Ch4-Battle Scene

CHAPTER FOUR Battle Scene. Jack and Annie hurried to keep up with Leonardo. "So where are we going?" Annie asked. "To the palace of the great council," said Leonardo. "I was hired to paint a fresco in the council hall. I have been working on it for months."

"What's a fresco?" asked Jack. "It is a work of art painted onto a wall," said Leonardo. "One must spread plaster on the wall and then paint very quickly before it dries." "Sounds like fun," said Annie. "Not for me," said Leonardo. "I believe great art requires much thought. I like to paint slowly, and I change things as I go along. So for this fresco, I have invented a special oil paint that dries very slowly." "Does it work?" said Jack. "Too well," said Leonardo. "Now I have a new problem: Neither the plaster nor my oil paints have dried at all." "Oh, no," said Annie.

"But today all will be well!" Leonardo said cheerfully. "I have a plan to speed up the drying process. This morning I will fix everything!" Leonardo led Jack and Annie into a square with a large building. "There it is," he said. "The palace of the great council." The palace looked like a fortress. It had rough-looking stone walls and a tower that rose high into the air. "The palace is a very important place," said Leonardo. "It is where the governing council of Florence meets. Come along." He opened one of the grand doors and guided Jack and Annie into a courtyard with a fountain. "This way to the

council hall," he said, "and the latest work of Leonardo da Vinci." Leonardo bounded up some steps and down a corridor. Jack and Annie hurried after him until he passed through another grand doorway and stopped. Leonardo put down his basket and raised his hands. "My fresco," he said. "Oh, man," breathed Jack.

They were in an enormous room with tall, arched windows and vast white walls. Several young men stood on a wooden platform on the far side of the room. On the wall above them was a giant painting of a battle scene. It showed a tangle of men on horseback, fighting over a flag. The men in the painting seemed to be in a fury as they slashed at each other with their swords.

Their faces were twisted, their mouths snarling. Even their horses looked wild and angry. "The city has paid me to paint a scene from a battle once fought to defend Florence," said Leonardo. "They wanted me to paint a scene of glory. But I believe war is a beastly madness. I hope my painting shows that." "Oh, it does," said Annie. Jack nodded. It was the scariest painting he'd ever seen. "Zorro!" called Leonardo. One of the young men on the platform climbed down a ladder and jumped to the floor. He was a sturdy-looking teenager with a red face and wavy black hair.