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A special note: Before you read further, this is your last chance to crack the puzzle from the previous chapter.
CHAPTER NINE
Mr. Peabody slowly walked through the door and into the WABAC machine.
"Finally," he said as he sat down in the chair, feeling very exhausted. He placed his hands almost lovingly on the panels of the machine.
"I remember the day Sherman and I took that first trip," he said, "I will never forget that look in his eyes...I remember the day I first dreamed of you, and the day I first started building you, with Sherman nearby in his cradle. You are my second-greatest triumph in life."
He chuckled, and slowly swiveled his chair to face the other direction. The direction where Sherman approximately was.
"That boy is resourceful," he said, "Perhaps he learned something from me after all."
His expert hearing picked up what Sherman and his friend Penny were saying, even though they were far above him. He listened very quietly, until he was satisfied that they were almost ready.
"I'd better get started," Peabody said out loud to himself. He turned around and started to prime the WABAC for travel. The machine hadn't been fully turned on in a while, to save power, but even so Mr. Peabody knew that it was almost ready to go.
"I have to remember to adjust the instruments," he reminded himself, already starting to adjust them even as he spoke.
He stopped and listened, frowning as he did so.
"Hm. This is a little too loose. And this is a little too tight," he said. He stopped and listened again.
"Much better!" He said, finishing the last adjustment, "You're ready now for the trip back, WABAC."
He sat down in the pilot's chair, and waited for the children to finish. His hands were held out in readiness, anticipating the controls of the WABAC, as if he would press them at any second.
"As soon as this is over, I'm going to take Sherman to see the gardens," Mr. Peabody resolved, "Just like I promised."
"Hurry, Sherman!" Penny said, "We only have about twenty minutes!"
"Penny," Sherman said, "What if the instructions for the WABAC Return aren't really in page two?"
"They have to be!" Penny said, "What does the page say?"
"It says," Sherman read, "Granted, previous master makers petitioned Xandler's unhindered intellectual fallacies too freely. Just outside this unhindered system, various deuterotravelers-under jurisdictions possibly obtainable to determined beginners-systematically favored gigantic variations. Many makers zeroed-"
"Wait," said Penny, "I just had an idea! What if this is like that weird sentence, and the first letter of every word is the clue?"
"What?" Sherman asked, "Penny, of course it's not. 'Gpmmpx' is not a word. We talked about this."
"Think about it, Sherman," said Penny, "Whenever your dad left us a clue, the next clue would be kinda like the first one. Like how the reverse alphabet was in the numbers code. Since the first clue was a first-letter puzzle, why can't this one be too?"
"But even with the reverse alphabet these letters don't make sense," said Sherman.
"Well," said Penny, "Who says that your dad always left the same code?"
Penny looked at Sherman, and Sherman looked at Penny.
"I'm going to Mr. Peabody's library to find a codebook," Sherman said, getting up.
"Good idea," said Penny, picking up Sherman's notebook, "While you're doing that, I'm going to write down the first letter of each word so that we can quickly translate it."
"Right," said Sherman.
Within minutes the two of them were at the table, looking through a book from one of Mr. Peabody's collections.
"We'd better be on the right track," Sherman pointed out, "We've only got fifteen minutes now."
"Then we should hurry," Penny said, opening up the book, "Codes, codes...ugh! How can we find out which code this is in less than fifteen minutes?"
"Do you think we'll find it?" Sherman asked.
"It can't be that hard," Penny said, "If he expected you to find it when he wrote it."
She didn't mean that as an insult, and luckily Sherman didn't even notice it.
"Codes, funny picture codes, squiggly line codes..." Sherman said, flipping through the pages.
"These are the right kind," Penny said, pointing to a section of the book where all the codes were in Roman characters, "But how can we try all of these codes without running out of time?"
"Let's try this one," Sherman said, "It's a block cipher. It looks really cool."
Quickly the two of them rewrote the letters of the first sentence of page two according to that code. But they were soon disappointed.
"Nope," Penny said, "This is an even worse mess than it was before."
