The Hidden Boy by Jon Berkeley Read Free Book Online

laughter from Theo, followed by an angry shout of “ Never? ” The shout came not from Theo but from Ma, and it dispersed Bea’s dream like a puff of smoke. She could feel the bedsprings bouncing beneath her, so suddenly had she jerked awake. There were voices from the verandah below her window. She could hear Ma’s voice, and Granny Delphine’s, and another voice that must have been Captain Bontoc’s. She could not make out what they were saying. I bet it’s not as important as what I was asking Theo , she thought.
    â€œPhoebe?” she said. “Are you asleep?”
    â€œI would be if you weren’t talking to me.”
    â€œI dreamed about Theo.”
    â€œWhat did you dream?” said Phoebe.
    â€œBesides the obvious, you mean?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI dreamed I was in my room back home. I could hear Theo but much clearer than…than from the jar.”
    â€œWhat did he say?”
    â€œI was trying to find out where he is, but I woke up before he could tell me.”
    â€œWhy did you do that?”
    â€œI didn’t wake up deliberately ! I heard Ma shout. I think she’s having a fight with Granny Delphine.”
    She heard Phoebe’s bare feet land on the floorboards.
    â€œWhere are you going?” she said.
    â€œI’m going to see what they’re talking about.”
    Bea got out of her bed too without a word. She quietly closed the zipper on Theo’s backpack and put it over her shoulder. She could see Phoebe’s silhouette as she slipped out through the door. She crept down the stairs after her. It was an unfamiliar staircase, so she did not know which ones might creak. Phoebe was skipping every second step, but the ones she did choose let out loud creaks anyway. Bea carefully stepped on the ones her friend had avoided, which creaked just as loudly. Together they sounded like a pair of giant crickets walking a polished corridor in new shoes.
    The door to the verandah stood open. Ma, Granny Delphine, Captain Bontoc and Pa sat on cane chairs in a pool of lamplight. Pa had nodded off. There was no sign of Clockwork Gabby or the Millers. “I couldn’t have told you,” Granny Delphine was saying. “You wouldn’t have come.”
    â€œYou’re darn right I wouldn’t!” said Ma angrily. “And we’re going right back, just as soon as we find Theo. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
    â€œThat won’t make any difference to the Gummint, love. You know that.”
    Bea followed Phoebe, tiptoeing across the darkened dining room toward the table where Mrs. Miller had served them supper. The Squeak Jar stood in the center of the table, reflecting the yellow glow of the lamplight outside. Captain Bontoc’s listening horn lay beside it. They sat down quietly to eavesdrop.
    â€œThey can’t arrest all of us. We’ve never had anything to do with Mumbo Jumbo,” Ma was saying.
    â€œThey can and they will. Whole families disappear every day. Most are never seen again. The Gummint sees Mumbo Jumbo as a danger to society. They’re afraid of it.”
    â€œMrs. Walker’s right,” said Captain Bontoc. “It’s said they carry out experiments on their prisoners, trying to find out ways to eradicate Mumbo Jumbo altogether. Once they suspect someone of being a Pearlseed they’ll arrest the entire family. They sent men to pick you uplast night. You got out just in time.”
    Ma shook her head slowly. “I’ll find my boy, and we’ll all go home on the next crossing.”
    Captain Bontoc sighed. “If I know the Gummint men there’ll be nothing left of your home. They’ve never been able to discover where Pearlseeds escape to, and they’ll tear the place apart looking for clues. It’ll look like a plague of locusts held their annual jamboree there, believe me.”
    â€œI’m not going to spend the rest of my life in hiding,”