Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Amy and Dan dove out of the elevator and ducked behind the only available cover — a bronze statue by Rodin. They peeked out through the crook of the figure's arm. This room was larger than the tunnel-like corridors they'd seen so far. Hanging banners depicted prominent Janus throughout history. She gawked at the famous faces: Walt Disney, Beethoven, Mark Twain, Elvis, Dr. Seuss, Charlie Chaplin, Snoop Dogg — the list went on and on. A crowd of about thirty milled around, focusing not on the banners but on three stages that ringed the space. There was a performance of Japanese Kabuki theater on one. Another featured a group of artists in splattered smocks squirting paint from spray bottles at a canvas on a spinning wheel. On still another, sword fighters in fire-retardant jumpsuits dueled with flaming foils.

艾米和丹冲出电梯，躲到唯一可用的掩体——罗丹的一尊铜像后面。 他们从那人的臂弯里往外偷看。 这个房间比他们迄今为止看到的隧道般的走廊要大。 悬挂的横幅描绘了历史上著名的两面神。 她呆呆地看着那些名人的面孔：沃尔特·迪斯尼、贝多芬、马克·吐温、埃尔维斯、爱因斯坦博士。 苏斯、查理·卓别林、史努比·道格——这样的人不胜枚举。 大约有30人在周围转来转去，他们的注意力不是放在横幅上，而是放在围绕空间的三个舞台上。 其中有一场日本歌舞伎的演出。 另一幅画中，一群穿着喷溅工作服的艺术家在纺车上的画布上从喷雾瓶中喷射颜料。 在另一个地方，身穿阻燃连体衣的剑士手持燃烧的箔片决斗。

Dan appeared at his sister's elbow. "What planet is this?" "It's amazing," she replied in a hoarse whisper. "A whole society celebrating art and creativity. I hope we turn out to be Janus. The problem is how do we get past all these people?" Dan thought it over. "When you go to a movie, what do you pay attention to, the audience or the screen?" She frowned. "What are you talking about?" "Maybe we can melt into the swarm and slip out the other side." Amy wasn't a fan of crowds even when she was totally welcome. The idea of putting herself in the middle of thirty enemies made her nauseous. On the other hand, it was a plan — their only plan. Waiting around was risky, too. It was merely a matter of time before somebody realized they were intruders. "Let's try it." They stepped briskly out from behind the statue, not quite running, trying to project an air of belonging. Dan sidled up to the fire-sword

丹出现在他妹妹身边。 “这是什么星球？”“太神奇了，”她用嘶哑的声音回答。 “整个社会都在赞美艺术和创造力。 我希望我们能成为雅努斯。 问题是我们如何通过这些人？”丹想了想。 “当你去看电影时，你关注的是观众还是屏幕？”她皱起了眉头。 “你在说什么？”“也许我们可以溶入蜂群，从另一边溜出去。” 艾米不喜欢人群，即使她受到了热烈欢迎。 把自己置于三十个敌人中间的想法使她感到恶心。 另一方面，这是一个计划——他们唯一的计划。 坐以待毙也有风险。 迟早会有人意识到他们是入侵者。 “我们试试吧。”他们轻快地从雕像后面走出来，并没有跑，只是想营造一种归属感。 丹侧身走向火剑

audience. Amy joined the throng around the squirt painters, who were removing their latest creation from the wheel — a sunburst of reds and yellows. Her timing was perfect. The spectators burst into a rousing ovation, and she applauded along with them. Nervousness turned to exhilaration. She'd done it! She was one of them! A cheering man clapped her on the shoulder and nearly knocked her over. She was inching away from the overenthusiastic fan when she saw the sign: IBSEN HOUDINI KUROSAWA MOZART BASQUIAT Mozart! Of course the Janus branch would have a section devoted to its most famous musical member. She caught Dan's eye, inclining her head ever so slightly in the direction of the placard. He nodded. As usual, Mozart would be the key.

观众。艾米也加入了围观的人群，簇拥着水彩工，他们正在把他们的最新作品从轮子上移走——一幅由红色和黄色组成的日晒画。 她的时机恰到好处。观众爆发出热烈的掌声，她也跟着鼓掌。 紧张变成了兴奋。 她做到了！她就是他们中的一员！一个欢呼的男人拍了拍她的肩膀，差点把她撞倒。 当她从那个过于热情的歌迷身边慢慢走开时，她看到了一个牌子：易卜生·胡迪尼·黑泽明莫扎特巴斯奎特·莫扎特！当然，Janus分支会有一个专门的部分来纪念它最著名的音乐成员。 她和丹的目光相遇了，她的头朝布告的方向微微倾斜。 他点了点头。像往常一样，莫扎特将是关键。

