That thought had an effect on Ben. It made him mad—and that sharp burst of anger woke him up.

“Hey,” he said, “that thing’s nothing but a pile of junk chained to a trailer, right? And it can roll away from here just the way it came. So let’s stay focused, okay?”

His voice sounded hollow, as if he didn’t believe his own words.

He tried again, putting his heart into it.

“And don’t forget the codicil, and the pictures from the underground room, and all the other last-minute stuff we’ve got cooking. Come on, guys, we can’t wimp out now. ‘After one still star, horizons afar’—that’s what we need to think about. This is a big day for us—it’s our star search day! There’s not really time before homeroom now, but at least we can show Wally and Lyman that we haven’t given up. Let’s show ’em that we still own this place!”

Jill moved first. She turned away from the big machine and stood up.

“Yeah,” she said, “no point in sitting here like monkeys on an island. Let’s go, Robert.”

Robert stayed put. “I don’t need a cheerleader to tell me what I should do, and I’ll sit here on my island as long as I want to. So why don’t you shut up—and go fetch me a banana.”

It was more of that same surly attitude—which had gotten much worse since Gerritt’s run-in with Wally yesterday morning.

Ben was afraid Jill was going to explode, and when she turned and took a step toward Robert, he expected the worst. But she looked over at Ben with a devilish smile and said, “You know what monkeys like more than bananas? They like to play . . . chase the bag!” And without warning she grabbed Robert’s backpack and jumped to the ground.

“C’mon, Ben, let’s play catch!”

Ben hopped down, and Jill tossed him the backpack.

“Hey!” Robert shouted. “The good camera’s in there!”

Jill hooted like a chimp, and said, “Me doesn’t understand!”

“You are dead,” Robert yelled, scrambling to his feet. “Do you understand that?”

Jill grabbed the backpack from Ben and took off toward the front of the school. “Big words, banana brain,” she called over her shoulder. “Let’s see if you’re monkey enough to catch me!”

Robert leapt off the gravestone, and as he went past Ben, he landed a fist on his shoulder.

Ben winced, but then he grinned and said, “Not bad, for a monkey!”

Gerritt stopped short. “Yeah? Well, here comes another one!”

But Ben was ready, and he dodged the next punch, and he also saw that Robert smiled a little—it was all pretty stupid.

Ben backed away, so Robert turned and started toward the front of the school. But then Ben called, “Hey, Gerritt—hang on a second. I’ve gotta tell you something.”

Gerritt stopped again and turned to face him, defiant. “Yeah? What? ”

Ben almost chickened out, almost said, Forget it. But he walked toward Gerritt and made himself keep talking. “Yesterday, before school? I was hiding in the bushes along the path toward the Annex—I was gonna to jump out and scare you, just a goofy prank.”

Ben saw a quick ripple of thought cross Robert’s face as the memory came back.

Gerritt looked him in the eye. “So . . . you saw Wally, too, right?”

Ben nodded. “Yeah, and I saw you shove right past him—which was awesome!” He paused, waiting for the explanation, but Robert didn’t seem like he was going to say anything.

Ben went on, “So . . . what did Wally say to you?”

Robert looked down and shrugged. “Just a bunch of garbage. He said I should team up with him—can you believe that? He said Lyman didn’t really trust him. And he said—” Gerritt stopped, and then looked Ben straight in the eye again. “He . . . he said Lyman doesn’t really trust him—the same way that you and Jill don’t really trust me.”

Ben’s mouth dropped open. “He said that? What a creep! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard! I mean . . . you know how crazy that is, right?”

“Oh . . . yeah—of course!” said Gerritt. “Completely nuts!”

But Ben heard the pause, a tiny fraction of a second. Because Wally’s attack had hit a weak spot.

Ben didn’t break eye contact. “Listen, Robert. That is total junk. I mean, you’re . . . you’re like my brother—really. And if it wasn’t for you? Me and Jill—we’d be sunk most of the time! And I also heard what you yelled at Wally, and you were right—that idiot doesn’t know anything!”

Robert smiled a little. “Your brother, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Ben, “who I would trust with my life—my smarter, grumpier, incredibly annoying little brother!”

Gerritt laughed and acted like he was going to whack Ben’s arm again, but held up at the last second.

“Hey, monkey boys!”

It was Jill, yelling at them from the front corner of the school and waving Robert’s book bag. “You gonna hang around outside all day or what?”

Gerritt took off after her, and Ben followed. When they rounded the corner, Jill was gone and Robert’s backpack was sitting on the steps by the front door. They both started to dig for their hall passes, but Mrs. Hendon waved from the office window and buzzed them in just as the first entry bell clanged.

Ben followed Gerritt into the front hall, and immediately their mood changed. It was time to get back to business.

Ugh.

It felt at least ten degrees hotter inside the school. He wanted to turn around and go right back out the door. But this building was the battlefield, and they were just going to have to deal with the heat.

Ben pointed to his right. “I’m heading for homeroom—you going that way?”

“Yeah,” Robert said, “I’ve got to take a book to the library.”

They started walking, and Ben could tell that the tension between them was gone now. It felt good.

Just past the nurse’s office, Ben stopped and stared up at the old map of colonial Edgeport. Robert stopped too.

After about ten seconds, Gerritt said, “Nice try, Pratt, but there are no stars on that thing. I gotta get to the library or I’ll be late for homeroom.” He walked away, but Ben stayed put.

Gerritt had guessed right—Ben was looking for stars. This seemed as good a place as any to start solving the final clue. And he stood there until the homeroom warning bell ran, studying every square inch of the large drawing.

But Robert had been correct—annoyingly correct. There wasn’t a single star to be seen.

So . . . does being that smart mean he can actually see that much faster?

Ben shrugged. Nothing about Gerritt surprised him anymore.

Trudging past the library and then turning south, Ben realized that he’d have a view of the demolition tractor from the windows of the art room. Not a happy thought, so he aimed his mind back to the problem at hand.

After one still star, horizons afar. . . .

The heat, the humidity, and the feeling that time was running out—it was a bad combination. This was their last full day of school, they had one clue left to solve, and even if they solved it and found that final safeguard, there was no way to know if it would be enough to save the school.

And the harbor.

And the town.

Ben had studied some of history’s great battles, and the winning side usually had plenty of resources, capable leaders, and a strong plan of attack.

Resources?

Yes, they had good communications, loads of money, and a full team of intelligence agents and allies—inside and outside the school.

Capable leaders?

Yes . . . mostly. He and Jill and Gerritt had proven that they could solve problems and react quickly to changing conditions.

A strong plan of attack?

No. Not today.

And that was the problem.

Because wandering around a big old building, looking for something about a star? That wasn’t the kind of plan that would win a battle.

Really, it wasn’t a plan at all.