I sighed. For a moment, watching Farthing’s antics, I’d forgotten my situation. Thanks to the lizard I wasn’t going to starve to death just yet, but I still needed to find shelter, and the sun still wasn’t clear enough to try a fire with the eyeglass.

Rumbles traveled through the ground and then my bones, chattering my teeth, and I turned to see gouts of smoke rising from the summit of the volcano. No spits of red this time, but the ground settled more quickly than my heartbeat did.

I stood and brushed my sticky fingers on my breeches and headed parallel to the shore, just inland from the rocks draped with iguanas. I hoped to find an area of larger rocks or cliffs like we’d seen on other islands, where there might be caves and shelter. Farthing followed me, and I was glad of her company. I wished I could give her something to show she’d done well, that I was grateful for her staying with me and finding food and water, but she didn’t need anything from me.

As the afternoon passed, any breeze died along with my hopes of finding a cave. It was back to the tight, breathless Galapagos heat, and a band of gray fog squatting over the horizon—the same soupy mist that had made the first visitors call these islands enchanted. Was the fog concealing the Beagle? Farthing trotted by my side as I limped back inland through the cactuses, listless now, still weak from the poison. I picked up some dead grass and brushwood to use as kindling later on and stuffed it in the pocket of my breeches. The volcano continued to rumble and release occasional bursts of steam and smoke.

Farthing turned, her ruff flat against her head, and I followed her gaze.

Above the volcano was a black silhouette.

My stomach plummeted as if to make more space for my loud-pumping heart. I told myself it could be a huge hawk, a heron, or even an albatross; I’d seen all these with Mr. Darwin on the other Galapagos islands.

But I knew it wasn’t.

My scalp and neck prickled, and my legs twitched with the urge to flee. The silhouette of the sky beast hovered above the volcano and then swooped. It was coming for me. Where to hide? I’d never wished to see a tree so much in my life. Farthing sniffed the air, then darted off in a flash of green.

I needed to get down low, but the lizard turned and gave that distinctive hoot, and pawed the ground as if impatient for me to follow.

The black outline of my tormentor was growing bigger. What choice did I have?

Scratch bounced on my back as I ran.

The odd little reptile is our navigator now?

“All right, Scratch! Do you have any better suggestions?” I hissed.

Didn’t think so.

The sky beast disappeared over the other side of the volcano. Maybe it hadn’t seen me. Farthing picked up her pace and I did the same, my bitten foot throbbing.