Inside the church, Bob only had time for a fleeting impression of a large, square room that did not seem to have any ceiling. It went up and up as far as he could see. On one side was a flight of stairs closed in by heavy iron grillwork. Eight thick ropes hung down from above, their ends looped through iron rings set into the stone walls.
Bob had no time to see more.
“Now we make for the catacombs,” Dmitri was saying. “Do you lads know what catacombs are? They are burial regions concealed beneath the church. In ancient times people were buried there, and there are many levels, many corridors. We can hide there — ”
“What’s the use of hiding anymore?” Jupiter spoke up unexpectedly. “They’ll only catch us sooner or later.”
They all stared at him.
“You’re thinking something, Jupe!” Pete said tensely. “I can tell. What is it?”
“These ropes.” Jupe pointed. “Do they ring the bell of Prince Paul?”
“The bell of Prince Paul?” Rudy scowled, trying to fathom what Jupiter was leading up to. “No, these are the regular church bells. The bell of Prince Paul is in the other bell tower, across the church. It hangs all by itself, and rings only on state occasions.”
“Yes.” Jupiter spoke swiftly. “But Prince Djaro told us also that hundreds of years ago, when Prince Paul quelled the rebellion, he summoned his loyal followers to let them know he was not dead by ringing the bell.”
They all stared at him. Dmitri rubbed his jaw.
“Yes,” he said. “Every schoolchild knows the story. It is part of our national heritage. But what are you thinking?”
“He means that if we ring the bell of Prince Paul now, maybe the people will rise to Prince Djaro’s aid!” Rudy cried. “We never thought of it — to us it is just an old story that happened long ago. All we could think of was newspapers, or the radio, or television. But just suppose if, today — ”
“The bell started ringing!” Elena chimed in, tremendously excited. “And after all those radio announcements of an important message to come. The people love Prince Djaro. If they thought he was in trouble and needed them, they’d flock to his aid.”
“But if — ” Dmitri began.
“There’s no time for ifs!” Rudy cried. “Listen to them hammer on that door. We only have moments.”
“Very well.” Dmitri no longer hesitated. By now guards were probably racing around to the main entrance also. “Rudy, you lead them. Elena and I will go the other way, down to the catacombs. If they follow us, you’ll gain time. Elena, we need something for them to find. Give me one of your shoes.”
Elena stooped and wrenched off a wet shoe. She handed it to him.
“I’ll leave it behind like Cinderella,” she said, and even managed a smile. “Go, Rudy, hurry!”
“This way!” Rudy said. “Follow me!”
He ran across the cathedral to the bell tower on the other side. Bob, Pete and Jupiter followed him. Elena and Dmitri hurried toward a rear door, which presumably led to the catacombs.
Bob found himself falling behind. He was limping now. His leg, which until recently had worn a brace to strengthen it following a bad break, was beginning to pain him after so much exertion.
Ahead of him he saw the others stop. Limping more with each step, he caught up with them and saw that they were in another room similar to the one they had left. This, too, had no ceiling. A single sturdy rope hung down from above and was secured to the wall. Stairs, enclosed like the others in iron grillwork, led upward.
Rudy swiftly undid the bell rope so it hung free. Then he ran for the stairs.
“Come!” he called. “Up! Swiftly!”
Pete grabbed Bob’s arm to help him, and they began to scramble frantically up the stone steps.
15
The Bell of Prince Paul
THE STONE STAIRS were steep. For Bob each one was an effort. Rudy saw his difficulty and stopped. He handed one end of the blanket rope to Bob.
“Hang on!” he cried. “I’ll give you some help.”
Grasping the rope as Rudy pulled, Bob found the going easier. They went up one flight, two. As yet the guards had not found their trail. At the top of the third flight they came to a massive gate closing off the stairs. It opened with a creaking protest when pushed.
When they were through, Rudy put into place an enormous iron bolt.
“That’s to hold off pursuers,” he said. “In the old days, even the church might be invaded by soldiers. The priests could retreat to the bell towers, locking these gates behind them. There are two more.”
They had, just locked the second gate when the guards came pouring into the base of the bell tower. They looked up, saw the fugitives, and began to race up the stairs. But the first locked gate stopped them.
They shook it without effect, and bawled orders for tools to cut through the iron bars.
“They won’t get through in a hurry,” Jupiter puffed, as they hurried on. “We’ll have a little time, anyway.”
Now they were above the dome of St. Dominic’s. They could see miniature people and tiny cars moving on the streets below. Everything was normal, it seemed. Except here, in the bell tower. Here was warfare and an enemy they had to outwit.
They reached the open bell-chamber, where the great bell of Prince Paul hung from massive timbers beneath a pointed roof. Here was the third gate. They slammed it shut and Rudy bolted it. A flock of pigeons, frightened by the noise, flapped away from their roosts on the ledges of the tower.
The boys paused to get their breath. Down below, the guards were attacking the first bolted gate with a great deal of noise and confusion, but no apparent progress.
“They’ll send for an expert soon,” Rudy guessed. “We’d better get started. Now let’s see, how can we make this bell ring? Oh, first of all we’d better pull up the bell rope. They might think to fasten it down below.”
In the floor of the bell-chamber was a large hole for the bell rope. Standing beneath the great bell, Rudy grasped the rope and started to pull. With Pete and Jupiter helping, they brought it up in great coils like a fuzzy snake. The guards below let out a yell as they saw the rope go up, but they were too late to catch the dangling end.
The rope safely up, the boys studied the bell. It was impressive in size, with a Latin inscription around the lip. The bell rope ran over a wheel on one side of the bell. By turning the wheel, the bell itself swung to hit the heavy clapper. This puzzled the boys, who had only seen small bells that were rung by making the clapper swing.
“Golly,” Pete said as he surveyed the size of the bell. “How can we ever ring that?”
“We can’t do it the regular way from up here,” Jupiter said thoughtfully. “We’ll have to tilt the bell on its side. Then we can pull on the clapper and make it hit the bell. I think that will work.”
All four boys took hold of the bell rope. At Jupiter’s signal, they pulled. Slowly the wheel turned and the heavy bell tipped until it was hanging on its side, the clapper just a few inches from the metal.
Rudy took the bell rope and wound it around one of the bell-chamber’s ornate pillars. He fastened the rope so it held the bell in its unusual position, and they rested for a moment.
The sun was coming out and a fresh breeze blew through the open bell-chamber. Pigeons fluttered around, landing on ledges and then flying off again with loud cries.
“What time is it?” Jupiter asked, and Rudy looked at his watch.
“Twenty minutes to eight,” he said. “Twenty minutes before the Prime Minister makes his speech on radio and television. We have to hurry.”
“Lucky we still have the blanket rope,” Jupiter said thoughtfully. “We have to get it around the clapper and then swing the clapper so it hits the bell.”