But Andy could not reach the top to remove the cover, try as he would. He stood on a chair to do so and though he could now reach the cover, it was too heavy for him to budge.
Hortense, meanwhile, was looking about her to see what she could see, and as she did so her eyes fell on something familiar. In a glass case on the mantel was the monkey charm which she had lost in the barn. Hortense examined it closely to be sure that it was the same. Yes, there was the very link in the chain which she had noticed before because it was more tarnished than the others—and there was a broken link. She must have caught it as she slipped through the hay chute into the manger.
Hortense tried to reach the glass case but could not. She stood on a chair, but there was no apparent way of removing the glass. Tug as she and Andy might, the glass would not move.
"We might break the glass," Andy suggested.
"You cannot break it," said the old Clock suddenly.
"Why, it's exactly like our clock at home!" said Hortense. "I believe it's the same one. However could it have gotten here?"
"Time is the same here and everywhere, now and forever," said the Clock. "You cannot get away from time."
"Time isn't the same," said Hortense. "There are slow times and times when everything goes fast."
"It's only because you think so," said the Clock. "I go precisely the same at all times."
"When I'm asleep, where does time go?" Hortense asked. "The night goes in no time."