"How about this one?" Sherman asked, "A paragraph-word-letter code."
"No way," said Penny, "You write that code in numbers, not letters."
"I've got it!" Sherman said, "It's a cryptograph!"
"Wait, a what?"
"You solve it by sliding the letters of the alphabet!" Sherman explained, "Let's see if this fits!"
He wrote down the letters gpmmpx.
"Let me try!" Penny said. She took Sherman's notebook and wrote down underneath it, hqnnqy.
"What is that?" Sherman asked.
"I moved the letters over one space," Penny said, frowning, "But this isn't the right code, Sherman."
"Wait a minute!" Sherman said, "Maybe you were moving them the wrong way."
He rewrote the letters gpmmpx, and underneath them he moved each letter one space...to the left.
The result was that gpmmpx became the word follow.
"Sherman, you did it!" Penny said, hugging him in her excitement.
"Let's get the rest of it!" Sherman said. He sat down at the table and quickly decoded the first four hidden words.
"It says, Follow these instructions carefully," Penny read.
"If he's giving instructions, then you decode it," Sherman said, giving her the pencil, "I'll get anything we need to build the Return, since I know where everything is in my house."
"Got it," Penny said, sitting down. She started decoding the page.
"What's it say?" Sherman asked.
"Um, it says...to get a radio," Penny said, not daring to look up from her work.
Sherman raced into his bedroom and tore his old radio out from the wall.
"Now get an empty box of tissues!" Penny shouted.
"Got it!" Sherman said, stopping by the bathroom and emptying a tissue box, "What's next?"
"A big red button," Penny yelled.
Sherman ran into Mr. Peabody's room and opened a drawer full of big red buttons. He grabbed one and raced back to Penny.
"Here," he said, dumping the materials on the table, "What else?"
"Glue," she said, "A kitchen skillet, and a calender..."
The list seemed to go on forever as Sherman raced throughout the house, grabbing whatever materials Mr. Peabody had called for. Penny, meanwhile, began to turn the page and decode page three.
"And here's how we put it all together," she told Sherman as soon as he placed imitation peacock feathers down on the table.
After everything was put together just as Mr. Peabody's code had specified, there were still two more things to do before the machine was finished.
"It says here to input the WABAC frequency into the radio using the calculator," Penny said, "Then press the big red button."
"I'll get the code!" Sherman said. He raced into the kitchen and overturned the cookie jar, knowing the code was underneath.
"Sherman," Penny called him from the other room.
"What?" He said as he raced back.
"We've got company," Penny said, pointing out the window.
Many, many floors below them, the building was surrounded by blue and red flashing lights.
"Quick!" Sherman said, punching the numbers into the calculator, "Penny turn on the radio!"
Penny did, but the radio took its sweet time turning on, to Sherman's dismay.
"Hurry, turn on!" He called out to the radio.
"Sherman, I can hear the elevator!" Penny said.
"Come on!" Sherman said, "Yes!" The radio had finally started to work.
"The button!" Penny yelled.
Both children lunged for the big red button at the exact second that the elevator door opened. The button depressed under their weight, and the WABAC Return gave a small click noise. But to Sherman's surprise, there was no sign or flashing light to show that anything other than the click had happened. Did it even work?
Immediately after that small, quiet sound, there was complete chaos. Of those next few disorienting seconds, the one thing Sherman actually remembered was seeing the WABAC Return topple over, give out a shudder, and break apart.
"What were you thinking, running away again?" Mr. Whiner asked Sherman, holding him roughly by the neck, "I think I'll send you to reform school, you brat!"
"Now just a minute," said the Chief, coming up to Sherman and Whiner where they were standing behind a large police K-9 unit, "If this is your impression of the boy after only having guardianship of him for one day, perhaps you aren't the best fit person to be his guardian."
Mr. Whiner was silent.
"That's better," said the Chief, "The Petersons are with their daughter on the other side of the street. I thought you might want to have a talk with them."
"Thank you, Chief!" said Sherman, anxious to see Penny.
