From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

At the end of their third day away from home, Claudia and Jamie plan to do their laundry. Wearing an extra layer of clothes and keeping others in their pockets, they visit a nearby laundromat the next day, Saturday. They are disappointed to see their clothes turn gray after they wash the light and dark colored items together.

Denying Jamie’s request to watch TV in a department store, Claudia leads him to two local libraries to learn all they can about the Renaissance. Ambitious and confident, Claudia begins to read a book about Michelangelo and assigns Jamie to scan pictures, looking for Angel. They argue as they share what they learned with each other, each trying to outdo the other. Claudia describes Michelangelo as a “hot-tempered genius” (72) while Jamie points out that many of Michelangelo’s works were lost. As time passes, Claudia becomes less confident in grasping Michelangelo and his work while Jamie feels more so.

On their way to lunch, Jamie picks up a candy off the ground and eats it despite Claudia’s warning that it may be drugged. After spending some time in Central Park, they return to the museum. While hiding in the bathroom and waiting for the staff to leave, Jamie overhears two staff members discuss their plans to move Angel. Thinking hard, Jamie tries to warn Claudia not to leave her hiding place by telepathy. For whatever reason, she stays hidden, and the two of them emerge much later than usual.

At Claudia’s insistence, the two of them bathe in the fountain decorated with statues of dolphins and water sprites featured in the museum’s restaurant. Mrs. Frankweiler interjects that she sees the fountain’s design as “representing the arts” (81). Jamie is delighted to discover that the floor of the fountain is covered with coins thrown in by wishful visitors; they collect as many as they can hold.

Afterward, they visit Angel in the new location. Claudia wishes she could hug the statue, but Jamie criticizes the idea as foolish and unscientific. Back in bed, they think about their home but don’t feel homesick, which Jamie attributes to their clear purpose, while Claudia says she is “extremely well adjusted” (87).

On Sunday morning, instead of going to church as they usually do, Claudia and Jamie say a prayer in a room featuring a stained-glass window from the Middle Ages. Since the museum doesn’t open until 1:00pm on Sundays, they examine Angel all by themselves, though they don’t touch the statue. When a security guard approaches, Claudia and Jamie hide behind a nearby booth.

As they make their way to their hiding places, they pass the velvet platform where Angel was stationed earlier. They notice a set of three linking rings pushed into the fabric. At first, they think the marks came from a beer can, but when they see an “M” inside one of the rings, they suspect that the rings are Michelangelo’s signature mark pressed into the velvet from the bottom of the statue. Jamie recalls seeing a similar mark in one of the books at the library. As they hide under the platform, waiting for the museum to open, Claudia realizes that solving the mystery of Angel is even more important to her than the other reasons she ran away.

After the museum opens, Claudia and Jamie visit the museum bookshop, where they find a book verifying that the three rings with the “M” are Michelangelo’s mark. Thrilled at their discovery, they plan their next move during brunch. Claudia suggests they rent a post office box and send an anonymous letter with a tip about the statue to the museum. She also insists that they not return home until they know for sure about the statue since she wants to return home with a “difference that will last a lifetime” (98).

To preserve anonymity, Claudia uses a store’s display typewriter to type a letter to the museum describing their discovery. Satisfied, they return to the museum, avoiding the large crowds waiting to see Angel.

On Monday morning, Claudia and Jamie visit the post office, where Jamie grudgingly provides $4.50 (a large sum at the time) to rent a post office box for three months, the minimum rental period. Rather than mailing their letter, which would take a day or two to arrive, they decide to have someone deliver it to museum staff in person.

Looking for a visiting student to deliver the letter to the museum office, they visit the Egyptian exhibit. While they are hiding inside a burial chamber called a mastaba, they overhear students speaking and realize that the visiting class is Jamie’s class. Jamie is tempted to reveal himself, surprising everyone, but Claudia convinces him to take advantage of the coincidence by delivering the letter to the museum office, where he can identify himself simply as a visiting third grader from Greenwich who was asked to deliver the letter.

Admitting that Claudia is “smart even if [she’s] hard to live with” (108), Jamie delivers the letter to the museum office. Seeing that Jamie is feeling agitated, Claudia takes him for a walk down Fifth Avenue.