"Sorry, Collin. It's just that I love those subjects so much. That's why Courtney and I are best friends, because we like the same things. I wish you liked them, too," she said with a sigh."I want everyone I really care about to appreciate learning."

          Collin's eyes widening in disbelief. "You care about me?"

          "Of course," she said with surprise. "I thought you knew. You and Courtney -- you're my closest friends." She reached out and squeezed Collin's fingers. "I feel happy when I'm with you." She looked at her surroundings once more. "I just wish we could find Courtney."

          "Me, too," Collin said. His voice sounded suddenly serious as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

          The icy night wind blew a newspaper across the stone walkway on which the two were standing. When the paper wrapped itself around his legs, Collin picked it up and looked at the front page. "Looks like you were right about this being Paris," he admitted. "Unless this is a really old paper, it's 1898."

          As Morgan looked over his shoulder at the newspaper, he pointed to an article on the front page. " 'Curies announce discovery of a new element'? That sounds like a story right up your alley. Sort of scientific and all."

          "This is wonderful!" Morgan exclaimed as she remembered stories she'd read about her idol. "Madame Curie was one of the greatest woman scientists who ever lived." She took the paper from Collin, read more of the article, then folded the paper and stuck it in her windbreaker. "I'll bet the Curies are the reason we've landed in Paris. If we find them, maybe we'll hear the voice and the riddle."

          "Courtney's probably looking for them, too." Collin's eyes shined with hope, and Morgan realized that the disappearance of his twin sister had frightened him more than he was letting on.

          "I remember reading that the Curies didn't have much money for their experiments. They probably lived and worked in a poorer part of town."

          "Paris is a pretty big city. How are we ever going to find them?"

          An elderly gentleman in a heavy coat, his head tucked low to ward off the wind and snow, was walking away from the Eiffel tower steps. Morgan stepped in front of him. "Excuse me, sir," she said, still marveling at the fact that she could understand and speak many languages. "Do you know where Pierre and Marie Curie live?"
           
           
           

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