“I didn’t really get a proper answer,” said Bea. “He just said that Arkadi was a popular name; then you turned up and he disappeared before I could ask him any more.” They sat on the mossy rock near Cambio Falls. Here in the water’s roar they could talk without fear of being overheard, while Nails sniffed around in the grass, stopping now and then to tug a worm from the soft earth.
“Sorry,” said Phoebe. “Do you think he’s gone like…like Theo?”
Bea shook her head. “He’s just good at hiding. He must have known the Ledbetter spy was still behind you.”
“How can we go looking for Theo with that Ledbetter creep following us?” said Phoebe. “If we did find Theo they would know straightaway.”
Bea scuffed the grass with her toe. “I don’t see the point in going back to the copses to look for him anyway. We’re never going to find him just by wandering around aimlessly.” She wanted more than anything to take out the Squeak Jar and speak to Theo, but she was afraid that the sight of the jar might provide some clue that their stalker could bring to Maize Ledbetter. They had eaten the remaining sandwiches sometime earlier, and waited around in the faint hope that the Ledbetter boy would get bored and leave. Bea pictured Maize Ledbetter’s menacing stare, and she knew that it was not likely.
“Granny Delphine thinks you can find him,” said Phoebe.
“She means by using Mumbo Jumbo, but I’m not even sure what that is. It might take years to learn.”
“If Arkadi was the real Arkadi I bet he could help you,” said Phoebe.
“If he was the real Arkadi he wouldn’t admit to it. Otherwise why would he be hiding? Besides, we can’t even go back and find him. Not as long as we have the creep on our tail.”
“Is he still there?”
Bea nodded. Even in the roar of the falls she could still sense the odd patch of silence that betrayed the Ledbetter boy’s presence.
“Why do you think they wear all those scarves and gloves?” said Phoebe.
“I keep wondering that. Maybe they’re always cold.”
Phoebe was quiet for a minute; then she said, “There must be someone we could ask about Arkadi.”
“I don’t see how we can ask anyone without giving him away, and I don’t really want to do that. What if he is just a harmless simpleton?”
“We could tell Bontoc. It was probably him who locked Arkadi into the Blue Moon Mobile in the first place.”
“I haven’t seen Bontoc since the night we arrived.”
“We could try his office in the library. At least the Ledbetter spy won’t be able to follow us in there without being seen.”
“I don’t know what time the library…,” began Bea; then a sudden thought struck her. “Of course! Bell Hoot Library. They’re sure to have a book on Arkadi, since he founded the place.” She jumped up and hastily packed the backpack. “We can look him up and see what he looked like.”
They walked quickly back in the direction of the library. Bea tried to ignore the uncomfortable patch of silence that followed them at a short distance, but they spoke in whispers nonetheless. The library was cool inside. The floor was polished wood and the tall bookcases formed a bewildering maze. Just inside the door was a wooden desk, and on it a brass sign engraved with the word Sssssssh! The librarian was none other than Miss Hopkins, the typewriter lady from Captain Bontoc’s office. She was rearranging cards in a dark green box.
“Hello,” said Phoebe. Miss Hopkins looked up and gave them a gap-toothed smile. She put her finger to her lips and pointed at the brass sign.
“We’re looking for a book about Arkadi,” whispered Bea. “Do you have any?”
“Indeed we do,” Miss Hopkins whispered back. There was no sign of anyone else in the library. “Do you have a library card?”
Bea frowned. “We just got here,” she said.
“So you did,” said Miss Hopkins. She handed them two narrow forms and a pencil each. There was only one question at the top of each form. It said simply:
Well?
Bea thought for a moment; then she wrote: I would like to join the library. My name is Bea Flint, and I’m staying with the Millers at the moment.
Phoebe licked her pencil, then wrote carefully on her own form: We are looking for a book about Arkadi. My name is an anagram of blue hope.
Miss Hopkins took the two forms and read them. She produced two green cards from a drawer and wrote the girls’ names, one on each. She wrote Phoebe Lu without hesitation, and stamped the reverse of the cards in slow motion so as not to make a sound.
“Where will we find it?” whispered Bea.
“Find what?” said Miss Hopkins. She spoke so quietly that it was easier to lip-read than to hear her.
“The book about Arkadi,” said Bea.
“It’s on the top shelf at the back,” said Miss Hopkins.
Bea looked at the shelf that Miss Hopkins indicated. It was the highest shelf of a very tall bookcase that stretched up to the floor of Captain Bontoc’s suspended office. “Could you get it for us, please?” she said.
Miss Hopkins shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she said. “It’s restricted. You’ll need a note from the Quorum.”
“But the Quorum only meets once a week,” said Bea.
“Once a fortnight, dear,” said Miss Hopkins. “But we’ve got plenty of other books to keep you amused in the meantime. We’ve got ones on abseiling, animals, archery, baking, bees, cakes, clothes, crossbows, dams, dreams, eating, eggs—”
“Yes, thank you,” said Bea. “We’ll take a look around.”
They wandered in among the bookshelves until they were out of sight of the librarian.
“We’re still whispering,” muttered Phoebe, pulling a book from the nearest shelf. “I thought we came in here so we could talk.”
“Never mind that,” said Bea. “We have to get hold of that book.”
“I could climb up there,” said Phoebe. “But she’d see us.”
Miss Hopkins billowed around the corner of a bookcase. “We’ll be closing in ten minutes,” she whispered. “I have to go upstairs to lock the filing cabinets. If you borrow any books just take the little cards out of the inside covers and drop them on my desk as you leave, like good girls.” She flipped open a book and mimed the act of removing the card in case they were in any doubt; then she replaced it on the shelf. Bea saw her glance up at the top shelf where the restricted books were kept; then she turned and trotted up the creaking stairs to Captain Bontoc’s office.
“I could probably get up there and back down before she comes out again,” whispered Phoebe.
Bea shook her head. “She’d notice it was gone,” she said. She frowned for a moment in concentration. The sound of metal drawers being closed rolled from the office above like distant thunder. “I’ve got a better idea,” said Bea. She took two books at random and quickly removed the little cards from inside. “Follow me,” she whispered, and she ran quietly to the front desk. She could hear Miss Hopkins’s key turn in the lock of the filing cabinet upstairs. “Quickly,” she said. She dropped the two cards on the desk and pulled Phoebe after her as she ducked behind the nearest bookshelf.
The door of Captain Bontoc’s office closed, and Miss Hopkins tripped lightly down the stairs. They listened to her bustling about quietly behind her desk for a while. She hummed to herself, a hum so faint that even Bea could barely detect it. Miss Hopkins allowed the tiniest jangle to escape from her keys as she removed them from her handbag and stepped out onto the porch. Just before she closed and locked the door, Bea caught sight of a boy sitting with his back against a tree on the far side of the clearing. It was unmistakably Ike Ledbetter, and his large pale eyes stared straight into hers for a moment before the library door closed softly and blocked him from view.