Jack and Annie ran through the square, dodgingdancers, fortune-tellers, and acrobats. They didn'tstop until they were hidden in the middle of a crowdwatching a puppet show.
As Jack tried to catch his breath, he looked aroundat all the pirate and animal and clown costumes. Hewas glad now that he and Annie were dressed in sillyoutfits, too. When they looked at each other, theylaughed nervously.
"Maybe we shouldn't have skipped ahead," saidJack.
66"Yeah, you were right," said Annie. "We shouldhave been more patient. Let's go back to the partabout the painter Tiepolo."Jack nodded. "I think we should go to his house," hesaid. "Maybe he's there after all. Maybe that clownhad the wrong information.""I hope so," said Annie.
"The clown said Tiepolo lives near the Church ofSan Felice," said Jack. He pulled out their map andstudied it. "Okay, so we're here in Saint67Mark's Square. And we have to getthere."He traced the route with his finger. "Got it. Let's go.
Stay in the shadows in case those guards comelooking for us."Jack stuffed the book into his backpack. Anniegrabbed his hand, and together they squeezedthrough the Carnival crowd until they came to analley off the square.
The wind was blowing harder as Jack and Annieheaded down one shadowy alley, then another. Theywalked between rows of tightly68packed shops, cafés, and houses. As they walkedfarther from Saint Mark's Square, the streets becameless crowded.
After a while, they came to a small footbridge thatcrossed a canal. As they hurried over the bridge, Jacknoticed water washing onto the sidewalks. "What'sgoing on with the water?" he said.
"Let's askher,"said Annie. She pointed to a young woman lockingup a café. The woman wore a blue mask and a lacypurple dress. Water was swirling around her highblack shoes.
"Excuse me," said Annie, "do you know why there'sso much water in the streets?""Oh, there has been much rain in the mountains,"said the young woman. "It all washes down to thelagoon. It makes the water very high.""Is that dangerous?" asked Jack.
The woman smiled. "Oh, no," she said. "We oftenhave high water here in Venice. You shouldn't worry.
You should go watch the fire69works on the waterfront near Saint Mark's.
Everyone is going there.""Thanks!" said Annie.
The woman waved and went on her way.
"I guess we can stop worrying about the water,"Annie said to Jack.
"Yeah," said Jack. But he couldn't help worrying ashe saw a clump of seaweed wash past them down thealley.
As Jack and Annie walked toward the Church ofSan Felice, a bell started to chime. Jack counted thebongs:
eleven.
Another bell started to toll. Jack countedtenbongs. "What time do you think it is, really?" heasked. "I don't understand.""Patience, remember?" said Annie. "One thing at atime. We just have to find Tiepolo's house now."Soon they came to the small Church of San Felice.
The square next to the church was empty except foran old man walking a small, fat dog.
70"Good evening, little clowns," the man said with afriendly smile. "Why aren't you at the waterfront bySaint Mark's Square? I'd be there myself, except myRosa is afraid of fireworks." He smiled at his chubbydog.
"Actually, we're trying to find the house of apainter named Tiepolo," said Jack.
"Oh, he is my neighbor," said the old man. "He livesthere--" He pointed to a dark house off the square.
"But you won't find him home.""I know, we heard he's away," said Jack. "We werejust wondering if he was coming back soon.""I fear not," said the man. "Tiepolo told everyonethat he would be gone for many months. But youshould get along to the fireworks on the waterfrontnow. Everyone in Venice will be there to see them.
They are quite magnificent on the last night ofCarnival.""Thanks," said Jack.
The old man waved. As he and Rosa walked slowlyacross the square, the church bell began to sound. Itbonged eleven times.
71"Excuse me, sir," Jack called. "All the clocks inVenice tell different times. Which one is right?""None!" the old man called. "That is one of thewonderful things about our city. Venice is timeless!"The man laughed, and he and Rosa went inside asmall yellow house.
Jack sat down on a bench in the square. He put hishead in his hands. Annie sat next to him. "I guess wedohave to skip Tiepolo," she said. "What's the nextthing Merlin tells us to do?"Jack sighed. He pulled out the magician's letter andread the next two lines:
At midnight two men will tellyouthe time.
To the topoftheir tower hurry and climb.
"Oh, great," said Jack. "How will we know if it'sreally midnight? The man just said none of the clocksare right because Venice is timeless.""According to Merlin, two men will tell us the righttime," said Annie. "Two men who own some kind oftower we have to climb.""Right," said Jack. "But that makes no sense, either.
