The Imagination Station door opened, letting in light.
Mr. Whittaker leaned into view. “Welcome back,” he said.
The two cousins gazed at him.
Mr. Whittaker raised an eyebrow. “Is everything all right?” he asked. “Did you fi nd the cup?”
Patrick lifted the silver chalice. “Here it is,” he said.
Mr. Whittaker took it. He looked it over and then put it on the dashboard of the machine. “Wonderful!” he said. “Thank you. But why are you both frowning?”
“We’re confused about how it ended,” Beth said.
“Come out, and we’ll talk about it,” Mr. Whittaker said.
Patrick and Beth climbed out of the machine.
Patrick spoke first. “What happened to Telemachus, Mr. Whittaker?” he asked.
“History is unclear about that,” Mr. Whittaker said. “Some legends claim that he was killed in the arena. Others say the crowd stoned him to death. Still other legends say that the Romans listened to Telemachus. They had a change of heart and left the arena in silence.”
“I like that one best,” Beth said.
“So do I,” Mr. Whittaker said. “We do know one thing for sure: Honorius stopped the Roman games because of Telemachus’s courage. The fight you saw was the very last one.”
“They said the last man standing would be the hero,” Patrick said. “But it was Telemachus who was the hero.”
“That’s right,” Mr. Whittaker said. “Or maybe you remember what Jesus said. ‘Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.’”
“Telemachus was ready to do that,” Patrick said.
“But what about the knight?” Beth asked.
“What do you mean?” Mr. Whittaker asked.
“An English knight appeared with the Imagination Station,” said Patrick.
Mr. Whittaker looked surprised. “An English knight appeared in Rome?”
“He said we have to find the golden tablet of…” Patrick frowned. “What was the name? Kabab Cubes?”
“Kublai Khan?” Mr. Whittaker asked with a laugh.
“That’s the one!” Beth said.
Mr. Whittaker rubbed his chin. “The golden tablet, huh?” he asked.
“Who was the knight?” Beth asked. “Isn’t it weird he’d show up without your knowing it?”
“It sure is,” Mr. Whittaker said. “But he must be connected to Albert and our quest.”
“He was in the Imagination Station. But he disappeared when we got in,” Patrick said.
“How can he jump around in time?” Beth asked. “He helped us out when we were in Greenland.”
Mr. Whittaker thought about it for a moment. “I have some ideas,” he said. “But we’ll talk about it later. Meanwhile, you should get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow.”
“We do?” Beth asked.
“What are we going to do?” asked Patrick.
“You’re going to China to find the golden tablet of Kublai Khan,” Mr. Whittaker said.