Chapter 6 The Mystery of the 99 Steps by Carolyn Keene
Double Take
As the three girls tumbled down the circular stairway, Mr. Drew braced himself to try stopping them. He held one hand firmly against the inner wall and leaned forward. As the impact came he teetered, but only momentarily. The girls, too, had pressed against the stone side and this had helped to break the fall.
“Oh, thank you!” Bess cried out. “I was never so scared in my life!”
She, George, and Nancy regained their balance. The fat woman who had caused the accident had paused for only an instant. With a curt pardon she went on down the stairway.
The Americans laughed off the incident, but all of them sincerely hoped they would not meet any more overweight persons on the steps!
“How much farther to the top?” Bess asked, puffing a little.
Mr. Drew said that the Notre Dame tower was 226 feet high. “You should be glad you’re not going to the tip of the spire,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s 296 feet from the ground.”
“It’s a tremendous building, isn’t it?” Nancy remarked.
Mr. Drew nodded. “And some outstanding historical events have taken place here, including two coronations of enormous pomp and ceremony—for Henry V of England and Napoleon I.”
By this time Nancy had reached the top step and walked out onto the platform of the tower with its shoulder-high stone railing. A few feet ahead of her a massive stone gargoyle protruded from the roof. It looked like some strange prehistoric bird overlooking the swift-flowing River Seine below.
As Bess reached Nancy’s side, she commented, “This gargoyle and the others I can see around this tower are so ugly they’re almost handsome!”
George turned to Mr. Drew. “Who ever thought up gargoyles and what does the name mean?”
“I understand,” Mr. Drew replied, “that these figures are really rainspouts. Gargoyle is derived from a medieval French word meaning gurgle or gargle. As to why they were made to look so grotesque, it’s thought this was a whim of the designer and the architects.”
Mr. Drew and the girls walked from one end of the platform to the other viewing as much of Paris as they could. The thing they noticed particularly was that practically all the buildings except churches had flat roofs.
“They were also in vogue in our country around the turn of the century,” said Mr. Drew, “but we went back to the gabled variety. Now the flat ones are becoming popular again for large buildings. Give you one guess why.”
“So helicopters can land on them,” Nancy replied. Smiling, she said, “Dad, will we have to change our roof for the helipad?”
George chuckled. “Paris is ready for the future. A helipad on every roof! And the Drews won’t be far behind!”
Nancy glanced down at the street from which they had entered the tower. Suddenly she grabbed her father’s arm.
“Dad! That man down there! He looks like Claude Aubert!”
Mr. Drew was surprised and Bess and George dashed to Nancy’s side. The man on the street was gazing upward directly at the group.
“But you said Claude Aubert was in the River Heights’ jail!” Mr. Drew exclaimed.
At that moment the man apparently sensed that they were looking at him. He turned on his heel and walked away quickly.
“He’s not limping!” Bess exclaimed.
As George gazed after him, she said, “Hard to believe he escaped from jail and got over here so fast!”
Nancy remained silent, but her father spoke up. “It’s possible Aubert had someone put up bail money for him, then he jumped bail and managed to catch an overseas plane somewhere.”
When Nancy still did not put forth an opinion, Mr. Drew asked, “What’s your theory?”
“Rather startling,” she replied, “but I have a hunch this man is Claude Aubert’s brother, perhaps an identical twin.”
“Then which one,” said George, “is the real Monsieur Neuf?”
Nancy frowned. “I don’t know, but I believe they’re working together—Claude in the United States, this man over here. It’s my guess we’ve been followed ever since we arrived.”
A frightened look came over Bess’s face. “Then we didn’t leave the danger behind. Nancy, supposing the men are brothers, do you think one calls himself the Green Lion?”
“Possibly. In any case, we should find out at once if Claude Aubert did escape, or jump bail. I’ll phone Chief McGinnis as soon as we leave here.”
Mr. Drew liked the idea and the four left the tower immediately. When they reached the street, Nancy suggested that Bess and George go inside the cathedral while she and her father looked for a telephone.
“There’s a delightful little garden in back of Notre Dame,” said Mr. Drew. “Suppose we all meet there in half an hour.”
The group separated. Nancy and her father found a restaurant which had a telephone booth and Nancy put in a call to River Heights. She was told there would be a delay of fifteen minutes.
“I’ll wait,” she said in French. “Will you please ring me at this number?”
The operator promised to do so. Nancy and her father sat down at a nearby table and ordered some French pastry and hot chocolate. When the food arrived, Mr. Drew chuckled and said, “Wouldn’t Bess be goggle-eyed over this pastry?” Nancy grinned.
Ten minutes later the telephone rang and she jumped to answer it. “Chief McGinnis?”
“Yes. You’re calling from Paris, Nancy?” he said. “It must be important.”
“It is. Tell me, is Claude Aubert still in jail?”
“Sure. Why?”
Quickly Nancy told him about the man she had seen. “Could you find out from Aubert if he has a brother who looks like him, perhaps a twin?”
“Hold on!” The chief was gone for several minutes.
Finally McGinnis came back and said that Aubert had refused to answer. “That makes me think you may have guessed correctly,” the officer told Nancy. “By the way, we’ve observed that his limp is phony. Anyhow, I will report your suspicions to the Paris police.”
Nancy told the chief where she was staying and thanked him for his help. She asked about the stilt walker. The man had not been found yet.
As Nancy emerged from the booth and rejoined her father, she was beaming.
“Don’t tell me,” said Mr. Drew. “I know from your expression you’re on the right track.”
Nancy laughed. “I shouldn’t wear my secrets on my face.” Then she remarked softly, “If this other man is Claude Aubert’s brother and is following us, we should turn the tables and follow him.”
“A neat trick if you can do it,” the lawyer said. “But we’ll keep our eyes open.”
The Drews made a tour of the breathtaking interior of Notre Dame. Nancy was awed by its vastness and the beauty of the stained-glass windows and the many statues. She paused before one of the Virgin Mary, whose lovely face looked down at arms which had once cradled an infant.
“The baby’s statue was mysteriously taken away,” her father explained. “Stolen apparently.”
“How dreadful!” Nancy exclaimed. “And how sad!”
She and her father left the cathedral and walked down the side street to the open garden at the rear. Bess and George were waiting for them and admiring the colorful beds of zinnias and petunias. The four sat down on chairs and Nancy told the cousins of her talk with Chief McGinnis. She urged that wherever they all went, each one try to spot the man she thought was Claude’s brother. A few minutes later Mr. Drew suggested that they go back to the hotel and have lunch.
“That’s a grand idea,” Bess spoke up. “I’m starved!”
She arose, and before heading toward the street, turned slowly in a complete circle, hoping she might see the suspect. Suddenly her eyes became riveted on a black lamppost which stood near high bushes and trees at the back of the garden. She had spied a figure crouching behind the post.
“Nancy,” Bess whispered quickly, “I think I see Mr. Nine!”