Night of the New Magicians Read Online Free Page A

the world’s foremost medical researcher.”
    “Really?” said Jack. “What does he research?”
    “Microbes,” said the night watchman.
    “Microbes?” said Annie.
    “Germs,” explained Jack.
    “Yuck,” said Annie.
    “Microbes are invisible to the eye,” said the old man. “Some are useful and necessary, but others can cause great harm. Dr. Pasteur battles the deadly ones with research and vaccines and new medicines.”
    Annie gasped.
“He battles deadly enemies no one can see!”
she said. “He’s the Magician of the Invisible!”
    “Yes!” said Jack.
    The old man smiled. “I suppose you could say that,” he said. “Dr. Pasteur has certainly helped a lot of people.”
    “We have to find him,” said Annie. “Do you know where he is now?”
    “Unfortunately, you have just missed him,” said the night watchman. “Earlier, a messenger left an invitation for him.”
    “A strange man in a black cloak?” said Annie.
    “You know him?” said the night watchman.
    “Not really,” said Jack. “But we think we know who he is. What did the invitation say?”
    “I do not know,” said the old man. “But when Dr. Pasteur read it, he left immediately. He said he had to get to the Eiffel Tower by ten p.m.”
    “The Eiffel Tower?” said Annie.
    “By ten p.m.?” said Jack. “Do you know what time it is now?”
    The old man pulled out a pocket watch. “It is about twenty-five minutes until ten.”
    “Yikes, we’d better get going!” said Annie.
    “Thanks for your help,” Jack said to the night watchman.
    “You’re welcome,” the old man said. Then he stepped back inside the institute and closed the door.
    “Hurry!” said Annie. She and Jack ran down the steps to the street.
    “Dr. Louis Pasteur!” said Jack. “I’ve heard of him, too! This is crazy. None of these guys are really magicians. They’re all famous for doing great things in science and stuff!”
    “I wonder who the
fourth
‘magician’ is,” said Annie. “The Magician of Iron, who bends the metals of earth and triumphs over the wind. Is he a magician or a scientist or what?”
    “I don’t know,” said Jack. “But we have to get to that tower fast! We have to find the magicians and learn their secrets—before the sorcerer finds them!”
    Jack and Annie looked up and down thelamp-lit street. A man was pushing a cart over the cobblestones. A couple on a two-seater bicycle rode by and disappeared. Then a horse and carriage clattered up the street.
    “Taxi!” yelled Jack.
    But the horse and carriage kept going. There was no sign of another one. The street was empty except for Jack and Annie.
    “Let’s start walking,” said Jack.
    “Look,” said Annie.
    The couple on the two-seater bicycle rattled back down the road. They stopped near a yellow streetlamp.
    “We heard you call for help. Do you need assistance?” the man asked in a gruff voice.
    Jack and Annie stepped closer to the bike. The riders were an odd-looking couple. The man was short. He wore a tall black hat and had a bushy beard and a long mustache. The woman was short, also. She wore a hat with a veil that hid most of her face.
    “We need to know the quickest way to the Eiffel Tower,” said Annie. “We have to get there by ten. It’s an emergency!”
    “An emergency! Oh, dear!” exclaimed the woman in a high, squeaky voice.
    The man cleared his throat and spoke in his low, gruff voice. “It would take quite a long time to walk to the Eiffel Tower from here,” he said. “Perhaps you should take our bicycle.”
    “Really?” said Jack.
    “Of course,” said the man, “if it’s
truly
an emergency.”
    “It’s an emergency, all right,” said Annie. “But how can we get your bike back to you?”
    “Just leave it for us under the arches at the bottom of the tower,” said the man.
    “We can pay you for letting us borrow it,” said Annie. She pulled coins out of her pocket and held them out to the couple. “You can have them all.”
    “No,