Jack and Annie pressed through the crowd ofpeople swarming about the Hall of Machines. Finallythey reached the exit and slipped back out into thewarm Paris night. The fair was just as crowdedoutside the hall as inside. Musicians played guitars,singers sang, food sellers shouted, "Chocolate milk!
Cheese! Bread! Wine!""We have to get to the Pasteur Institute fast!" Annieshouted to Jack.
Jack pulled out their guide book and scanned52the index, looking for the Pasteur Institute. "It's notin here," he said. He closed the guide book. "It mustnot be part of the fair.""Maybe one of those horse-and-buggies can take usthere," said Annie. She pointed to a row of carriagesalong a street. There was a line of people waiting toget into them.
"Come on!" said Jack.
Annie and Jack made their way through the crowdand stood in the carriage line.
"Thomas Alva Edison and Alexander Graham Bell!"said Jack. "The sorcerer must think they're newmagicians with secret powers!""And now he's invited them to some kind of party,"said Annie, "so he can steal their secrets.""I'll bet he's inviting the other two," said Jack, "theMagician of Iron and the Magician of the Invisible.""I wonder if they're inventors, too," said Annie.
"Come on, it's our turn," said Jack.
53They had reached the front of the carriage line. "Weneed to go to a place called the Pasteur Institute," Jackcalled to the coachman. "Can you take us?""But of course," said the man.
"Thanks!" said Annie. She and Jack climbed into theback of the open carriage. The coachman shook thereins, and his white horse clopped down thecobblestone street.
"Excuse me," Annie said, leaning forward. "Butwhat exactly is the Pasteur Institute?""It is a laboratory for finding the cures for diseases,"said the coachman.
"Oh . . . ," said Annie. "Interesting." She turned backto Jack. "Why would an evil sorcerer look formagicians in a place like that?""I don't know," said Jack.
"Maybe the sorcerer got sick," said Annie.
"I don't think so," said Jack. "But now wereallyneed a plan. What if we run into him at theinstitute? Remember, he has magic powers.""Butwehave magic powers, too," said Annie.
54"Right," breathed Jack. He reached into his satcheland pulled out their book:
10 MAGIC RHYMES FOR ANNIE AND JACKFROM TEDDY AND KATHLEENBy the light of the carriage lantern, Jack and Annielooked at the table of contents. "Remember, we canonly use a rhyme once,"Jack said to Annie.
"Make a Stone Come Alive-we've done that. Make Helpers Appear out of Nowhere-done that.
Mend What Cannot Be Mended-done that.""But we haven't usedSpin into the Air,"said Annie, "orMake Something Disappear,orFind a Treasure You Must Never Lose,orPull a Cloud from the Sky,orTurn into Ducks.""Go back, go back," said Jack.
"Make Something Disappear.
What about that?""Is a person a `something'?" asked Annie.
"Why not?" said Jack. "This one rhyme could solveour whole problem. We'll just make the sorcererdisappear.""Yes," breathed Annie.
55"Okay, here's the plan," said Jack. "Let's memorizethe rhyme now. Then as soon as we see the sorcerer,we can say it without having to look in the book.""Great," said Annie.
Jack turned to a page in the rhyme book. "I'llmemorize the line that Teddy wrote. You memorizethe line in Kathleen's language," he said.
"Got it," said Annie. She looked at the rhyme andstarted to say her line,"Thee-be-wan-""No, don't!" yelped Jack, putting his hand over hermouth. "Don't say it out loud until we need it! Youmight accidentally make one of us or somethingreally important disappear!""Sorry," said Annie.
"We'll practice silently," said Jack. "And we'll eachonly learn our own line. So neither of us can say thewhole rhyme at the wrong time.""Good plan," said Annie.
Annie studied her line silently while Jack studiedhis. As Jack repeated his line in his head, the carriagerolled down a busy street. The56street was filled with more carriages and manybicycles. Some of the bikes were built for two people.
Couples dressed in fancy evening clothes pedaledtogether.
Other Parisians ate by candlelight in outdoor cafes.
Waiters in white aprons carried trays high in the air.
Everyone seemed relaxed and cheerful. As thecarriage turned onto a quiet tree-lined street, Jackwished that he and Annie could just have fun in Parislike everyone else and not be worrying about an evilsorcerer.
"Here we are!" said the driver, interrupting Jack'sthoughts. He brought the carriage to a stop. "ThePasteur Institute.""This is it?" said Jack. The Pasteur Institute5758looked like a spooky mansion. Its huge front doorswere closed. Its tall windows were dark.
"Are you sure we've come to the right place?"Annie asked in a small voice.
"But of course I am sure," said the coachman. "Theinstitute appears to be closed. Would you like me totake you somewhere else?""No thanks," said Jack. "We'll get out here." Anniegave the coachman a few coins. Then she and Jackclimbed out of the carriage.
"Thanks," said Annie.
The coachman flicked his reins, and the white horsetrotted away down the street.
Jack and Annie stared at the dark, silent building.
"I guess we should go up and knock," said Annie.
She and Jack climbed the stone steps to the giganticfront doors.
"We've come to the right place," said Jack. A gaslamp lit a small metal sign that said:
Louis Pasteur Institute59Jack knocked on the door three times. No oneanswered.
Annie turned the huge handle and pushed. Thedoor was locked.
"Maybe there's another door somewhere," saidAnnie.
Jack and Annie walked around the institute. Theyknocked at a back door and a side door, but no oneanswered.
When they got back to the front of the building,Jack heaved a sigh. "It's no use," he said. "We've cometo a complete dead end.""We can't give up," said Annie.
"I know," said Jack. They both stood looking at thestreet. All was quiet, except for a few bikes rattlingby.
Suddenly a whispery voice came from behind them.
"Hellooo?" |