to change clothes so that I could be dressed in the way I might want to be found if this were the end Where am I by the way I had seen many frightened fishermen and women mostly after they had found their way home after a sudden winter storm The frightened people I had seen were shaking and mumbling Mr Entwhistle was the first person I had ever seen whose boat had actually sunk during a storm Mr Entwhistle looked crisp and elegant You are in New Auckland I said I thought I knew all the fishing villages along the coast he said frowning We’re small said Susan Only 138 people live here unless Mrs Hartog had her baby last night We have forty two buildings including the school the garage and the basketball arena A garage So there is a road I can perhaps pay someone to give me a ride to Prince Rupert so that I might quickly fly away No said Susan There’s no road We’re surrounded by mountains And the ocean of course But you have a garage he said as if he was trying to
convince us that there was a road and we had just forgotten It’s not really a garage I said We use it to store things You have boats though And a telephone We have lots of boats and several phones Ah splendid I need to make a call I hit some rocks in the fog and was lucky enough to find your village I still have to call the Coast Guard There is a bright side to this ordeal I was the only occupant and I am safe You can come up to my house I said My dad’s the school principal We have a phone
Susan and I led Mr Entwhistle down the dock and onto the sand Susan and I walked slowly at first figuring that anyone with a cane might need a little more time but Mr Entwhistle didn’t use his cane to help him walk He swung it casually over his shoulder and then swung it back and tapped it on the ground like Fred Astaire in one of those old dance movies We crossed the sand to the cedar sidewalk that runs along the first row of houses The houses are clumped close together like they’re protecting each other from the damp A few houses actually seem to lean toward each other to stay warm All the houses have windows facing the sidewalk As we passed each house people glanced up from doing dishes or reading books or fixing fishing gear Nobody was surprised to see Susan or me but they were surprised to see Mr Entwhistle No boat or plane had landed but here we were leading a stranger down the boardwalk a stranger who looked like a famous storybook detective seen on the foggy streets of London England You look like a detective I said Are you No I am a writer and an artist I am Gerald Entwhistle
Perhaps you’ve heard of me I don’t think so said Susan Me either I said But we’re only twelve Ah but it is children for whom I write and paint I am the author and illustrator of the Bobby and Bernice Beaver books I read one of those I said excitedly Bobby and his wife Bernice are beavers who build dams that look like famous buildings You have it my lad said Mr Entwhistle patting my head which is something I usually hate And for my art I must travel this beaver-laden country and draw the little beasts in their habitat Couldn’t you just go to the zoo in London or something asked Susan They’ve got beavers there right Yes but I pride myself in the accuracy of my drawings I need the natural flowers and trees where beaver live I need the proper hue of the water and the texture of the rocks I am a perfectionist you see Animals must be drawn in their proper environment A loud deep roar seemed to make the fog swirl in front
