Ch8-Secrets

CHAPTER EIGHT Secrets Jack could see the Paris sky through the iron rails of the tower. At first, climbing was easy. The steps weren't very steep, and Jack counted each one as they climbed. "Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight…"

"I wonder what's going on at the top now," said Annie. "Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three," breathed Jack. "I wonder if the sorcerer is there with the others," said Annie. "What will he do when he finds out those guys aren't the kind of magicians he thinks they are?"

"Don't know," breathed Jack. "Forty-nine, fifty." "I'll bet he won't believe them!" said Annie. "He might kidnap them—and force them to tell their secrets." "Sixty-one, sixty-two…," said Jack. "Faster, faster," said Annie.

By the time Jack had counted the 360 steps to the tower's first-story platform, they were both panting. Jack's feet felt like lead. "That's a lot of steps!" said Annie, out of breath. "No… no kidding," said Jack, gasping between words. "But we… we have to keep going!" They kept going—but a little more slowly. Jack picked up the count: "Three hundred sixty-one… three hundred sixty-two…" "You can see how he might have thought Alexander Graham Bell was a

new magician," said Annie, panting. "Three hundred ninety-two… three hundred ninety-three…," said Jack. "Think about it!" said Annie. "You've never used a phone in your life… then one day you pick up this thing… hear a voice talking… the voice of someone… who lives far away… you'd think…" "Magic!" breathed Jack. "Four hundred forty-four… four hundred forty-five…" "And Thomas Edison!" said Annie. "Think about it! Thousands of years… you depend on fire for light… then one

day… you flip a switch… presto!… a glass bulb lights up…." "Magic!" gasped Jack. "Five hundred ten… five hundred eleven…" "And Louis Pasteur… think about it!" said Annie. "There are all these diseases… nobody knows what's causing them… then one day… this guy discovers germs… and he figures out a way… to wipe out the bad ones!" "Magic!" said Jack. "Six hundred two… six hundred three… six hundred four…" "I can't believe the sorcerer would do anything mean to these guys!" said