A bright light woke Alice. She cracked her eyes open, raising her hand to shield them. Feeling a bit dizzy, she sat up slowly. 

She was lying in a metal-framed bed. The room was shaped in a peculiar¹ circle and filled with other beds, all of them empty. Across the room, a man in a white doctor's coat stood in front of a washbasin mirror, smoothing his hair. 

Fabric² rustled³ and Alice turned to see her mother in a chair by her side. 

A creeping suspicion snuck into Alice's mind. Where had her mother brought her? This place was strange and oddly menacing. Surely she hadn't locked her up in an asylum⁴ ... had she? 

Drifting up to the sides of her head, Alice's fingers patted half frantically⁵ at the strands⁶ of her hair. They were shorter than they should have been—much shorter. Someone had cut her hair while she'd slept. 

"Where am I?" Alice asked. "How long have I been here?" 

"Not long," her mother said reassuringly⁷. "You were in an upstairs room at the Ascots. Perhaps you fainted?" 

"No," Alice said. She hadn't fainted; she was sure of that. She was not the fainting sort. 

Helen darted⁸ a glance at the doctor, who was approaching, then lowered her voice. "They say you were trying to get under the furniture. Talking about the atmosphere?" Her eyes looked worried. 

"The Chronosphere," the doctor clarified, peering at his notes. 

"The Chronosphere!" Alice began patting her clothes. The sphere was gone. "I have to get it back and save the Hightopps before the end of Time!" 

"Let's see," the doctor said, marking things down on his clipboard. "Excitable, emotional, prone⁹ to fantasy—a textbook case of female hysteria." 

Alice glared at him, but Helen ignored the doctor and brought her face close to Alice's. Brushing her hand over Alice's cheek, she spoke¹⁰ soothingly¹¹. "Alice, please," she said. "You've had a long voyage and you're exhausted¹³. We can all agree to that." 

Just beyond her mother's head, Alice spotted¹⁴ a table laid out with medical tools. A gigantic syringe filled with golden liquid gleamed ominously¹⁵ at her. 

"Excuse us, Mrs. Kingsleigh," Dr. Bennet interrupted. "What Alice needs right now is a long, dreamless sleep." He nodded to two orderlies who had just entered. 

The orderlies reached Helen's side, and their hands gently guided her toward the door. She obeyed reluctantly, staring back over her shoulder at her struggling daughter as though she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing. 

As Dr. Bennet lifted his eyes to watch them leave, Alice's hand snaked out to the side, then quickly back. The door swung shut behind her mother, and Dr. Bennet turned toward his tools. 

"That's odd," he muttered. "Where did I put the nee—" 

Springing up, Alice plunged¹⁶ the needle into the doctor's back. She injected the golden liquid, then leapt out of the way as he slumped¹⁷ toward the floor. 

"Oi!" An orderly shouted as he came back into the room. He and his partner raced toward her. 

Alice crouched¹⁸ and snatched the key ring from Dr. Bennet's side. Her eyes landed on her father's pocket watch, which the doctor must have confiscated¹⁹, among the tools. Grabbing that, too, Alice vaulted²⁰ over the next bed as the orderlies pounded near. She shoved through the door and out into the main hallway. 

Rushing out after her, the men shouted to their colleagues. More orderlies poured into the hallway from the other direction and Alice skidded²¹ to a stop, the soles of her shoes sliding on the wooden floorboards. She pivoted²² sharply and barreled up a stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. At the top, she heard music coming from behind a set of double doors. 

As she weighed her options, Alice glanced down the stairwell. The orderlies were panting as they jogged toward her. Quickly, she ducked through the doors and found herself surrounded by a soothing¹² harmony. 

fifty or so patients sat on stiff wooden chairs, facing the front, where a string quartet played for them. Slouched against the wall, a bored orderly had his back to her. 

Alice slid into a row, excusing herself to the people she passed. They gazed blankly up at her as she made her way to an empty seat. Just as the doors swung inward and a very out-of-breath group of orderlies tramped in, Alice slipped onto the chair. Out of the corner of her eye, Alice watched as they split up and began searching the crowd. 

"Alice?" a soft voice asked. 

The song came to an end and Alice recognized her own aunt sitting in front of her. What was she doing there? 

"Aunt Imogene!" Alice said in surprise. 

Her aunt twisted in her seat, her kind face full of hope. "Have you seen my fiancé?" 

Alice shook her head sadly. Poor Aunt Imogene. Alice couldn't believe her relatives had locked up her aunt just because she had an imaginary romance. It was perfectly²³ harmless! Evidently her family couldn't cope with any women who had imagination. 

