لخّصلي

Three days went by, and the bicycle from India was still in the front hall beside the stairs, in the way."The one in back is pretty t00," said Aunt Alex, bending low over the rear fender, where the red reflector shone in the light of the desk lamp, "It's like a ruby, a real ruby."15 "It reminds me of something," said Eleanor, narrowing her eyes, staring at it through her big glasses. Eddy knew what she was thinking of--the big jewel that had once been part of the stained-glass window I the attic, that huge chunk of glass that had turned out in the end to be a diamond, a real diamond, so valuabl that it was beyond price. She stood up and smiled at Eddy. Then she went into the kitchen with Eleanor, and Eddy went back to studying his new bicycle with more interest than before. He climbed on the seat to see what it felt like and dropped the curtain again. Now he was alone in the dark with the bike. Something white twirled in front of him-the tag on the handlebars. Pulling open the curtain he looked at the tag. There was a pause and then Aunt.""Oh, you know, Aunt Alex.""Why, Eddy," said Aunt Alex, suddenly appearing in the front hall with Eleanor, "what a lovely headlight.

Three days went by, and the bicycle from India was still in the front hall beside the stairs, in the way. He found a perfect hiding place for it, a shadowy triangular nook next to the coat closet under the front hall stairs. It was just the right size, and it had a crimson velvet curtain on a drawstring that hid his skateboard and Uncle Freddy's old golf bag and a croquet set with a couple of broken mallets. In the dark it gleamed a little, the way his old rocket model had glowed in the dark because phosphorescent stuff was mixed with the plastic. His embarrassing new bicycle must be coated with phosphorescent paint. Eddy pulled the curtain aside to let in light and peered at the dial mounted on the handlebars. There were a great many little marks around the circle of the Days dial-probably 365 of them, decided Eddy, one for every day of the year. The Years dial was different. ""Why, Eddy," said Aunt Alex, suddenly appearing in the front hall with Eleanor, "what a lovely headlight. 15 "It reminds me of something," said Eleanor, narrowing her eyes, staring at it through her big glasses. Eddy knew what she was thinking of--the big jewel that had once been part of the stained-glass window I the attic, that huge chunk of glass that had turned out in the end to be a diamond, a real diamond, so valuabl that it was beyond price. "The one in back is pretty t00," said Aunt Alex, bending low over the rear fender, where the red reflector shone in the light of the desk lamp, "It's like a ruby, a real ruby." She stood up and smiled at Eddy. Then she went into the kitchen with Eleanor, and Eddy went back to studying his new bicycle with more interest than before. He climbed on the seat to see what it felt like and dropped the curtain again. Now he was alone in the dark with the bike. Something white twirled in front of him-the tag on the handlebars. Pulling open the curtain he looked at the tag. There was a pause and then Aunt.""Oh, you know, Aunt Alex. Maybe it really was a time bike. Dreamily, he put his fingers on the setscrew that moved the hand of the dial that counted days. There was a flash of lightning in the little round mirror on the handlebars, and a humming noise from the wheels as if they were going around. Eddy got off the bike and opened the curtain. The bike was a failure. It wasn't a time bike. ""What do you mean by 'best kids"?" said Aunt Alex.