"Absolutely not!" Said Mr. Whiner, "Their little girl just tried to kidnap Sherman. Think of all the emotional turmoil he just went through up there!"
Mr. Whiner pointed upwards, at the Peabody building.
"Of course, the little girl was the mastermind behind a kidnapping," said the Chief sarcastically, "We've already established what really happened, Mr. Whiner. As to that emotional turmoil-if we had known that it was just those children in that apartment, we would have knocked. Unfortunately, we received a false report that Sherman was being forcibly held there by a grown adult." He frowned directly at Mr. Whiner.
"Can I go see Penny now?" Sherman asked, directing his question at the Chief.
"Go on," said the Chief, "Mr. Whiner and I need to have a little chat."
Whiner glared, but suffered Sherman to leave him.
"Now," began the Chief as soon as Sherman was out of sight, "I believe you owe the Peterson family an apology."
Across the street, Penny was the first to spot Sherman.
"You're okay!" She said, "I thought I lost you back there."
"I'm fine," he said to her, and quickly hugged her parents before pulling her to a quiet corner to speak with her privately.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said, "I heard a click. Was that it?"
"I don't know," Sherman repeated, "If it was, where's Mr. Peabody?"
This was true. It had been at least an hour since they pressed the button together, and Mr. Peabody was nowhere in sight. If the WABAC Return really had worked, then by all means Mr. Peabody should be there by now. But he wasn't. Maybe something had happened to him, and he couldn't come. But Sherman wouldn't even think of that.
"Don't worry Sherman," said Penny, "It probably just didn't work. We can try again."
"Right," Sherman said, "We'll try again. You have the instructions for Return machine, right?"
"No," said Penny, "I thought you had it."
"Then it must still be in the penthouse. Um, excuse me!" Sherman said, flagging down the next policeman who passed by them, "When can we go back into the building? We left something there, and we need it right away."
"Sorry kids," said the policeman, "It's going to be a while before anyone is allowed back in."
"What are we going to do now?" Sherman asked as the policeman walked away.
"Maybe we could sneak in," Penny suggested.
"Sneak in? With fifteen police cars still parked around the building?" Sherman asked.
Penny opened her mouth to answer him, but she was interrupted.
"Time to go kid," Whiner said, walking around a police interceptor to reach them, "Let's get as far away from this riff-raff as possible."
He reached forward to grab Sherman, and held him tightly by the arm.
"Come on," he said.
"Wait!" Sherman said, "There's something I left in the penthouse-"
"Leave it, brat," said Mr. Whiner, "I'm taking you home."
Sherman frowned. He already was home.
"Chief, Chief!" He called out.
"What are you doing?" Mr. Whiner asked, "Shut up."
"Chief! Chieeeeeeeeeef!" Sherman shouted.
"Just be quiet and get in the limo," Whiner said.
"CHIEF!" Sherman shouted, at the top of his lungs.
His actions, of course, did not go unnoticed. Several policemen and a few other bystanders were already walking towards Sherman, and the few who were walking away appeared to be trying to find the Chief.
"Get. In. The. Car. Now." Whiner said, his face very red with frustration.
"I'm coming!" called the Chief, running up to them.
"Chief!" Sherman said, "I want another guardian!"
"What?" Whiner said, "You can't do that!"
"You are a bad influence!" Sherman said, which was the lowest remark he could think of, "Chief, I want to see the Judge again!"
"Giving a hissy fit won't get you what you want," said Whiner.
"Chief," said Sherman, ignoring Whiner, "I want to choose my own guardians, and I'd like the Petersons."
"It doesn't work that way, my boy," said the Chief, shaking his head sadly, "You're not of age yet, so you can't make that decision."
Sherman decided to try another approach.
"I'm still in charge of all Mr. Peabody's money," Sherman said, "If I don't see the Judge, I'm going to sign a paper that will give it all away as soon as I turn-"
"Chief, we need to see the Judge right away," interrupted Mr. Whiner, "Can you arrange it?"
An astonishing half an hour later, Sherman found himself once more standing in the courtroom.
