Cahills as if by radar: Now!
They hurled themselves into the pyramid, sending an avalanche of soft drink containers pelting down on their pursuers. There were cries of shock and fury as Jonah and the Janus slipped and tripped on thousands of empty cans. The alarm blasting in their ears, Amy and Dan spr inted up the concrete steps.
"Where are we?" Dan panted as they ran. "Any idea how to get back to the CD shop?" Amy shook her head helplessly. "There must be a different exit!" But her heart sank as she swung around the next landing. Twenty feet ahead, at the top of the flight, the stairwell was blocked by an iron barrier. Dan hurled himself at the gate. "Ow!" He bounced off, rubbing his shoulder.
Amy worked at the padlock. "No use!" she panted. "We'll have to find another way." They pushed through a heavy curtain, stumbling into the only hallway they'd seen so far that wasn't plastered with art. Dan wrinkled his nose. "What stinks?"
"Garbage," Amy decided. "Even great artists have to take out the trash. They must get rid of it somehow. There has to be an exit close by."
They were halfway down the corridor when two jump - suited figures appeared at the far end. Amy and Dan squinted in the dim light at the flames dancing on their dueling swords. One of the squirt painters stepped out beside them.
Oh, no! thought Amy in despair.
The whole stronghold is after us now!
The Cahills wheeled to backtrack, only to see Ponytail and the Wizards blocking their retreat.
Jonah shook his head, clucking in false sympathy. "Told you guys -- no way out."
They were about to be sandwiched between advancing Janus. "Got any more miracles?" Dan asked through clenched teeth.
Amy didn't answer. She was staring at a lever right smack-dab in the middle of the wall.
It didn't seem to be connected to anything, AIR LOCK read the control, with translations
in several languages. There were two settings: PUMP ON and PUMP OFF.
She stared. She had no idea what the device was, but one thing was clear: It couldn't
possibly make their situation any worse. She heaved the switch to PUMP ON.
And there was her miracle.
CHAPTER 15
A panel of wall swept back to reveal a Plexiglas chamber filled with water. With a loud thrumming noise, the water was sucked away. An airtight hatch hissed open. There was no hesitation. This might be a trap, and a deadly one at that. But with enemies coming at them from both sides, it looked like escape. Dan in the lead, they scrambled up a metal ladder. He was mystified. "Where did all this water come from?" "You're in Venice, dweeb!" Amy's arms and legs worked like pistons. "The canals, remember? Keep climbing!"
"Look -- " he exclaimed. "Daylight!"
The late afternoon sun shone down through the grill of a sewer grating. Amy knew a brief moment of panic. Manhole covers were iron and weighed hundreds of pounds.
What if they were trapped?
Her fear disappeared as Dan easily flipped the grating aside. "Plastic!" he chortled. He
scrambled out of the shaft and pulled his sister up beside him.
They took stock of their surroundings. They were on a narrow stone dock along one of Venice's famous canals.
Dan looked around in amazement. "Whoa -- it's like the road is the water! And people drive boats instead of cars!"
Amy nodded. "Some Venetians hardly ever set foot on the street. They can get everywhere they need to go on the canals."
Their tourist moment was cut short when they heard the echo of a shoe on the metal ladder, and Jonah's voice called, "This way!"
They fled down a narrow walkway that joined their dock to another one.
"Whoa!" Dan pulled up short and just in time. The path ended abruptly. He had nearly
given himself -- and Nannerl Mozart's diary pages -- an unexpected bath in dirty canal
water.
"What are we going to do?" Amy squeaked.
They watched as a motor launch pulled alongside the small pier they were standing on and tied up to a pylon. A young woman jumped out and ran into the row house that abutted the
They hurled themselves into the pyramid, sending an avalanche of soft drink containers pelting down on their pursuers. There were cries of shock and fury as Jonah and the Janus slipped and tripped on thousands of empty cans. The alarm blasting in their ears, Amy and Dan spr inted up the concrete steps.
"Where are we?" Dan panted as they ran. "Any idea how to get back to the CD shop?" Amy shook her head helplessly. "There must be a different exit!" But her heart sank as she swung around the next landing. Twenty feet ahead, at the top of the flight, the stairwell was blocked by an iron barrier. Dan hurled himself at the gate. "Ow!" He bounced off, rubbing his shoulder.
Amy worked at the padlock. "No use!" she panted. "We'll have to find another way." They pushed through a heavy curtain, stumbling into the only hallway they'd seen so far that wasn't plastered with art. Dan wrinkled his nose. "What stinks?"
"Garbage," Amy decided. "Even great artists have to take out the trash. They must get rid of it somehow. There has to be an exit close by."
They were halfway down the corridor when two jump - suited figures appeared at the far end. Amy and Dan squinted in the dim light at the flames dancing on their dueling swords. One of the squirt painters stepped out beside them.
Oh, no! thought Amy in despair.
The whole stronghold is after us now!
The Cahills wheeled to backtrack, only to see Ponytail and the Wizards blocking their retreat.
Jonah shook his head, clucking in false sympathy. "Told you guys -- no way out."
They were about to be sandwiched between advancing Janus. "Got any more miracles?" Dan asked through clenched teeth.
Amy didn't answer. She was staring at a lever right smack-dab in the middle of the wall.
It didn't seem to be connected to anything, AIR LOCK read the control, with translations
in several languages. There were two settings: PUMP ON and PUMP OFF.
She stared. She had no idea what the device was, but one thing was clear: It couldn't
possibly make their situation any worse. She heaved the switch to PUMP ON.
And there was her miracle.
CHAPTER 15
A panel of wall swept back to reveal a Plexiglas chamber filled with water. With a loud thrumming noise, the water was sucked away. An airtight hatch hissed open. There was no hesitation. This might be a trap, and a deadly one at that. But with enemies coming at them from both sides, it looked like escape. Dan in the lead, they scrambled up a metal ladder. He was mystified. "Where did all this water come from?" "You're in Venice, dweeb!" Amy's arms and legs worked like pistons. "The canals, remember? Keep climbing!"
"Look -- " he exclaimed. "Daylight!"
The late afternoon sun shone down through the grill of a sewer grating. Amy knew a brief moment of panic. Manhole covers were iron and weighed hundreds of pounds.
What if they were trapped?
Her fear disappeared as Dan easily flipped the grating aside. "Plastic!" he chortled. He
scrambled out of the shaft and pulled his sister up beside him.
They took stock of their surroundings. They were on a narrow stone dock along one of Venice's famous canals.
Dan looked around in amazement. "Whoa -- it's like the road is the water! And people drive boats instead of cars!"
Amy nodded. "Some Venetians hardly ever set foot on the street. They can get everywhere they need to go on the canals."
Their tourist moment was cut short when they heard the echo of a shoe on the metal ladder, and Jonah's voice called, "This way!"
They fled down a narrow walkway that joined their dock to another one.
"Whoa!" Dan pulled up short and just in time. The path ended abruptly. He had nearly
given himself -- and Nannerl Mozart's diary pages -- an unexpected bath in dirty canal
water.
"What are we going to do?" Amy squeaked.
They watched as a motor launch pulled alongside the small pier they were standing on and tied up to a pylon. A young woman jumped out and ran into the row house that abutted the
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