Thief of Time - Day

Mrs Ogg's chair was rammed back in her effort to rise, but Susan got to the mantelpiece first and snatched what was there, hidden in plain view amongst the ornaments.

'You give that here!' shouted Mrs Ogg, as Susan held it out of her reach. She could feel the power in the thing. It seemed to pulse in her hand.

'Have you any idea what this is, Mrs Ogg?' she said, opening her hand to reveal the little glass bulbs.

'Yes, it's an eggtimer that don't work!' Mrs Ogg sat down hard in her overstuffed chair, so that her little legs rose off the floor for a moment.

'It looks to me like a day, Mrs Ogg. A day's worth of time.'

Mrs Ogg glanced at Susan, and then at the little hourglass in her hand.

'I reckoned there was something odd about it,' she said. 'The sand don't go through when you tip it up,
see?'

'That's because you don't need it to yet, Mrs Ogg.'

Nanny Ogg appeared to relax. Once again Susan reminded herself that she was dealing with a witch. They tended to keep up.

'I kept it 'cos it was a gift,' said the old lady. 'And it looks so pretty, too. What do them letters round the edge say?'

Susan read the words etched on the metal base of the lifetimer: Tempus Redux. ' "Time Returned",' she said.

'Ah, that'd be it,' said Mrs Ogg. 'The man did say I'd be repaid for my time.’

***

The Thief of Time - p193