The musicians' bows sliced across their instruments as the next song started. With a covert²⁴ sideways glance, Alice noticed an orderly spot her and start gesturing at his partner. Together, they waded²⁵ through the patients toward her. 

"He's a prince, you know," Aunt Imogene continued blissfully. "He's coming to get me. All I need to do is wait." 

Alice leaned forward and pressed the set of keys into her aunt's hands, gazing into her eyes intently. 

"Don't wait any longer, Aunt Imogene," she whispered. As she knew all too well, you had to make the most of your time. Alice sprang to her feet and darted down the row away from the orderlies. 

With a shout, they surged forward, but Alice was already out of the room through another door and climbing up a narrow staircase. 

At the top, Alice emerged on the asylum's roof. Just then, the door she'd come through was flung open. Alice darted toward the flag pole, a crazy plan in her head. 

She grabbed the rope and wrapped one end around her waist, her fingers moving rapidly. 

"If three years at sea taught me anything," she muttered to herself, securing the other end to the base of the flagpole, "it was how to tie a bloody²⁶ good knot!" 

Alice spared a glance at the advancing orderlies as she gathered up the slack in the rope; then she spun²⁷ and leapt off the roof. 

Her feet slammed against the bricks and she pushed off again, letting out more slack in the rope. Below her, an empty carriage waited outside the asylum. Jumping down into the open carriage, she landed with a thud on the cloth seat. 

The horses whinnied in alarm and jolted²⁸ forward. Alice had to move fast to scramble²⁹ up into the driver's seat, untying³⁰ the rope from her waist as she went. 

"Oi!" The carriage driver raced out from the building, waving frantically at her. "You can't take that!" 

As she gathered up the reins³¹, Alice turned to wave at him apologetically. "Sorry. Needs must," she called. "I plead insanity³²!" 

There was hardly anyone else on the roads, and Alice passed unnoticed through the moon lit landscape. She finally pulled the carriage to a stop outside the drive to the Ascots' mansion³³. 

Silently, Alice made her way along the path. No movement came from within the Ascot mansion, everyone inside surely fast asleep at that hour. She circled the building until she found a window that had been left ajar. 

With a strong push, she hefted the pane³⁴ higher, and she wriggled³⁵ her way up and through, landing in a disheveled heap on a couch just under the window. Sitting up, she recognized the library. Alice strode to the oak door and tugged³⁶. 

It didn't budge³⁷. 

She tried again, throwing her weight backward and gripping the knob with both hands. 

Nothing. 

Creak. Alice froze at a noise behind her. As she turned slowly, her heart sank. 

Across the room, James Harcourt sat at a desk, pen in hand. His eyebrows³⁸ were raised in surprise as he studied her. He slowly got to his feet and edged past a piano toward her. 

Alice backed away. "Please," she whispered desperately³⁹. 

Stopping in front of the door, James lightly pushed against it. The door inched open as he stepped back, smiling. 

"It's easier if you push," he said. 

"Thank you!" Alice's shoulders relaxed. 

"They're going to ask your mother to sign over the ship. Seeing's you're so unwell," James added as Alice moved toward the door. 

"Buy me some time?" she asked. 

He nodded and Alice shot him a smile before ducking out the door and heading upstairs. 

In the dusty parlor⁴⁰, Alice dropped to the floor, searching frantically along the Persian rug and under the chairs. Her heart raced. Where is it? 

Then something twinkled under the sideboard. 

There! 

Alice lunged toward it. Wrapping her fingers around the Chronosphere, she brought it to her chest with relief. As she stood, the looking glass shifted, the silver mist swirling⁴¹ once again within the frame. 

Newly determined⁴², Alice climbed up onto the mantelpiece, a fierce look in her eyes. With the Chronosphere in one hand and her father's pocket watch in the other, she stepped through the looking glass one more time.