With everyone focused on the performances, it was easy for them to sneak out of the atrium and down another art-lined corridor. They passed a couple of side galleries dedicated to prominent Janus Cahills before reaching a doorway marked MOZART: WOLFGANG, MARIA ANNA, LEOPOLD. "Who's Leopold?" Dan wanted to know. "Their father," Amy supplied. "He was a famous musician in his own right. He devoted his life to bringing out his kids' talents — especially Wolfgang's." The room was smaller, but it could have been in one of the museums they had visited, with elegant eighteenth-century musical instruments and furniture. "These guys could out-Mozart the Mozart houses," Dan observed, examining a wall that was floor-to-ceiling glass cases displaying handwritten sheet music. He frowned at a thick volume on the bottom shelf. "What's this? Looks like a book by Mozart's dad." "Violin Method. Back in the seventeen

每个人都专注于表演，他们很容易溜出中庭，走到另一条艺术长廊。 他们经过了几个侧边的画廊，专门为著名的雅努斯·卡希尔（Janus Cahills）设计的，然后来到一个门口，上面写着莫扎特：沃尔夫冈、玛丽亚·安娜、利奥波德。 “利奥波德是谁?”丹想知道。 “他们的父亲，”艾米补充道。 “他本身就是一位著名的音乐家。 他一生都在努力发挥孩子们的才能，尤其是沃尔夫冈。” 房间要小一些，但很有可能是在他们参观过的某个博物馆里，里面摆满了优雅的18世纪乐器和家具。 “这些家伙比莫扎特家的莫扎特都强，”丹观察着一面墙上的玻璃柜，里面陈列着手写的乐谱。 他对着底层书架上一本厚厚的书皱起了眉头。 “这是什么?看起来像是莫扎特爸爸写的书。” “小提琴方法。回到十七世纪

hundreds, it was the number one violin textbook in the world." She drew in a sharp breath. "Dan — it's the harpsichord Mozart played when he was three! Think about it: You were still in diapers at that age, and here's this tiny toddler pressing keys, listening for 'notes that like each other.'" "Maybe Mozart was in diapers, too," her brother said defensively. "Just because you're a genius doesn't mean you can use a chamber pot." Amy's eyes panned the many objects on exhibit, coming to focus on a glass case in the center of the room. Propped up in the display were three yellowed papers covered with elaborate handwriting. Very familiar handwriting … "The missing pages! The ones that were torn out of Nannerl's diary!" Dan appeared at her elbow. "What do they say?" She regarded him with exasperation. "They're in German, dweeb. We have to get them out of here and show them to Nellie." "That'll be a neat trick," her brother commented

数百本，是世界上最好的小提琴教科书。” 她深深地吸了一口气。 “丹——这是莫扎特三岁时弹的羽管键琴！”想想看：你在那个年龄还裹着尿布，而这个蹒跚学步的孩子却在按键盘，听着彼此喜欢的音符。“也许莫扎特当时也穿着尿布，”她哥哥辩解道。 “你是个天才，并不意味着你会用夜壶。” 艾米的目光扫视了许多展品，最后集中在房间中央的一个玻璃柜上。 陈列架上支着三张泛黄的纸，上面写满了精美的字迹。 笔迹非常熟悉……“缺失的那几页！”从南内尔的日记里撕下来的那些！”丹出现在她身边。 “他们说什么？”她恼怒地望着他。 “它们是用德语写的，笨蛋。 我们得把它们弄出去，给内莉看看。” “这将是一个巧妙的把戏，”她哥哥评论道

ruefully. He indicated a strange device connected to the display case. A small white porcelain tray was mounted beneath a bright light source. "I've seen pictures of these. It's a retinal scanner. You stick your chin in the holder, and the light reads your eyeball." Amy digested this. "Maybe our eyeballs will pass. Four branches of the family — there's a one-in-four chance we've got Janus retinas." "And a three-in-four chance that we're toast. Amy, these guys have zillion-dollar paintings just hanging off nails in the wall, and we're going after the one thing they put under tight security. I don't understand it, but it's pretty clear that if we try to jack those pages and get caught, payback is going to be a monster." Amy stepped away from the scanner. There was no question that Cahills played for keeps. With ultimate power at stake, did taking a risk mean laying their lives on the line? Her anxious thoughts were interrupted by a famous voice in the hall outside the Mozart room: "This place is off the hook, yo! Mom never told

悲伤地。他指着一个连接在展示柜上的奇怪装置。 一个白色的小瓷盘被安放在一个明亮的光源下面。 “我看过这些照片。 这是视网膜扫描仪。你把下巴伸进支架里，灯光就会读到你的眼球。” 艾米消化了这句话。“也许我们的眼球会过去。 家族的四个分支——我们有四分之一的机会患上视网膜双侧病变。” “我们有四分之三的机会完蛋。 艾米，这些人墙上的钉子上挂着价值上百万美元的油画，而我们要找的是他们严密保护的唯一一件东西。 我不明白，但很明显，如果我们试图窃取这些页面并被抓住，那么回报将是巨大的。” 艾米离开了扫描仪。 毫无疑问，卡希尔斯是为了自己的利益。 在最终权力岌岌可危的情况下，冒险是否意味着要冒生命危险？ 她焦虑的思绪被莫扎特房间外大厅里一个著名的声音打断了：“这地方太棒了，你！妈妈从来没说过