(#60) The Greek Symbol Mystery Read Free Page B

replied.
    Nancy had her eye on two lovely linen tablecloths across the way. She bought them, then stopped in front of another store window. The sign above it said CHRYSOTEQUE.
    “That must mean ‘gold store,’ ” Nancy said as Bess and George caught up to her. “Just look at all that fabulous jewelry!”
    Even more intriguing was the gold mask displayed in the middle!
    “It’s beautiful,” George remarked.
    The girls leaned forward for a closer look when suddenly it was pulled out of the window.
    “I guess somebody wants to buy it,” Bess said, and entered the shop followed by Nancy and George.
    To their amazement, though, there were no customers inside. Behind a curtain at the rear, angry voices shouted at each other.
    “Maybe we should leave,” Bess murmured as a young boy appeared from behind the curtain and raced out of the store in tears.
    Then a woman stepped into view and smiled. “May I help you?” she asked.
    “I was interested in the mask in your window—” Nancy said.
    “That’s been sold,” the shopkeeper replied curtly. “We have no more like it.”
    “In that case,” Bess put in, “I’d like to buy this pin.” She pointed to one in the form of a mask. “What do you think, girls?”
    “Don’t forget you have to lug all this stuff through customs,” her cousin reminded her. She gazed at her friends’ shopping bags. They were filling up rapidly.
    “But this won’t weigh a thing,” Bess insisted and asked the shopkeeper the price.
    “Not much at all, less than a thousand drachmas,” the woman said.
    “How many American dollars is that?” George inquired.
    “Three—four.”
    “It’s more like thirty,” Nancy whispered to Bess.
    “Even so,” the girl said, “I’ll take it. Somehow, spending drachmas is more fun than spending dimes!”
    George rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I’m going to save my traveler’s checks for something I really want,” she said as they stepped outside. “Like a cruise on the Aegean.”
    By now, the girls were beginning to feel tired from their long walk. Nancy laid her heavy shopping bag on the sidewalk whenever she could. She had done so twice, and the second time the bag was nearly trampled on by tourists who window-shopped beside her.
    “Let’s get out of here,” Bess suggested at last. “I can’t take all of these people.”
    The girls walked toward Syntagma Square, where a din of children’s voices circled an old man who wore a flat hat made of natural sponge. He carried others over his arm. They were all different shapes and sizes.
    “Barba Yanni! Barba Yanni!” a small boy cried, eagerly trading a few coins for a big sponge.
    “He sure won’t need an umbrella,” George said. “That sponge could soak up an entire cloudburst!”
    “I’d like to soak up something cool,” Bess said as they passed an ice-cream vendor.
    “How about sitting down, too?” George asked.
    The three found a sidewalk table. After they gave their order, a young man pulled up a chair.
    “You American?” he asked in halting English.
    “Yes, we are,” George replied.
    “I show you Athens,” he announced.
    “Oh, we couldn’t—” Bess said.
    “No, thank you,” Nancy interrupted coolly.
    “Entaxi,” he said, heaving a sigh. “Okay, girls. So long.”
    Giggling, Bess leaned toward her friends. “I think we broke his heart,” she said, watching him leave.
    Instantly George changed the subject. “May we see your tablecloths?” she asked Nancy, who promptly opened her shopping bag.
    “Hey, what’s this?” she said, discovering an extra package. It was wrapped like the others from the jewelry store. She pulled it out and removed the paper.
    “It’s the gold face mask we saw in the window!” Bess exclaimed.
    “How did it get into my shopping bag?” Nancy wondered.
    George shrugged. “It sure looks like a real ancient piece,” she replied, “not a reproduction.”
    She took the mask from her friend and turned it over, examining it