 

一束亮光将爱丽丝从昏睡中唤醒。她睁开惺忪睡眼，伸手去遮挡亮光。她感到有点儿头昏，慢慢地坐起身来。 

爱丽丝躺在一张金属床上。房间是怪异的圆形，房内其他的床都空着。房间另一头洗漱池的镜子前站着一位男士，他穿着医生的白大褂，正在打理自己的头发。 

爱丽丝听见有衣物摩擦的沙沙声，便转过头去，看见母亲正坐在她旁边的椅子上。 

爱丽丝的脑海中浮现出一丝疑惑。母亲这是把自己带到哪儿了？这个地方陌生而又诡异。母亲是肯定不会把她关到精神病院的……会吗？ 

爱丽丝将手放在头两侧，手忙脚乱地摸着头发。她发现头发变得比以前短了——短了很多。一定是有人趁她熟睡时把她的头发给剪了。 

“我在哪？”爱丽丝问道，“我在这儿待多久了？” 

“没多久。”母亲安慰她说，“之前你在阿斯科特家楼上的房间里。大概你后来就晕过去了？” 

“没有。”爱丽丝答道。她很确定她没有晕倒。她才不是容易晕倒的人。 

海伦的目光看向正在朝她们走来的医生，然后低声说：“他们说你当时想要钻到家具底下去，还一直说着什么空气传送仪？”她的眼里满是担忧。 

“是时空传送仪。”医生盯着他的笔记更正道。 

“时空传送仪！”爱丽丝摸着自己的衣服。传送仪不见了。“我得把它拿回来，在‘时间’终结之前救下高帽子家族！” 

“看吧。”医生一边说着，一边在他的笔记板上记录。“易兴奋，情绪化，有幻想的倾向——标准的女性歇斯底里症。” 

爱丽丝瞪着他。不过海伦没有理会医生，她把脸贴近爱丽丝，用手轻抚着爱丽丝的脸颊，安慰着她。“爱丽丝，乖乖听话。”她说，“你经历了那么漫长的航行，已经筋疲力尽了。这是肯 定的。” 

越过母亲的头，爱丽丝发现了一张桌子，上面摆满了医疗工具。一只巨大的盛满了金色液体的注射器正闪着微光，这让她有一种不祥的预感。 

“金斯利夫人，请你谅解。”贝内特医生打断了她的话，“爱丽丝现在需要长时间的、无梦的睡眠。”他点头示意那两位刚进来的护理员。 

护理员来到海伦的身边，温柔地将她扶到门口。尽管有些不情愿，海伦还是照做了。她扭过头看见正苦苦挣扎的女儿，那一刻仿佛她也不确定自己是否做了正确的事。 

贝内特医生抬起头来目送他们离开，爱丽丝把手伸向旁边，然后又迅速收了回来。房门在母亲身后关上了，贝内特医生转身去取他的工具。 

“真是怪了。”他咕哝着，“放哪儿了啊，我的针——” 

爱丽丝一跃而起，将针头扎进了医生的背部。她将金色的液体注入医生的体内，然后趁着他倒向地板之际迅速逃走。 

“喂！”一位回到房间的护理员对着爱丽丝大叫了一声，和他的同伴一起追着她跑。 

爱丽丝蹲下来，一把夺过贝内特医生身侧的钥匙环。她在一堆工具中还发现了父亲的怀表，这一定是医生自行没收的。爱丽丝又一把抓起怀表，跳过旁边的床，赶在护理员追上之前推开门，跑进了走廊。 

那个紧跟着她的护理员大声呼喊他的同事，于是更多的护理员从另一头涌入走廊。爱丽丝赶紧停下来，鞋底在木质地板上打着滑。她来了个急转弯，两步并作一步飞速爬上了楼梯。在楼顶，她听见一扇双开门后传来了乐曲声。 

爱丽丝边思考往哪里逃边往楼梯下望，她看见护理员气喘吁吁，正一路小跑向她追来。很快，她穿过一扇扇门，来到一间放着轻柔音乐的房间里。 

有大概五十位病人坐在硬木椅上，看着前方弦乐四重奏的表演。一位无聊的护理员没精打采地靠墙站着，背对着爱丽丝。 

爱丽丝溜进其中的一列人群，向她身边的人们借道前行。他们毫无表情地看着她费力地走向一个空座位。门忽地向内打开，一群上气不接下气的护理员拖着沉重的步子走了进来，就在这时，爱丽丝坐在了空椅子上。从眼角的余光中，爱丽丝看见他们开始分头在人群中搜寻自己。 

“爱丽丝？”一阵温柔的声音问道。 

乐曲停止了，爱丽丝认出前面坐着的是她的姑妈。她怎么会在这儿？ 

“伊莫金姑妈！”爱丽丝惊喜地叫道。 

姑妈在座位上扭了扭身子，和蔼的脸上满是盼望的神情：“你看到我的未婚夫了吗？” 

