came from below them, just enough for them to see by.

There was no chance to get out the way they’d just come. The only way left was down.

“I don’t like this,” Zach whispered.

Andy said, “You’re not afraid, are you?”

“No way,” Zach said, “but I bet Katherine is.”

Katherine was shaking in her shoes, but she knew she had to keep her brothers from being scared. “Let’s see where this leads.”

Katherine squeezed past them and started down the steps. As she walked, the groaning got louder and louder, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle.

The stairs finally ended, opening into a narrow room. At first, Katherine couldn’t see what was making the noise. There was a small toy desk in one corner of the room, complete with its own chair and doll. Why, there was even a tiny book on the desktop! The room was barely large enough for her to stand up in; she’d have to be careful not to stretch on her tiptoes.

As Katherine looked closer, something startling happened. The doll moved! It was alive!

She drew a sharp breath, and the doll saw her. It was no doll at all, but a tiny little man, no bigger than a foot tall!

In a rich voice, he said, “Could it be, are you the Stitcher I’ve called?”

Katherine was too surprised to answer. Andy and Zach had crowded her until she was forced out into the light. Katherine could see the little man much clearer now. He had long flowing white hair and a beard that matched; he had the darkest eyes she’d ever seen in her life.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to intrude,” Katherine said.

“You’re always welcome here, Miss Stitcher.”

“I’m Katherine O’Shea,” she said as she curtsied. Her brothers rushed forward and bowed.

“I’m Andy,” one said, “and I’m Zach,” said the other. “We’re A to Z,” Andy added with a grin.

The little man stood solemnly and returned their bow. “I am Malachi Crowe. Hurry now, you must hurry before the Time Wave hits.”

“What’s a time wave?” Andy asked.

Katherine remembered the shimmer in the air. “Is it when the air wiggles and wavers, and the thunder booms without rain?”

Malachi nodded. “I knew it, you are a Stitcher. Only a true Stitcher can see the wave. It’s already started then.”

Zach said, “I didn’t see any wave.”

“Me, either,” Andy said.

“It happened,” Katherine said, “I’m not making it up.”

Malachi said, “Of course it happened, but there’s no time to lose. You must be off.”

“We tried to go, sir,” Katherine said, “but the tree won’t let us leave.”

Malachi said, “You can only go forward, never back. Now you must hurry.”

Zach said, “Where do we have to go?”

“The Book of Time will show the way.” Malachi Crowe opened a large door behind him. It was so big, Katherine thought he might have trouble with it, but he swung it open with ease.

Katherine tried to look inside the opening. “It’s awfully dark in there.”

Andy and Zach prodded her forward. “Hey, stop pushing,” she said.

“It’s not us. The little guy is shoving us through.”

“The name’s Malachi Crowe, as I told you before. There’s no time to talk, we must go through.”

Chapter 3

The small passageway opened into a large room, lit by golden balls that glowed along the ceiling. There were a dozen doors lining the walls, and in the center of the room was a black iron stand that held a book covered with the oddest scratches and squiggles Katherine had ever seen in her life.

“Show us the way, show us the day,” Malachi said, and the oddest thing happened. The book and stand started to spin, faster and faster, until it was just a blur in the center of the room. Katherine tried to pull her gaze away, but her eyes couldn’t leave the book. At last it slowed, then stopped. She saw that it was pointing to one of the doors. A date glowed brightly on the door’s face: June 1752.

“You must go through that one,” Malachi said.

“Will it lead us out of here?” Katherine asked.

“The only way back is forward, and the only way forward is back.”

“Stop speaking in riddles,” Katherine said.

“If you ever want to get out, you must stitch the rip in time.”

Andy said, “How do we do that?”

Katherine said, “I’ll handle this.” She paused a second, and then asked, “How do we do that?”

Malachi said, “You must fix the tear in the fabric of time. Palifar has torn it with his meddling. You’ve been Summoned, Miss Katherine. You and your brothers can do it, I know it in my heart.” He looked hard at her. “You love inventions, don’t you?”

She nodded slowly. “I do, but how did you know that?”

“You answered my Summons, didn’t you? Trust in what you know, Katherine.” Malachi added, “But you must go now, before it’s too late!”

Zach ran toward the door. “Let’s go, slowpokes.”

Katherine shouted, “Zachary James O’Shea, come back here this second.”

By the time she was finished with his name, he was gone, with Andy close on his heels.

Katherine couldn’t help herself. As she passed the book on the stand, she reached out one finger and stroked the cover gently. Katherine felt a shock as she touched the book and jerked her hand away. In her mind, she saw the quick image of a man’s face. Katherine knew he was in trouble, and somehow she also knew that she and her brothers were the only ones who could help him!

Katherine caught up with Andy and Zach quickly. She had to keep her brothers out of trouble, no matter where the door led to.

Or when.

Chapter 4

The door opened onto night, though it had been the middle of the afternoon when they’d gone down the steps of the hollow tree. The storm was in full force, not like the promise of the one they’d had back home. The wind whipped icy rain at them as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky.

Zach laughed the second he saw his sister. “Look at you.”

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked as she looked down at herself. Instead of the shorts and T shirt she’d been wearing, Katherine now wore a printed dress that brushed the ground! She could feel a thin muslin kerchief wrapped around her shoulders, and a ruffled cap on her head. Andy and Zach were dressed just alike, in brown velvet suits that stopped at their knees, long white socks down to black leather shoes and topped off with hats that both had three sides pulled up on them.