"And in conclusion," he concluded, "I want to stay with the Petersons."
He sat down, and the entire court was silent.
"Well," said the Judge finally, "I must say I'm surprised. Why would you want to leave Mr. Whiner? Hasn't he been helping you with your finances, boy?"
"No," said Sherman.
"Really?" asked the Judge, "Then how is it that Peabody's money is currently being used to build the most up-to-date hospitals all over the world?"
"WHAT?" Mr. Whiner yelled, "Who's been touching my money?"
"Your honor, I can explain," said Mr. Williams, standing up, "Sherman commissioned me to spend his money wisely, and one of his requests was to build a hospital chain in honor of his father."
"Why didn't anyone tell me this?" Mr. Whiner mumbled to himself.
"Mr. Williams," said the Judge, "We knew of your involvement in the boy's finances a few days ago, when the rough handling of his money caused major economical problems. Are you saying that you have continued to be involved up until the present day?"
"Yes sir your honor," said Mr. Williams, "I have been very careful since then. There have been no other problems."
The Judge was surprised.
"It seems that the boy has no need of another financial adviser," he said, "he has managed to make his own arrangements for the money."
"Yes, but-" began Mr. Whiner.
"And it is clear," said the Judge, gesturing to Sherman, "That in his present situation the child is unhappy."
"I beg to differ," said Whiner, "You see-"
"In light of this present situation, this court rescinds its decision." The Judge said, "This is a highly unusual procedure, but then again, this is a highly unusual case. There is no need for someone with financial prowess to manage Sherman's wealth, when he can do so perfectly well with the help of Mr. Williams. Therefore, I declare that Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are now the boy's legal guardians, as he has requested. Dismissed."
"Sherman, you did it!" Penny shouted, standing up and giving Sherman a hug. He hugged Mr. and Mrs. Peterson as well, and also Mr. Williams, before he leaned forward to whisper to Penny.
"Now we don't have to worry anymore," he said, his eyes shining, "We can concentrate on building the WABAC Return, and finding my dad!"
"We'll make it properly this time, and he'll be home soon!" Penny said.
Sherman was about to respond to this when someone roughly grabbed him, and he found himself being lifted in the air.
"Don't anybody move!" Cried out Mr. Whiner, holding Sherman tightly to himself.
The courtroom was silent. Perhaps Whiner was holding something that Sherman couldn't see, or maybe they worried that he would choke the poor boy. Whatever the reason, everyone remained still.
"Come on, Sherman. We're leaving. We're getting out of here!"
"Mr. Whiner, just what do you think-" the Judge began to say, but he was rudely interrupted.
"Sherman is mine," said Mr. Whiner, his lips quivering, "Of course, of course he's mine! And-and we're leaving. Right now."
Sherman was starting to feel uncomfortable. Mr. Whiner was squeezing him too hard.
"Now Mr. Whiner, just take it easy..." began one of the courtroom's security team, "You don't want to do this. Just put the kid down...slowly."
"You let us go!" Mr. Whiner, for lack of a better word, whined, "C-come on, Sherman. Time to leave. They can't-they can't get you once we leave. I'll sue 'em if they try."
"Edwin," said Mr. Williams, "You're deluded. Think about what you're doing."
"Mr. Whiner," Sherman said softly, not only to placate the man but also because his lungs were burning from lack of oxygen.
"What?" Whiner asked, "I'm busy, Sherman. Can't you see that they're trying to take you away?"
Sherman had to force the air into and out of his lungs to say it.
"Don't...don't look down."
That did it. Edwin Whiner looked down, and while there was nothing on the ground for him to be looking at in particular, the security guards took the opportunity when he was distracted to quickly subdue him.
Mr. Whiner didn't stand a chance. Sherman was quickly torn out of his arms, and those arms were quickly placed behind his back.
Sherman, meanwhile, found himself suddenly seated on the courtroom floor.
"Sherman! Are you all right?" someone asked him. He thought it was Penny.
"Y-yes," Sherman said, and he promptly fainted.