Hugo rushes to the train station and goes to the café for more ice for his injured hand. He also takes a bottle of milk but stops when he overhears the café owner, Madame Emile, talking to the newspaper vendor, Monsieur Frick, about the police finding a man at the bottom of the Seine. Madame Emile says the body is that of the station’s Timekeeper—Hugo’s Uncle Claude—and mentions that the station’s clocks are still working despite his absence. Hugo drops the ice and bottle, drawing their attention. They chase after him, knowing that someone has been stealing from them and correctly assuming it was Hugo. Hugo races through the crowd and into the vent in the wall.

Hugo takes the automaton from its hiding place in his room and covers it with fabric. He struggles to lift the machine because of his injured hand. Hugo hears a knock on the door, and the Station Inspector, Madame Emile, and Monsieur Frick burst into the room. When the Station Inspector grabs his arm, Hugo drops the automaton, and it crashes to the floor. The man and woman leave when they learn they are in the Timekeeper’s apartment, as they believe it’s haunted.