Who are they? How are we supposed to72find them? We'll have to skip that part, too. We'reskipping our whole mission, whatever it is. A terribledisaster's about to happen to some Grand Lady of theLagoon, and we have no idea who she is. We don'tknow what the disaster is. We don't know where tofind the Ruler of the Seas or how to find a painternamed Tiepolo--or even how to tell the right time!
We're completely failing Merlin's test!""Calm down. We just have to be patient," saidAnnie. "Everything will make sense soon.""Howsoon?" said Jack. He felt cold and wet andmiserable.
"Verysoon ... ," said Annie. "In fact, I think I see a lightnow inside Tiepolo's house." She stood up. "Idefinitely see a light!"Annie ran over to the small house off the square.
She peeped through a window. "Jack!" she called in aloud whisper. "Come here!"Jack walked over to her. "Someone's painting inthere," said Annie.
73Through the window, Jack saw a candle burning ina corner of the room. He saw canvases and pots ofpaint. He saw a boy standing at an easel. The boy waspainting a picture on a large canvas.
"He's just a kid," said Jack with disappointment. "Hecan't be Tiepolo."74"So what?" said Annie. "Maybe he can help us." Shetapped on the glass.
The boy looked up. He carried his candle to thewindow and opened it. He had reddish brown hairand big eyes. "Hello," he said. "Are you looking forsomeone?""I'm Annie, and this is my brother, Jack," saidAnnie. "We're visiting Venice. And we were hopingto find a painter named Tiepolo.""You have just done so," the boy said. "My name isLorenzo Tiepolo." Lorenzo had a very serious manner.
"You're a painter, too?" asked Annie.
"Yes. As you can see, I am painting right now. Ihelp my father and my older brother with theirpaintings," said Lorenzo. "And when they are gone, Ipaint my own. I will even miss the last night ofCarnival to paint. But why are you not there?""We're on a mission," said Annie. "We just escapedfrom the palace prison. We got caught looking for theRuler of the Seas."75"The Ruler of the Seas?" said Lorenzo. "Why wereyou looking in the palace? The Ruler of the Seas isright here.""What?" said Jack. "The Ruler of the Seas ishere?"Lorenzo smiled. Then he walked to a large coveredcanvas propped against the wall. He pulled off thecloth cover. He held up his candle to show a paintingof a beautiful woman resting her hand on the head ofa golden lion. A man was giving coins to the woman.
The man had a bare chest, a rugged face, long darkhair, and a white beard. Behind him was a three-pronged fishing spear.
"My father has been working on this painting forsome time," said Lorenzo. He pointed at the beardedman. "'Tis Neptune.""Neptune?" said Jack. "He's one of the gods inRoman mythology, right?""Yes, the Ruler of the Seas," said Lorenzo. "Ohhh . . .
We thought the Ruler of the Seas76was the ruler of Venice," said Annie. "We thoughthe lived in the palace on Saint Mark's Square."Lorenzo laughed. "Oh, no, the palace is just thehome of our city's human ruler," he said. "The trueruler of all the seas is Neptune.""Where does Neptune live, Lorenzo?" Annie asked.
"He lives beneath the water in a beautiful palacemade of coral and sparkling jewels," said Lorenzo.
"But only a few people can actually see Neptune.""Like who?" asked Annie.
"Those with imaginations, like my father, mybrother, and myself," said Lorenzo. "We have heardthe waves around Neptune roar like wild bulls. Wehave seen his fishing spear rising high above thesurface of the sea, gleaming in the moonlight.""That sounds great," said Annie.
"Yeah, great," Jack said politely. "You guys musthave really good imaginations. Thanks,77Lorenzo." He turned to Annie. "I'm going to look atthe research book some more."Jack walked back to the bench and pulled out theirbook. He felt totally discouraged. Neptune wasn't areal person. They'd come toanotherdead end.
Annie stayed by the window. "Lorenzo, one morequestion," she said. "Why is Neptune giving a gift tothat lady?"78"Neptune is offering the riches of the sea to Venice,"answered Lorenzo.
"So the lady in the painting is supposed to be thecity of Venice?" said Annie.
"Yes," said Lorenzo. "This is how my father thinksof Venice. She is the Grand Lady of the Lagoon."Jack looked up from the book. He felt goose bumpson his skin.
"Thanks, Lorenzo!" said Annie. "You helped us alot!""You are welcome, Annie," said Lorenzo.
"Good night." Then he closed the window. "Jack!
Jack!" said Annie, hurrying to him.
"The Grand Lady of the Lagoon is Venice!" "I know!
I heard!" said Jack.
"Now I understand our mission," said Annie. "Wehave to saveVenicefrom a terrible disaster. We have to saveall of Venice!" |