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and then another.
    The silence stretched on.

    ELLEN and Corey’s grandparents squinted at the X ray as the doctor held it in front of the light.
    “I’m sorry, Mrs. Howard,” the doctor said. “The leg is not healing properly. I’m afraid we’ll have to reset it.”
    “Now? Tonight?”
    “The sooner the better. I’ve already called the hospital and arranged to have you admitted.”
    “But—”
    “You may as well get it over with tonight, Esther,” Grandpa said. “You don’t want to limp the rest of your life.”
    “If you like, you can spend the night at the hospital, too, Mr. Howard,” the doctor said. “We have several sleeping rooms for relatives to use in cases like this, when we do unplanned surgery at night.”
    “Yes,” Grandpa said. “Yes, I’ll do that.”
    “We’d better call the children,” Grandma said, “and make sure Mike and Dorothy got home. We can’t leave Corey and Ellen there by themselves.”
    “Use my phone, if you like,” the doctor said.
    Grandpa dialed. He waited a moment and then said, “I got the answering machine. That means they’ve gone on the camp-out.”
    He waited until the machine made a little
bleep
and then said, “Hello, it’s me. Esther and I are on our wayto the hospital. She has to have her leg reset and I’m going to stay at the hospital tonight, in case she needs me. I’ll call you tomorrow, after you get home from the zoo.”
    When he hung up, Grandma said, “I’m glad Mike and Dorothy got home in time. I was afraid the plane might be late and Ellen and Corey would have to miss the camp-out.”
    Grandpa said, “You worry too much.”

    COREY’S eyes felt heavy. He struggled to keep them open. No matter what Ellen said, he didn’t want to waste his night at the zoo by falling asleep. Maybe if he walked around awhile, he wouldn’t feel so tired.
    “I have to go to the bathroom,” he whispered.
    There was no response.
    “Ellen?”
    Ellen was asleep. Quietly, Corey got up from his sleeping bag. He put two apples in his jacket pockets. He found his flashlight, his camera, and the bag of peanuts that he had brought along, in case he got hungry in the night. He slipped through the flap of the tent and started off in the moonlight.
    After he went to the bathroom, he would take the long way back to the tent. He would go past the snow leopards and the other big cats. Maybe one of them would roar at him.
    Yes. That’s what he would do. Heck, if he was going to be at the zoo all night, he had to have some fun. LetEllen sleep in the tent if she wanted to. Corey would have his adventure by himself.

    ACROSS the zoo, on the other side of the lion area, Tony Haymes walked quietly down the path. He felt good now that he had eaten and even though there had been only fifty dollars in the cashbox, it was better than having no money at all. He also had two bananas and a sandwich in his jacket pocket, along with the cash. It was always nice to know where his next meal was coming from.
    He had pulled the panel securely shut and left the snack shop through the door. No one would be able to tell he had been inside the building until they opened the cashbox and found it empty.
    Tony smiled. I haven’t lost my touch, he thought. Eight months in prison couldn’t take away talent like his. Of course, fifty bucks was peanuts compared to Tony’s usual haul.
    That’s what I need, he decided. A big job. Fast. Make enough in a hurry to get me out of the country, let me lie low for awhile. Then I’ll start over somewhere else. Mexico, maybe. He’d heard there were ways to make big bucks in Mexico. But in order to get to Mexico he had to do more than pilfer petty cash from a hot dog stand.
    Think big, he told himself. Think big. Bank robbery? No. Too risky. All the banks have surveillance cameras these days and he would be recognized. Jewelry store? No. He would need a fence to get rid of the stolen goods and he was out of touch.
    He left the African area behind and