From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

When Claudia and Jamie reach the street, Jamie declares that, to save money, they’ll walk to the museum instead of taking the bus. Claudia is indignant—she wants to take a taxi. Jamie points out that they don’t have any allowance or income anymore, so they can’t be extravagant. Even the bus would cost 40 cents. Claudia grudgingly agrees to walk, deciding to suffer in silence the whole time. After all, Jamie will regret it when she collapses from exhaustion.

As they make their way up Madison Avenue, Claudia’s violin case keeps bumping Jamie, so he walks a short distance ahead of her. By the time they reach the corner of Madison and 80th Street, where they have to turn left, Claudia is tired, sweaty, and cold all at once. She mocks Jamie for consulting his compass and crankily picks a fight with him for looking conspicuous. But Jamie says that nobody notices one another in New York, and that Claudia was “brilliant” to hide out here. Claudia calms down and agrees.

When Claudia and Jamie reach the museum, the guard clicks off two numbers on his people counter. Guards don’t count people when they leave the museum, only when they arrive. (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler knows this because her chauffeur, Sheldon, has a friend named Morris who’s a Metropolitan guard. She’s been getting lots of information from him.) It’s one o’clock by this time, and the museum—which has over 26,000 guests on a typical Wednesday—is quite busy. It’s mostly tourists, art students, and old ladies killing time before a Broadway matinee. (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler scolds Saxonberg for never setting foot inside this wonderful, free museum that draws people from all over the world.)

Nobody thinks it’s strange that a boy and girl are walking around together carrying instrument cases and book bags; about a thousand kids visit the museum each day, after all. They check their bags at the entrance, though Jamie briefly panics about how he’ll change into his pajamas that night. Claudia reassures him that they’ll check out at 4:30 and reenter from the back; she’s got it all worked out.

The kids want lunch, so they go to the snack bar, which is cheaper than the restaurant. Jamie is shocked at the food prices, but Claudia is just mad at their stingy parents for putting them in a position to worry about money after less than a day in New York. Jamie wonders if he could get one of the guards to play cards with him for money, but Claudia points out that would be the opposite of inconspicuous. Jamie admits that he’s been cheating Bruce at cards all this time, though he’s not sure why he does it—he just likes complications.

They study a map to figure out where they should hide after the museum closes and before the guards leave. Claudia decides they should hide in the bathrooms; she explains that Jamie must go into a stall and “stand on it” (she’s reluctant to say “toilet”) with his head down. After they’re sure the guards have left, they can come out. Jamie asks what they’ll do about the night watchman, and Claudia pretends to feel confident—she figures they’ll learn the watchman’s habits soon enough and avoid touching anything that might have an alarm on it.

They wander around in search of a place to spend the night. In a display of fine French and English furniture, Claudia wants to sit on Marie Antoinette’s lounge chair, but it’s roped off. She finally finds an ornate canopy bed where the two of them can spend the night. (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler tells Saxonberg that this bed dates to the 16th century like her own does. She’d even thought of donating her bed to the museum once, but she was relieved when somebody else donated this one instead.)

Claudia knows she’s always been meant to sleep in a fancy bed like this, but Jamie finds this boring. Claudia shows him the card posted at the foot of the bed. It says that this bed was the site of the alleged murder of Amy Robsart, wife of Lord Dudley. This cheers Jamie up, and he says Claudia isn’t so bad. At that precise moment, the two of them become a team. It doesn’t mean that they stop arguing, but it means that the arguments become part of their adventure. It’s rare for two people to feel like this at the same moment—“especially a brother and a sister who had always spent more time with activities than they had with each other.”

As they’d planned, Claudia and Jamie check out of the museum and reenter through the back. The guard at the back tells them to check their instrument cases, but they tell him they’re just passing through the building. Then they hide in the bathroom stalls. At 5:30, they both emerge into the darkened museum and make their way to the English Renaissance furniture. Even after changing into their pajamas, they’re uncomfortable; they’re hungry, and the canopy bed smells musty.

The two lie there quietly for a while, feeling strange. Jamie points out that he didn’t brush his teeth. Claudia promises him that tomorrow will be even better organized. Even though it’s earlier than their usual bedtime, she feels incredibly tired. Gradually, the museum’s warmth, silence, and stillness settle around the pair, and they both fall asleep. They sleep quietly in the deep darkness and are not discovered. (Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler points out to Saxonberg that the bed’s draperies help, too.)