Through the trees, Katherine could see an open area, and a road just beyond it, dotted with horse pulled carriages moving quickly in the storm.

From their clothes, Katherine knew that she and her brothers had moved back in time!

So that’s what Malachi Crowe had meant.

Now how in the world were they supposed to stitch time back together and get home?

“Look, there’s a man flying a kite,” Andy said, pointing to the field.

Katherine saw the man’s outline in a glimmering bolt of lightning. The large man wore an outfit much like her brothers wore, even down to the three cornered hat! Katherine knew instantly who it was! It was the man in her Vision!

“That’s Benjamin Franklin,” she shouted over the storm.

“What is he doing?” Zach asked.

Andy said, “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

Katherine caught each brother by an arm. “Wait a second. I need to think about this.”

Katherine thought about what she’d read about Benjamin Franklin’s experiments with kites and keys and thunderstorms.

She knew he was trying to attract lightning with it! Most people thought Mr. Franklin’s kite flying was safe, but Katherine knew better! Lightning was dangerous, and other men had died trying to do what Mr. Franklin was trying to do!

Had that been what Palifar had been up to? She had to stop Mr. Franklin before it was too late!

“Andy, Zach, I need you to be good and follow me.”

She walked into the storm toward Mr. Franklin.

“Stop! You must stop,” she yelled over the driving wind and rain.

At first, Mr. Franklin didn’t hear her, he was so intent on the kite flying high above them. When he finally noticed them, he looked startled to find three children out in the storm.

“You must go back inside,” Mr. Franklin said. “The storm is full of danger.”

“You’re the one in danger, Mr. Franklin,” Katherine said. “You’ve got to let your kite go. It’s too dangerous!”

“Nonsense, young lady. My son William and I have already tapped the lightning once. Why, I even brushed the key with my knuckles and felt the spark! Don’t worry about me.”

Andy said, “Where is your son? I’d like to play with him.”

“I’m afraid he’s too old for that. He’ll be back soon, though. I’m sure he’d be pleased to meet you.”

A flash of lightning lit up the night, and Katherine counted the seconds until she heard the thunder. Katherine knew that each second she counted meant the storm was another thousand feet away. Two seconds! The lightning was just two thousand feet away!

“It’s not close enough,” Mr. Franklin complained.

“It’s too close, if you ask me,” Andy said as he nodded at his brother.

Katherine couldn’t believe it when Zach yelled at Mr. Franklin, “Nanna nanna boo boo, you can’t catch me.”

As Mr. Franklin stared at him, Andy reached up and grabbed the kite string, along with the attached key! Mr. Franklin reached for it, but the fierce wind quickly jerked the kite out of Andy’s hand!

A second later, there was another lightning strike, this one so close Katherine had to hold her hands over ears from the exploding boom! The lightning hit the kite, shattering it into a thousand pieces!

Chapter 5

Mr. Franklin stared at what was left of his kite as Katherine tugged on his arm.

“You must get inside,” she said, “before the storm gets any worse.”

Mr. Franklin nodded and led them to a nearby house. “William is waiting for me there, come along, children.”

“We can’t go with you,” Katherine yelled over the storm.

“Nonsense, you can’t stay out in this weather,” Mr. Franklin said.

“We aren’t going to,” Katherine said. “We’re going home.”

“It’s a wise idea for all of us,” Mr. Franklin said. “Come see me tomorrow. I’d like to thank you properly for saving me.”

“Sorry, we can’t. Just remember, no more kites!”

Mr. Franklin nodded as he smiled. “I promise. At least not in thunderstorms.”

Andy, Zach and Katherine hurried back toward the tree where they’d come out, but they couldn’t find it in the dark!

“We’re lost,” Andy said.

“Katherine?” Zach asked. “Do you know where the tree is?”

Katherine didn’t have the slightest idea. How did Malachi Crowe expect them to get home if they couldn’t find the tree? Suddenly, there was a shimmer in the air, exactly the opposite of the glimmer Katherine had seen earlier back home. The instant the air stopped wiggling and squiggling, she saw the bright glow of a door outlined in one of the trees nearby.

“There it is,” she shouted as they all ran toward it. Andy had it open in a second, and the three of them were soon inside again, safe from the storm.

Chapter 6

Malachi was there to greet them, a broad smile on his tiny face. “I knew you were the ones,” he said, laughing lightly. “Mr. Franklin is well, I take it?”

“So you knew all along where we were going,” Katherine said.

“The Book of Time told me, Miss Katherine, but I couldn’t tell you. At least not this time. Your first stitch had to be made on your own.”

Andy asked, “What do you mean, our first stitch? Do we get to do this again?”

Zach said eagerly, “I’m ready, let’s go now.”

Katherine held up her hand. “Slow down, guys, we’re not going anywhere until I get some answers.”

Malachi smiled at her. “The only answers I have are there,” he said as he nodded toward the book.

“We can’t just leave anytime there’s trouble,” Katherine explained. “We’ve got school, and Mom and Dad would worry about us if we just disappeared.”

“One of the things about the Book of Time,” Malachi said, “is that no time passes on the outside world. When you leave here, it will be the exact moment you came in.”

Andy and Zach said, “Whoopee, so what are we waiting for?”

Malachi said, “When I call you, when the air tingles and jumps and glimmers and shimmers, when the thunder booms without a cloud in the sky, come back to the tree and I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Which door leads home?” Katherine asked.

“Let’s ask the book,” Malachi said. “Show us the day, show us the way...back home.”

The book began to spin again, and soon came to a rest. Malachi pointed. “There’s the way back to your home.”

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