“I think he’s crazy,” said Sticky. “What do you think, Reynie?”
Reynie had pondered this all day. “I think we should send a message to the shore. If we
The others agreed, and Sticky was elected to send the message, he being the quickest with Morse code. Climbing onto the television cabinet, which stood beneath the window, Sticky peered out over the plaza below. At the edge of it he saw a familiar figure facing away from the Institute, gazing down toward the bridge. “We’ll have to wait. I can see Mr. Benedict — I guess I mean Mr. Curtain.”
“What’s he doing?” Constance asked.
“Just sitting in his chair doing nothing.”
“Maybe he’s contemplating what a terrific madman he is,” Kate said.
“Hold on,” Sticky said. “A couple of Executives have gone out — and now they’re all leaving together. Boy, he sure can move fast in that thing. They’re puffing to keep up.” Sticky looked in all directions. The plaza was empty, and he saw no lookouts on the paths, no boats on the water, no one on the distant bridge. “Okay, the coast is clear.”
Kate handed him her flashlight, and in Morse code Sticky flashed their message:
They had decided to be as brief and cryptic as possible, in case an unseen Executive spied the signals. Now, as they waited minute after long minute for a response, they began to worry the message hadn’t been understood. Or worse: that it hadn’t been seen at all.
“There’s no one there,” Constance said loudly. The other three shushed her. She stuck out her tongue but continued in a whisper: “This proves it was a trick. The others are all in on it. They wanted to get us on this island, and now we’ll never get off again.”
“Let’s be patient,” Reynie said. “If they don’t respond soon, we’ll send the message again. If they don’t reply to that, then I’ll have to agree with Constance: We’ve been tricked, or else something has gone terribly wrong, and we’d better start thinking about how to get away.”
“Hold on!” said Sticky. “I see a light in the trees! They’re flashing a response.”
The others held their breaths for what seemed a terribly long time. Then Sticky whispered, “Boy, when Rhonda said they were going to be cryptic, she meant it.”
“So what’s the message?” Kate asked.
“It’s some kind of riddle,” Sticky said. He recited it for them:
“When looking in my looking glass
I spied a trusted face. Alas,
Not to be taken for him am I.
Beware, therefore, the Gemini.”
“Oh,
“Sounds like he looked in the mirror and saw himself, then decided he was
Sticky shook his head. “It’s not Mr. Benedict who sent the message, remember? I just saw him down on the plaza.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Kate. “It must be one of the others, then. But what are they trying to tell us?”
Reynie was chewing his lip thoughtfully. “Let’s hear the message again, Sticky.”
Sticky repeated it.
“What’s a Gemini, anyway?” asked Constance.
“A constellation, a sign of the zodiac, or a person born under that sign,” said Sticky.
“You’re not very helpful, George Washington,” said Constance. “Who are the zodiacs, and why are they so keen on making signs?”
“The zodiac is more like a diagram that has to do with stars and planets and whatnot,” said Reynie, trying to make it simple. “Your zodiac
“Sign of the goat,” said Sticky.
“Right, sign of the goat, and so on — you get the idea. Your sign depends on your birthday.”
“So now we’re supposed to find out when somebody was born? Who? This is ridiculous!” Constance declared.
“I think I know what the message means,” Kate said in a suddenly uncomfortable tone. “It’s saying some people aren’t who they seem, that we can’t trust the people we thought we could. In other words, Constance is right — we’ve been tricked. Whoever sent us the message must have been duped as well. It’s Rhonda or Number Two trying to warn us.”
“It’s a little late to warn us, isn’t it?” Reynie pointed out. “And what’s this about a Gemini?”
Kate looked very uncomfortable indeed. “She must think one of us took part in the deception. Someone had a secret pact with Mr. Benedict to help get the others on the island.”
“You’re saying one of
