Grandfather chuckled.
“Isn’t that what they call the subway here?” asked Henry.
“Yes. The official name is the ‘underground,’ ” Grandfather said.
Grandfather led the way down the street to a small building like a train station. Inside, there was a ticket booth, and on the wall was a poster covered with colored lines crossing back and forth over one another.
“What’s that?” Benny asked, pointing.
“That’s a map showing where the tube goes,” Grandfather explained. He pointed to a small circle on one of the colored lines. “This is where we are.” With his finger, Grandfather followed that line to another circle on the other side of the map. “And here’s where we’re going, Monument Station.”
Grandfather paid their fare and picked up a small folded map from the ticket booth. “Take one of these,” he said, giving it to Jessie. “In case you need it later.”
“Thanks,” said Jessie. She tucked the map into Benny’s backpack, which she was carrying over her shoulder. It still had the umbrella, guidebook, and camera inside.
The children followed Grandfather to a steep escalator that led down into the ground. When they got to the bottom there was a platform beside some train tracks. The tracks emerged from a round dark tunnel and went off into another round dark tunnel at the other end. A few moments later two lights appeared.
“Here comes the train,” said Grandfather.
A train pulled up to the platform and the doors opened. After a couple of people got off, the Aldens boarded and sat down on a soft, cushioned bench. The doors closed, and the train started. It traveled for several minutes before stopping again to let people on and off.
Jessie was studying the map Grandfather had given her when a woman next to her said, “Can I help you find something?”
“No, thanks. I’m just checking to see how many stops there are before ours,” Jessie replied.
“It sounds from your accent as if you’re American,” the woman said.
“Yes, I am,” said Jessie. “We’re on vacation here.”
“I hope you’re planning to go to the theater while you’re here,” the woman said. “It’s the most wonderful part of London! I see every new play that opens — have for years. The very best actors perform here.”
“Since you’re such a fan, you may be interested to know that Andrew Smythe is staying at our inn,” said Jessie.
“Andrew who?” the woman asked.
“Andrew Smythe, the actor,” said Jessie.
“Never heard of him,” said the woman. “Oh, here’s my stop. Nice meeting you. Enjoy your visit!”
“That was odd,” said Jessie, turning to the rest of her family. “That woman told me she was a big fan of the theater, but she’d never heard of Andrew.”
“Really?” said Henry. “That does seem strange.”
“Maybe Andrew uses a different name on stage,” suggested Grandfather. “Some actors do, you know.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s possible,” said Jessie. “But he never mentioned a stage name.” She looked back at the map she was holding. “We’re next, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” Mr. Alden said.
After leaving Monument Station, the Aldens walked a short way and then spotted a large river in front of them.
“Is that the Thames?” asked Henry.
“Yes,” Grandfather said. “That’s the river that runs through London. And guess what that is.” He pointed straight ahead to a huge bridge.
“Is that … London Bridge?” Violet guessed.
“Yes, it is,” said Grandfather.
“It’s not falling down!” said Benny with a smile.
“I have to go this way.” Grandfather pointed up the street. “But if you walk up that way, along the river, you’ll get to the Tower of London. I know you’ll enjoy seeing that.”
“Great!” said Jessie.
The children said good-bye to Grandfather and then set off. The walk along the river was pleasant, until Violet happened to look behind them. “I hate to say it, but I think we’re being followed again.”
The others looked back, just in time to see a person in a long raincoat duck into a bus stop. It seemed strange that the person would be dressed like that, because it was a bright sunny day.
“Not again!” said Henry.
“Let’s just hurry up and get to the tower,” said Jessie.
As they got closer, Benny pointed to the high stone walls and turrets. “Wow! It’s like a real castle.”
Once inside the outer walls, Jessie told the others what she had read in the guidebook. “The Tower of London was begun by William the Conqueror back in 1078.”
“More than nine hundred years ago!” said Henry. “That’s really old!”
“Yes,” said Jessie. “They built it on the river so they could watch for invaders. Other kings added to it over the years. For a long time it was used as a prison.”
“A prison?” asked Benny.
“Yes. When someone committed a really bad crime, often something against the king, they’d be taken here and held in one of the towers,” Jessie explained. She pointed to one of the entryways. “That’s Traitor’s Gate, where prisoners were brought in and had their last look at the outside world. Some people were even executed here.”
“Wow,” said Benny, his eyes wide.
“What’s in there?” asked Henry, pointing to a large building in the center.
Jessie looked in the guidebook. “That’s the White Tower. It’s full of armor and weapons from hundreds of years ago.”
“Let’s go see!” said Benny excitedly, leading the way inside.
The children spent the next hour strolling around inside the stone building. They saw cannons, swords, muskets, and pistols of all sorts. They saw helmets and suits of armor that had belonged to kings, and even armor specially made for the horses.
“Look at this!” cried Benny, pointing to a small suit of armor. “This would fit me.”
“That belonged to one of the young princes,” Henry said after reading the sign on the wall.
As the children walked around, Jessie kept feeling as if someone was watching her. But whenever she turned to see, everyone just seemed to be looking at the armor.
Next the Aldens went to see the crown jewels, the priceless jewelry and crowns that belonged to the kings and queens. As soon as Jessie entered the exhibit, she forgot all about her feeling of being watched. There were shiny, beautiful silver pieces and elegant jewelry that sparkled in the bright light. But everyone’s favorites were the crowns, covered with valuable gems.
“These must be worth millions and millions of dollars,” said Benny. “What if someone stole them?”
“That’s why they’re in these special bulletproof glass cases,” Jessie said.
Henry pointed to one of the most beautiful crowns. “Queen Elizabeth II wore that crown at her coronation, the ceremony when she became queen,” he read from a sign. “One day Prince Charles will wear it when he becomes king.”
“That sign says the coronation crown has 3,733 precious jewels, including 2,800 diamonds!” said Violet.
“I didn’t know there were that many diamonds in the whole world!” said Benny
At the end of the exhibit, the Aldens bought postcards in the gift shop to send to Mrs. McGregor, Aunt Jane, and some of their friends back home.
“Let’s go get lunch and write our postcards,” suggested Violet.
“Grandfather suggested a place near here,” said Henry, leading the way. “It sells fish and chips, which is one of the most popular meals here in England.”
Jessie looked back as they left the tower, to see if there was anyone following them. There were lots of people, so it was hard to see if the same raincoated stranger was among them.
At the restaurant, Henry went to the counter and ordered the fish and chips special for everyone. Meanwhile, the others settled down at a small table and began writing their postcards. When Henry came back with the tray, they all took their paper plates of food eagerly. On each plate were several pieces of batter-dipped fried fish and a pile of french fries.
“Hey, these aren’t potato chips. They’re french fries,” said Benny.