Bea Flint and Phoebe Lu walked along the forest path in the direction Mrs. Miller had indicated. They intended to double back as soon as they could find a turnoff. Bea had put their sandwiches in the outer pocket of Theo’s backpack to protect them from the hungry meerkat. She would give the sandwiches to Arkadi, and in return she had questions to ask him. The buzzing from Ma’s tattoo machine faded slowly into the background hum of the forest. A fat bumblebee sailed past them, and suddenly Bea realized what the sound was. “Bees!” she said.
“What about them?” said Phoebe.
“That’s what that humming sound is.”
“I can’t hear anything.”
“You can’t?” said Bea. She spread her arms wide. “It’s all around us. I could hear it in the night too, but not as loud.”
“There’s a turn here,” said Phoebe. They took a sharp right. After a short while the path began to curve back on itself, and they could see the back of the library building through the trees. “This must be the other path that goes to Cambio Falls,” said Phoebe. “I think I’ll be able to find the hut when we get closer.”
They left the path after a while and made their way through the trees, clambering over twisted roots. Brightly colored birds perched just above their heads, eyeing them with black button eyes. A snake broke cover just in front of them and disappeared again into the shivering undergrowth. Bea kept her eyes peeled for monkeys.
They stumbled across the hut by accident. It was a tiny dilapidated wooden building, almost invisible among the trees. The roof was made from dried branches, which Arkadi seemed to have supplemented in the night with newer greenery. He sat outside the hut, whittling a stick with a knife. He looked up and smiled.
“Hello,” said Bea.
“I heard you coming,” said Arkadi. “You make enough noise for nine sumo wrestlers.”
“We brought you some sandwiches.”
“Did you steal them?”
“They were made for us, but we’ve already eaten.”
Arkadi unwrapped a sandwich and took a bite so enormous that he could hardly chew it. From his throat came a muffled sound that might have been, “Thank you.”
Bea seated herself on a log and waited patiently. Phoebe began to climb the nearest tree. Arkadi gave a grunt and wagged his finger at her. He swallowed noisily. “Don’t climb,” he said. “Ringsnakes in these trees. They’ll kill you stone dead and you’ll fall, bump, bang, crack. Break every bone in your body and they’ll have to bury you in a cake tin.”
“Ringsnakes?” said Phoebe.
“Ringsnakes,” said Arkadi. “They sit like a ring around the trunk. You can’t avoid them whichever side you climb.”
“I thought you’d never been here before,” said Phoebe.
“I haven’t,” said Arkadi. “Heard many, many stories, though.”
“Have you heard of a clan called the Ledbetters?” said Bea.
“Bedwetters?” said Arkadi. He looked at Bea with an open face. It gave nothing away.
“Ledbetters,” said Phoebe, jumping to the ground from a high branch. “They look in through people’s windows at night.”
“What are they looking for?” said Arkadi.
“We don’t know,” said Bea. “But the family we’re staying with seems frightened of them.”
“There are always things to be afraid of,” said Arkadi. “It’s what you do about them that matters.”
“Like hiding in a hut?” said Bea.
“I’m just hiding till I figure out what’s best.”
“What will they do if they find you?”
“They won’t find me,” said Arkadi. “I’m good at hiding.”
“And if we tell?” said Bea.
“You promised.”
“My little brother disappeared on the crossing,” said Bea. “Captain Bontoc says that’s never happened before.”
Arkadi glanced up from his stick. “I’m sorry to hear that. Little brothers are hard to replace.”
“Do you think he disappeared because you were under the floor?” said Bea.
“Why would he do that?” said Arkadi.
“‘Sky black, moon blue, nine souls go through,’” said Phoebe. “It says it on the side of the Blue Moon Mobile.”
“That’s just a slogan,” said Arkadi. “Like ‘Men’s shirts three for two on Tuesdays,’ or ‘Half a dozen is better than six of…’” He put down his knife and his stick and began to count on his fingers. He looked confused. “I was never good with phrases,” he said. “I’m good at fixing things. That’s me. And hiding,” he added.
“How did you unscrew the panel from the inside?” said Bea.
“That’s another thing I’m good at,” said Arkadi, “unscrewing things from the inside.” He picked up his stick again, and Bea could see he was carving it into the shape of a meerkat. “Thank you for the sandwiches,” he said, without looking up.