"Darn," said Quint.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't have any extra money — not if we want to take a cab when we go to lunch. Do you have any?" He pointed to a sign that said, "Pay what you wish, but you must pay something."

"Nope," I said. "Nothing extra. I guess that’s the end of the line. We can't follow them any further." We watched as Red and Frank disappeared into the crowd. "I wonder what they came here for, anyway," I said, as we walked back outside.

'7essi, do you think — " Quint said, in an awed voice. He was pointing to a red and orange banner that said, "Coming Soon: Jewels of the Russian Empire."

I stared at it, open-mouthed. Could Red and Frank actually be planning to rob the Metropolitan Museum? Suddenly I realized I might be in over my head.

Chapter 8.

After Quint and I had gazed at the banner for a moment or two, we walked down the steps to the sidewalk. "Can we rest for a few minutes?" I asked. "I'm feeling a little overwhelmed."

"Sure," Quint said. He led me past the museum. "How about here, near the temple? We can sit on the grass."

I studied the huge glass structure that loomed over us. It looked like a giant greenhouse, but inside, instead of plants, was a temple! That's right, an entire Egyptian temple that was brought over and set up inside its own wing attached to the museum. It's made of big tan-colored stones, and looks incredibly old. It is the coolest thing I've ever seen. It took my mind off Frank and Red, for a few minutes at least.

"There's still nothing we can do," said Quint, as if he'd been thinking the situation

over. "I mean, we can't walk in and tell the guards that someone is planning to steal the Russian jewels. They wouldn't believe us, and why should they? We have no proof. it’s just a guess."

I shook my head. "I know. We're really stuck. We can't go to the police until we have more to tell them, but the longer we wait, the better the chances are that Frank and Red will steal the jewels."