Summer Island - A Prince in Peril

26 - The Advertisement

"She said what?" Seymour asked for the third time.

"I told you-that she placed an ad."

"But what does that mean? Are you sure you heard her right. If she was sedated, she could have-"

"I know what she said," insisted Daniel.

Seymour started pacing again, muttering to himself. He had been gradually going mad with worry over the past few hours. First, Dinora reported that Greta had gone with Zoë. He, Daniel and Mario were setting up the stage. It was infuriating not being able to go to them. With help from Dinora, they rushed through the stage construction until Mrs. Eaton finally nodded her approval.

When they arrived at the Lobster Co-op it was too late. They hoped Peter had gotten away safely-but where were the girls? Seymour ran back to the truck in case they'd gone to meet them there. Mario and Dinora headed back to the bazaar and searched frantically for their friends. Daniel followed the coastline. They agreed to meet at the truck in half an hour.

He didn't know why he felt called to search along the shore but Daniel didn't question it. His mind was calculating possible scenarios, each of which compelled him to trace and retrace his steps. Then he saw their bodies. The half hour was almost up but Daniel only cared about getting the girls to Dr. Ingraham. Subsequently, Seymour and Mario had been all the more worried when Daniel too had gone missing. Dinora was not worried-she was hysterical. It was all the older boys could do to keep her from losing her wits entirely.

"We'll stay here," her brother assured her, opening up the passenger side door of the truck and helping her inside. He took off his sweatshirt and draped it over her quivering shoulders. "We'll stay here and we'll stay together. Right, Seymour?"

His friend's face was panic-stricken, but he managed to stay relatively calm. He looked at Mario and nodded.

The celebration was winding down. The boys passed the time by dismantling the booth and disposing the ruins of eighteen pies.

"Oh!" Dinora looked dismayed at such a waste. "Well...I suppose I can have a little bit...of the apple," she answered their unarticulated offer. Mario brought his sister a pie and she smiled wanly. She broke off pieces of crust with her fingers and daintily dipped them into the filling.

The boys smiled.

Just when Seymour thought he was going to have to tear out on a rampage looking for his friends, Mario yelled, "Look!"

Daniel was running toward them. They darted off to meet him. Breathless, he tried to update the others on all that had taken place. Making their way back to the truck, the children inundated Daniel with questions. He haltingly conveyed the little he knew, which only seemed more because it took him so long to say it.

"I want to see them," said Seymour.

"She's sleeping," said Daniel. "We can see her in the morning."

"He's right," Mario agreed. "There's nothing we can do now for either of them. They're in the safest place they can be and we have work to do."

"Why would she place an ad?" Seymour groaned.

"We need to find a paper," Mario reasoned. "It has to be Island Ad-Vantages. It's the only-"

"Yes!" Seymour exclaimed. "When we were in town yesterday.... Zoë went somewhere while I went back to the parsonage. She wasn't gone long but I suppose it could have been enough time to put in an advertisement."

"It must have been in today's paper then. Why didn't she tell us?" Daniel wondered aloud.

"Who knows why Zoë does anything," said Seymour. "Maybe she got distracted with everything else going on."