爱丽丝难过地摇摇头。可怜的伊莫金姑妈。爱丽丝无法相信她的家人仅仅因为她对爱情的幻想就把她关在这儿。可这根本就是无害的！很明显，她的家人无法接受任何女人想入非非。 

乐手们站起来鞠躬致谢，下一首乐曲随之响起。爱丽丝偷偷地斜视，注意到一位护理员已经发现了她，并做手势示意他的同伴。于是，他们一同费力地穿过病人们朝着她走来。 

“你知道的，他是一位王子。”伊莫金姑妈幸福洋溢地继续说，“他马上就要来娶我了。我只要等着他来就好了。” 

爱丽丝俯下身子，把一串钥匙塞进姑妈的手里，专注地凝视着姑妈的眼睛。 

“伊莫金姑妈，不要再等下去了。”爱丽丝轻声说。你必须好好利用自己的时间——她对此深有体会。爱丽丝从椅子上跳起来，飞快地从远离护理员的一排病人中溜走。 

随着一声喊叫，护理员蜂拥向前，但爱丽丝已经从另一扇门走出了房间，正沿着一道狭窄的楼梯向上爬。 

爱丽丝爬上了楼梯，来到精神病院的屋顶。就在这时，她来到屋顶的那扇门被猛地打开了。爱丽丝快步走向旗杆，一个疯狂的想法浮现在脑海中。 

她抓起绳子，手指飞快地将绳子的一端缠在自己的腰间。 

“如果三年的航海经历教会了我什么的话，”她一边将绳子的另一端固定在旗杆的底部，一边喃喃自语，“那就是怎样打一个牢得要命的结！” 

爱丽丝瞥了一眼正在前进的护理员们，卷好松散的绳子，然后旋转着从屋顶上跳了下去。 

她的脚猛地撞到墙体后又弹开，以此拉长绳子。在她下面，有一架空马车等候在精神病院外。她跳向敞开的马车车厢，砰的一声落在了车厢的布座椅上。 

马匹受到惊吓发出了嘶叫声，颠簸着往前奔去。随着马车的前进，爱丽丝不得不赶紧爬上驾驶座，同时把系在腰上的绳子解开。 

“喂！”车夫从楼里跑出来，发疯似的向她挥手，“你可不能这么做！” 

爱丽丝拿好缰绳，转过头抱歉地朝他挥了挥手。“对不起。我不得不这么做。”她喊道，“就当我精神不正常吧！” 

一路上鲜有人迹。爱丽丝驾着马车穿过这片月色中的大地时，没有任何人发现。她终于将马车停在阿斯科特公馆的车道上。 

爱丽丝悄悄地沿小路走着。阿斯科特公馆里没有任何动静，屋里所有人这时肯定都已经进入了沉沉的梦乡。她在房子周围绕圈，直到发现一扇半开着的窗户。 

爱丽丝用力一推，将窗格抬高，悄无声息地纵身而入，落在窗下沙发上一堆零乱的杂物上。她坐起身，发现这是图书室。爱丽丝大步走向橡木门，用力地拉了一下。 

门一动不动。 

她又试了一次，双手紧握着把手，用尽全身的力气向后拉。 

还是不动。 

嘎吱。爱丽丝听到声响愣住了。她缓慢地转过身，心里一沉。 

房间另一边，詹姆斯·哈考特手握钢笔坐在桌前。他仔细地看了看爱丽丝，诧异地扬起眉毛。接着，他慢慢地站起身，越过一架钢琴，朝她走来。 

爱丽丝向后退了几步。“求你了。”她绝望地低声说道。 

詹姆斯在门前停了下来，轻轻地推了一下门。门微微地开了，詹姆斯微笑着退回来。 

“如果你朝外推会容易一些。”他说道。 

“谢谢！”爱丽丝松了一口气。 

“他们看见你身体状态这么差，就准备让你母亲签字同意转让你的船。”詹姆斯对朝门走去的爱丽丝补充道。 

“能再给我一点时间吗？”她问道。 

詹姆斯点点头。爱丽丝对他报以一个微笑，转身走出房间，上了楼梯。 

爱丽丝来到满是灰尘的会客厅，趴在地上，疯狂地在波斯地毯上和椅子下面搜寻着什么。她的心急速跳动起来。到底在哪儿？ 

忽然，她发现餐具柜下面有东西在闪烁。 

在那儿！ 

爱丽丝快步冲了过去。她紧握着时空传送仪，如释重负地将它放在自己的胸前。她站起来时，镜子出现了变化，银色薄雾又一次在镜框里旋动起来。 

爱丽丝再次下定决心，爬上壁炉台，眼中充满坚定。她一只手拿着时空传送仪，另一只手拿着父亲的怀表，又一次走进镜子中。 

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