Read Online The Hidden Boy by Jon Berkeley - Free Book Online Page B

realization.
    â€œArkadi!” they whispered in unison.

Arkadi
    B ea Flint and Phoebe Lu hurried back along the path toward Bell Hoot, while Nails the meerkat dozed happily in the jogging darkness of the backpack, his belly full of worms and beetles. The pale ghost of a blue moon remained in the sky. Below it the dawn had begun to spread on the western horizon—a fact that would have seemed strange to the two girls if they had had a compass to point it out to them. They were discussing whether they should tell anyone about the mysterious stowaway on the Blue Moon Mobile.
    â€œWe did promise him,” said Phoebe.
    â€œI know, but why was he so worried? Do you think he knows that someone has disappeared because he was there?” Now that they had left the falls behind, Bea could hear again the warm humming she had noticedearlier. She wondered vaguely what it could be.
    â€œWe don’t know that for sure ourselves. And he doesn’t seem very bright,” said Phoebe, her arms stretched out for balance as she walked along a narrow log by the path’s edge.
    â€œI don’t think he’s as simple as he’d like us to believe. How did he get out of that compartment?”
    â€œDidn’t you let him out?”
    â€œNo. He unscrewed the panel from inside. How can you undo screws from the pointed end?”
    They passed the stone library. The windows were dark, overlooking the square like empty eye sockets. The path that led to the Millers’ house seemed unnaturally silent now.
    â€œHe did have a tool belt,” said Phoebe. “And anyway, we don’t know what they’ll do to him if we tell. Maybe they burn people at the stake here.”
    â€œI doubt it,” said Bea. She chewed her lip. “But you’re right. We should find out some more. We’ll bring him some food later, and see if we can—”
    â€œBea—” Phoebe interrupted her quietly. She pointed along the path. An eerie scene was unfolding in the cobwebby shadows. A strange mob of people surrounded the Millers’ house. They all had similarfeatures—broad, flat faces and round staring eyes. Their clothes were worn and patched. Most wore fingerless gloves and some had scarves wrapped around their heads like desert nomads, despite the warmth of the night. Their hair—where it could be seen—was long and tangled. It was not their appearance, however, that made Bea stop in her tracks. They seemed to be performing a bizarre circus act. The sturdier members of the group stood just outside the circle of thornbushes that was planted beneath the house. Others had climbed onto their shoulders, and as Bea and Phoebe watched in dreadful fascination a third group of these odd intruders was clambering up to stand on the shoulders of the second. The whole operation was carried out in deathly silence.
    Bea reached out to grab Phoebe’s arm and pull her out of sight among the bushes, but Phoebe had other ideas. She was already marching along the center of the path and into the small clearing in front of the house. The third wave was just reaching the high windows of the Millers’ house when Phoebe spoke up.
    â€œWhat do you think you’re doing?” she said in a loud voice. Several of the intruders jumped visibly, and one of their human towers collapsed, pitching the boywho made up its third tier into the thornbushes. He was about twelve, and he let out a yelp as the thorns bit him. It was the first sound that any of them had made, and as the boy struggled to extract himself from the thornbush Bea could see he was biting his lip to avoid making another. She forced herself to follow Phoebe, wishing she could be half as fearless as her friend.
    An ancient, squat woman appeared from the far side of the house. She said nothing, but the rest of the mob quickly dismounted as though she had given an invisible signal. The woman had the flat face and widely spaced, almost colorless