It had happened again. Jedediah and Octavius had lost track of time, and hadn't made it to their proper places on their dioramas by sunrise.
Larry wouldn't have minded if it hadn't happened every night for the past week. And that he was getting yelled at by Dr McPhee for the cowboy leader that was standing on the Roman diorama.
Luckily, this time, he was standing slightly away from the Roman general, and not caught in an awkward position to separate them from. Unlike the day before; Jedediah and Octavius had been frozen at the moment Jedediah had tripped over something - Octavius firmly believes it was air - and the cowboy had reached his arms out to take the brunt of the fall. The westerner fell into the Roman, and, if you hadn't have known the story, you would assume they had been having a private moment. It looked rather intimate.
—
That night, the night guard had come up with a plan to get the pair to be at their correct places when the sun rose.
An alarm clock, set to go off five minutes before sunrise, was placed on the bench in the centre of the Hall of Miniatures.
The rest of his plan would not be able to be carried out until the next day - the museum closed for minor renovations. Larry had the idea to create a disguised tunnel between the two displays - using the train tunnel as the Wild West's cover, and the wall around the city as the Roman's.
—
The first night, with only the alarm clock, Octavius had almost made it back to the Roman exhibit - he was hanging from the ledge of the display, and Larry had to move him. He was luckily in a somewhat similar position to normal.
—
On the second night, Jedediah had gotten caught in the new tunnel as the sun rose. If Dr McPhee had noticed the seemingly missing cowboy, he didn't say anything.
—
On the third night, both miniatures were standing in their correct positions, right when they froze as day had broke.
—
On the fifth, sixth and seventh day, neither Jedediah and Octavius could be found after sunrise - Larry suspected that they were using the tunnel inappropriately.
—
On the eighth day, Larry was proven right.
The two miniatures were nearer the Roman's side of the display, where the tunnel was less disguised. The night guard simply had to glance in the general direction of it to see what truly was going on. Hats and other pieces of clothing were piled near to the tunnel's opening, and Larry needed to see no more.
"I really need to get those guys watches." he said, as he shook his head, not in disappointment, but in amusement.