Trolley to Yesterday by John Bellairs Page B

and the heavy tramp of feet. Over in one corner of the tower room was a spiral staircase leading down. Torchlight flickered on the steps, and before anyone could move, a huge bearded man came vaulting up into the room. The man's face was ugly and scarred, and one of his eyes stared blankly off in the wrong direction. He wore a turban and a steel breastplate, and in his right hand he carried a long, curved sword. Behind him on the steps stood a grim-looking soldier who wore a pointed bronze helmet and carried a smoking, sputtering torch. The man with the turban began yelling at the professor and the boys in a strange language. They could not understand what he said, but the general meaning seemed clear: They were in the hands of the enemy, and they were in deep deep trouble.
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    CHAPTER SEVEN
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    Johnny, Fergie, and the professor stood dead still. They stared in horror at the fierce bearded man who was yelling at them. Johnny felt his stomach turn over. He closed his eyes and tasted fear in his throat. He wanted to think that this was a hideous dream, but it wasn't. It was very real and very frightening.
    At last the professor pulled himself together. He muttered a word under his breath, and suddenly Brewster appeared over his left shoulder. Johnny and Fergie looked immediately at the bearded man to see what his reaction would be. But apparently he couldn't see Brewster, because he just went on ranting.
    "For God's sake, please translate for me!" muttered the professor out of the corner of his mouth. "We're probably doomed, but at least I'd like to know what this fool is saying."
    Brewster disappeared, and suddenly the bearded man was speaking English. But what he said did not make much sense.
    "Butter and eggs, and a pound of cheese!" said the man huffily.
    The professor ground his teeth. "Would you care to try again, you overrated hunk of stone?" he said.
    "I'm trying! I'm trying!" said Brewster, and then— quite suddenly—the bearded man was saying things that made sense.
    "I will ask you once more, and once only!" he roared. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
    The professor drew himself up to his full height and frowned. "In my satchel are many secret things that ought not to be tampered with by the likes of you," he declared solemnly. "As for ourselves, we are visitors here, and we are under the protection of your master, the Sultan Mehmet. He has sent us here to... uh, to read the signs in the heavens and see if the planets and stars are favorable for his attack on Constantinople. He will be very angry if you interfere with this important work."
    The bearded man was astonished by this, but then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I am Baltoghlu, the Admiral of the Sultan's fleet," he growled, "and I never heard that the Sultan had hired a Christian monk to be his astrologer."
    The professor smiled blandly. "Nevertheless," he replied, "the Sultan has friends who are not of the Moslem faith. He values learning and intelligence, even in those whose religion is different from his." This was true, and the professor knew it, but he wondered if this explanation would make any sense to Baltoghlu, who really did not seem very bright.
    Baltoghlu seemed confused. He chewed his lip and glanced toward Fergie and Johnny. "What you say may very well be true," he said uncertainly, "but then who are these two, and why are they dressed so strangely? And why are two of you wearing glass discs over your eyes?"
    Suddenly Fergie and Johnny realized that their clothing must seem very strange to the bearded man. They were wearing ordinary cotton shirts and corduroy pants, but no one in 1453 dressed that way. As for eyeglasses, they hadn't been invented yet.
    However, the professor still thought that he could lie his way out of trouble. "These boys are from America, a land that lies far to the west," he said smoothly. "What they are wearing is their native costume. The glass discs are magic charms to ward off