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escaped him. His shiny skin and whiskered face gave a fleeting impression of a plump seal escaping from a trawler net, and a moment later he was free.
    There was chaos in the room. The typewriter womanlet out a delayed shriek. Captain Bontoc, now standing several feet away from Pa, shook himself back into shape. Pa was hugging himself, a surprised look replacing the anger on his face, and there was a nervous rumble from the people on the bench.
    It was at this point that Granny Delphine took command. “ Enough! ” she said in a shrill voice.
    Everything stopped.
    â€œThere’s nothing more we can do tonight.” She swept the room with her owl eyes, and even the strangers fell silent. “It seems that Theo is in no immediate danger. In the morning we will organize a proper search, and in the meantime Captain Bontoc will show us where we are to stay.”
    â€œAh, yes,” said the captain. He turned to the typewriter lady. “If you please, Miss ’opkins?”
    Miss Hopkins opened a drawer in her desk. She took out a small wooden box, placed it carefully on the corner of the desk, and opened it. The people on the bench shifted nervously. One of them, a stooped man in a shapeless felt hat, stood up hastily and addressed the typewriter woman. “Beg your pardon, Miss Hopkins. I’d like to be excused from the line. Just remembered I’ve got to get the plumegranates in this week.”
    â€œAye,” said a woman sitting at the end. “And I’ve got to get my ears adjusted on Tuesday. I’ll volunteer another time.”
    â€œNonsense!” said Miss Hopkins brightly. She tapped the box with a pudgy finger. A large striped grasshopper appeared, first his long curling antennae, then a triangular green head with eyes like coffee beans. He climbed out of the box in a leisurely fashion and surveyed the row of people on the bench. The man in the hat sat down quickly. The people shrank slowly into their collars, and Bea had the distinct impression that they were all trying to avoid catching the grasshopper’s attention. The insect made up his mind. He jumped suddenly and flew across the room with a clatter of wings, landing squarely on the felt hat of the man with the plumegranates. The man muttered something under his breath. The rest of the people looked relieved.
    â€œMr. Miller,” said Miss Hopkins. “You’re the lucky host!”
    Mr. Miller stood up. A reluctant smile broke across his wrinkled face, and he walked forward and stuck out a large bony hand. “Welcome to Bell Hoot,” he said. The grasshopper was still perched on his hat.
    Ma looked at him blankly, her eyes rimmed withtears. Bea shook hands with the man instead.
    â€œYou’ll be staying with the Millers until we get you settled,” said Captain Bontoc.
    Ma and Pa said nothing. It seemed the fight had gone out of them. Ma looked tired and pale, and there was a thin streamer of pond weed glued to Pa’s cheek.
    They filed out through the narrow door and down the wooden staircase, following Mr. Miller out into the warm, chirping night. Bea thought about the peculiar animals she had glimpsed on the brochure through Granny Delphine’s spectacles, teeming in the undergrowth. A thrill of excitement made her forget for a moment about Theo. She ran a few steps to catch up with their host.
    â€œAre there any big animals here?” she asked in a loud whisper.
    â€œSome,” said Mr. Miller. He held up a lantern that cast a pool of light around them. His head turned from side to side, peering into the darkness between the trees. He seemed distracted.
    â€œWhere are we going?” asked Bea. “Is it a sort of guesthouse?”
    Mr. Miller shook his head. “It’s our home.”
    â€œDo you normally have lodgers?”
    â€œNope. It’s our turn, is all. You’ll get your own place by and by.”
    â€œWe’re only here for three weeks.”
    Mr.