“Neil,” said Harry, “we’re coming out because we faced Misquamacus before. If we hadn’t, we would have put you down as a crank, just like everyone else has. But the last time we faced him we came about as close to the happy hunting grounds as I ever want to get, and I don’t want that to happen again. This time, I want to face him forewarned and forearmed, and I want to make sure that he doesn’t have a chance to conjure up any of those demons that jump out at you and bite your head off.”

“Are you joking?”

“Do I sound as if I’m joking?”

Neil stepped aside to let a fishmonger pass with a barrow of fresh blue-green lobsters.

“No,” he said. “You don’t sound as though you’re joking at all.”

“Okay,” replied Harry. “Now, this is what Singing Rock wants you to do. He wants you to keep a close watch on your son, and he wants you to make sure that he doesn’t go off on his own this weekend. Do whatever you have to do—take him bowling, or swimming, or whatever it is you people do out at Bodega Bay. Just don’t let him out of your sight. And one more thing. Make sure that he doesn’t get together with any of his classmates from school. If you can go, get him out of school right now—so much the better. Singing Rock says that before the twenty-two wonder-workers can emerge, they have to go through some kind of performance with lizards or something, and they have to do it all together.”

“Lizards?” frowned Neil.

“Don’t ask me,” said Harry. “I know as much about Indian magic as I do about dancing the Highland fling. Apparently, the medicine men do something repulsive with lizards.”

“Okay,” said Neil. “I’ll do what I can.”

“There’s something else,” Harry put in. “If you think that Misquamacus is really starting to get a grip on your son—if your son starts talking like Misquamacus and looking as though his face is changing—then call me right away. If it gets really bad, then get the hell out of there.”

“But what about Toby? If it does get bad, what’s going to happen to him?”

“It’s pretty hard to say. He might have a chance of survival. But if you and your wife stay around too long, you’re going to find yourselves in much worse danger than he.”

“What kind of danger? What are you talking about? What do I have to look for?”

“You don’t have to look for anything,” said Harry dryly. “Whatever it is, it’s going to come looking for you.”

*

He met Doughty on the jetty. The old man was sitting on the front bumper of Neil’s pickup, smoking his pipe. Neil said hi.

Doughty stood up. He questioned, “Did you hear the news?”