Chapter 14

"'Egad' indeed!" exclaimed Persephone. "What on Earth??" She lapsed into speechlessness.

"Quit that!" said Ed.

Like multiple sets of twins, the Gypsy clan exclaimed, "Quit what?"

"Quit staring at me like I did it!" Ed was pretty indignant ... he hadn't done anything ... except put the watch on. "If you're going to be like that, I'll take it back off." And he did.

As soon as he set the watch away from himself and let go ... Every clock, watch, time piece, digital, analog or electronic, stopped.

"You did it ... you did it ... you did it ... put it back on..." and many other exhortations indicative of threats of bodily harm and serious injury to his person accompanied by severe finger pointing and shaking.

"OK ... OK ... OK ... I get it ... I get it ... I get it." He put the watch on ... all the assorted insanity makers started up ... the atomic clock flashed three inch numbers on the TV screen ... a message in flashing red letters scrolled along the screen just below the numbers. "ED. QUIT THAT ... ED. QUIT THAT ... ED. QUIT THAT ... ED. QUIT THAT." for as long as it took for every clock in town to reset.

That didn't happen the first time. It was just the time pieces in and around the house that started. The second time every clock in town stopped dead ... and restarted when he put the watch back on.

It makes one furiously to think what would happen if he took it off again. Stop the State? the Country? the World?

If he just slipped it off and stopped time...