Page 62 - Lulu and Bob in Verbo City

“Wow! You’re right, Bob!” Lulu shook her head in wonderment.
Could some of her intelligence be rubbing off on her brother? “‘On
top of Old Smokey’. This really is some logogriph he cooked up.”
“That can refer to only thing in this room,” said Bob, rising from
his chair amid a shower of crumbs. “Uncle’s ancient stove. It’s
perfectly ventilated, but whenever he chars anything on the burners
or in the oven he blames the designer and manufacturer. I’m going to
look on top of the oven: hold the chair, would you?”
Lulu steadied the rickety kitchen chair while Bob stood on it. “Ah,
rats! Nothing up here but a note: ‘Nice try’, it says.”
“Then the acrostic was an elaborate ruse!” Lulu helped Bob down.
“But the poem is telling us we’ve forgotten something. What else
could it be? There are too many hiding places in the kitchen to take it
apart in the time we’ve got left. I wonder if my watch is right: is there
a clock in here?”
“Yes, an old digital clock up on that cabinet over the sink. But it’s
not working: it stopped at 23:59:59. I guess it couldn’t make it over
the diurnal divide.”
“Okay, I’ll have to believe my own chronometer. We’ve got to get
out of here or miss our bus. And we’re out of clues, unless we have,
as the poem reminds us, forgotten one. Wait—let me see that
message Uncle Bunster wrote above the rebus!” She grabbed it from
the table. “Yes! That’s it! Get back on that chair, Bob!”
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