Gregor and the Marks of Secret-4 by Suzanne Collins Page A

for the first watch.

    Gregor dug in his backpack for something to keep his sister quiet. Since he hadn't planned to bring her along, he hadn't come prepared to entertain her. The best he could do was the binoculars.

    "Look, Boots, magic glasses," he told her. He had to take a few minutes to show her how to look through the binoculars. She was fascinated by the magnified images. She peered into the eyepieces and then dropped them down repeatedly. "Temp is big. Temp is small. Temp is big.
    Temp is small."

    "Shh. Everybody's going to sleep," said Gregor.

    "Temp is big. Temp is small. Temp is big. Temp is small," whispered Boots.

    Gregor was glad to get a little time with the cockroach. Temp rarely spoke in large groups, although in private he'd chatter along with Boots and Hazard in that bizarre mixture of English and Cockroach the three had developed. Most of the time, it was easy to forget Temp was there.

    "So, Temp, what do you make of this thing with the nibblers?" asked Gregor when the others were asleep.

    "Hate the nibblers, the rats do, hate the nibblers," said Temp.

    "Well, we don't know if the rats are involved yet," said Gregor.

    "It be too late, the knowing, it be," said Temp.

    "Too late for what, Temp?" said Gregor.

    "For the doing," said Temp.

    "Doing something to help the nibblers, you mean?" asked Gregor, and the roach nodded.

    By the time Gregor's watch was over, Boots had worn herself out. He lay down with her, and she soon drifted off. It took him a little longer. He kept thinking about what Temp had said, about it being too late for the doing. Gregor glanced unhappily around the empty colony, afraid that the cockroach might be right.

    No one felt satisfied with the idea of returning to Regalia the next morning.

    "What we have seen will not be enough to incite the council to action," said Luxa.

    "Perhaps telling the story of your crown will aid our case, after all," said Howard.

    "No. As Cevian was not able to tell us the reason she sent it, it will be assumed the twisters drove the nibblers out of the jungle and have gone in search of a new home," said Luxa.

    "What about the marks of secret?" said Hazard. "That would be enough in the jungle."

    "But we do not know specifically why they were made, so the council will not be able to justify sending soldiers after the nibblers," said Luxa.

    "In truth, Cousin, I believe the most likely scenario is that the rats drove the nibblers out of both of their colonies. But we have no evidence of that. And even if we did, we have never sent an army to prevent the nibblers' relocation before," said Howard.

    "We should have," said Luxa grimly.

    "What about that basketful of baby mice?" said Gregor. That somehow disturbed him more than anything else.

    "The council could say, like you did, that the mother was mad. Or, if something drove the nibblers out, that she did not believe the babies could make the journey. They will reason all of this away. Yet when I add it up, the crown, Cevian's death, the baby mice, two empty colonies, and the marks of secret, I know in my heart that a grievous wrong is occurring," said Luxa. "We must find more substantial proof."

    "That will be hard to get, since we will all be restricted to quarters the instant we return to Regalia," said Howard.

    "My mom will send Boots and me home," said Gregor. "I doubt she'll let us come back again."

    "For how long?" asked Hazard.

    "Maybe forever, Hazard," said Gregor. His family was only waiting for his mother's return. The second she could manage it, she'd pack them all up and take them to Virginia.

    "You mean, we will not see you after this trip?" said Luxa.

    "Probably not," said Gregor. It didn't seem quite real that by tomorrow he might never see the Underlanders again. But his mom would never trust him down here, especially since he'd taken Boots on this "picnic."

    "We would not have allowed you to come if we knew this!" said Luxa. She was always running off on dangerous