TEN

Cocoa circled the compost heap, looking toward the top forlornly. “Oh children!” he called, barely above a whisper. “Sam! Pinky! Come out, come out wherever you are!” He spotted a favorite opossum delicacy squirming before him and popped the slug into his mouth. “Oh my,” he said, shivering with pleasure. “How I adore bugs! And where there’s one…” He began to push some of the leaves and wood chips aside hoping to find more delicious insects. His curiosity was rewarded with a nice cache of busy cockroaches that he caught easily. “So crunchy,” he murmured in satisfaction.

Beatrice had lost focus on her mission as well, surrounded again by the temptingly ripe berries. She ventured further into the brambles and discovered a few mushy apples that were rotting and fermenting nicely on the ground. Taking several bites she settled back into a blissful indulgence that was beginning to make her very drowsy. “One more teensy nibble,” she said, feeling that her stomach might burst, and instead curled up using the soft apple as her pillow.

Henry and Silas didn’t have any luck looking for the children at the front of the house. As they headed back toward the compost heap they spotted Cocoa lying on his back in a delirious state, all four legs poking into the air and his toes waving at the stars.

“Looks like Cocoa’s been eating bugs again,” Silas sighed. “He always acts goofy afterwards.”

Henry nudged him with his foot, but Cocoa refused to open his eyes or wipe the silly smile off of his face. “Have you found Pinky and Sam?” Henry angrily demanded.

Cocoa kept humming, his toes conducting an imaginary symphony.

“Forget him,” said Silas, heading toward the blackberry bushes. “Let’s see how Beatrice is doing.”

They found Beatrice snoring loudly amidst several well-eaten cores, her head propped atop a rotten apple. She had an equally ridiculous grin on her face. “They’d never admit it, but Bea and Cocoa are two peas in a pod!” observed Silas with dismay.

“Shall I wake her?” asked Henry, eagerly grabbing a nearby stick with his tail.

“No, let her sleep,” said Silas. “It’s obvious that they both became distracted and now they’re too bloated to be of use to us tonight.”

Henry dropped his stick, sorry to miss the chance of giving Beatrice a good whack. They headed to the warren with heavy hearts, unable to bring back any good news on the whereabouts of the children or the turnip necklace.