《神奇树屋》 第三十五册 Night of the New Magicians 04 Wizard of Menlo Park

        Jack 1 ran after Annie. He caught up to her outsidethe huge building made of glass. She was standing 2 inline waiting to buy tickets.



"Listen," Jack said breathlessly, "we . . . we've got tomake a plan. What if we suddenly find the sorcerer?



What do we say to him? What if he tries to use hispowers against us?""We use a rhyme," said Annie.



"Which rhyme?" said Jack.



"How many, children?" interrupted the ticket seller.



They'd reached the front of the line.



43"Two, please," said Annie, holding out some coins.



The man gave her two tickets, and Annie turned backto Jack. "Let's go inside and see if we can find thesorcerer. Then we can figure out which rhyme.""Okay, but be cool," said Jack, "so the sorcererdoesn't notice us."Jack and Annie walked through the entrance of theglass building. "Oh, man," whispered Jack. The Hall ofMachines was the size of a football stadium. It wasfilled with thousands of people and thousands ofmachines! Motors roared, wheels spun 3, gears clanked.



"What kind of place is this?" asked Annie. Jackpulled out their guide book and read aloud:



In the Hall of Machines you will see machines fromall over the world, bringing alive the world ofengineers and inventors. You will see how cloth issewn by machines to make clothes! YouS- 3344will see an exhibit of an automobile 4 powered bygasoline! And of course, you will see a collection ofinventions by the American grand-prize winner fromMenlo Park, New Jersey 5 -"Look at that!" Annie interrupted. She pointed 6 to amechanical walkway overhead. The walkway circledthe entire exhibit hall. Sightseers gazed down on allthe exhibits. "We can get a look at everything from upthere.""Good," said Jack. "Maybe we can spot thesorcerer."He put away the guide book and led the way up thestairs. They stepped onto the crowded movingwalkway and peered down at all the people millingabout the exhibit hall below.



There were lots of men dressed in black coats andtop hats. There were American cowboys and beardedmen in Arab robes and headcloths. But Jack didn't seea single scary-looking guy in a hooded 7 cloak.



45As Jack and Annie moved slowly over the exhibits,the air grew hotter and the sounds in the hall grewlouder. Hammers hammered, sirens blew, bells rang,whistles whistled. The voices of other sightseersswirled around Jack and Annie. "What genius!" "TheAge of Machines!" "He's the Wizard of Menlo Park!""Did you hear that?" Annie shouted to Jack.



"Someone said something about a wizard!""I heard!" said Jack.



"The Wizard of Menlo Park!



We just read something about Menlo Park." Hepulled out their guide book and found the page he'dbeen reading. He read aloud:



And of course, you will see a collection ofinventions by the American grandprize winner fromMenlo Park, New Jersey-Mr. Thomas Alva Edison!



"Thomas Alva Edison!" said Jack. "He's one of themost brilliant inventors who ever lived! Where'shisexhibit?" They looked down at all46the booths. Directly below them was a booth with abig sign that said EDISON.



"There! Let's go down!" said Annie.



When the moving walkway came to a staircase,Jack and Annie jumped off and hurried down to themain floor, squeezing past people as they went.



"Okay, where is it?" said Annie, looking around.



"Follow me," said Jack. He led her down a wideaisle until they came to the Edison exhibit. Lots ofpeople were gathered around the booth.



Jack and Annie slipped through the crowd to get agood look. Many of Thomas Edison's inventions wereon display. One of them had a big tube and lots ofswitches. Above it was a sign:



Phonograph"What'sa phonograph?"Annie asked.



"I think it's like an old-fashioned CD player," saidJack. "It was the first thing that played recordings 8 ofmusic."A man with earphones was listening to the47phonograph. Tears ran down his wrinkled face. "It'sincredible!" he said to the woman beside him. "Nowwe can hear the dead sing!""What does he mean?" Annie asked Jack.



"I guess he means that even after people die, you'llstill be able to hear their voices on the recordings,"said Jack.



"I never thought of it like that," said Annie.



"Shh!" someone said. People were trying to listen toa man delivering a speech to the crowd. His name tagsaid: HENRI.



"Yes, indeed," Henri was saying. "Thomas AlvaEdison of Menlo Park, New Jersey, U.S.A., inventedthe phonograph, shown to the public for the first timehere at the Paris World's Fair. Mr. Edison hasinvented many other things, too." Henri moved toanother display in the booth: a lightbulb with aswitch. He clicked the switch, turning the bulb on andoff.



"Ten years ago, after years of work and thousandsof experiments, Thomas Alva Edison invented theincandescent lightbulb," said Henri.



48"When electricity passes through the thread, it getsvery hot. There is no oxygen in the glass bulb,however. So the fire glows, but it does not burn."As others moved closer to the lightbulb to get agood look, Jack turned to Annie.



"His fires glow; but they do not burn!"he whispered. "Thomas Edison is the Magician ofLight!"49"I know!" said Annie. She turned to Henri. "Excuseme-is Mr. Edison in Menlo Park now?" she asked.



"No, as a matter of fact, Mr. Edison was here at thisexhibit just a short while ago," said Henri.



"Do you know where he is now?" asked Jack.



"No. All I know is that he was invited to a partyand he left," said Henri.



50Jack felt the hair on his neck go up. "The sorcerer,"he whispered.



"Did a strange messenger in a cloak deliver theinvitation?" asked Annie.



"Why, yes," said Henri.



"Do you know where the messenger went after heleft here?" Jack asked.



"He asked for directions to the Pasteur Institute.



That is all I know," said Henri.



"The Pasteur Institute?" said Jack. "Where's that?"But Henri didn't answer. Another boy had askedhim a question about the lightbulb.



"Come on," Annie said to Jack. "We'll find itsomehow!"As Jack and Annie left the Edison exhibit, theycould hear Henri repeating his speech word for word:



"Ten years ago, after years of work and thousands ofexperiments, Thomas Alva Edison invented theincandescent lightbulb...."