The Eyes and the Impossible

Johannes runs to Bertrand’s nest. He wants to tell his best friend about the glad news of his appointment as the new Keeper of the Equilibrium and about the terrible news that he is half-coyote. Johannes grows worried when he sees no sign of the gull, and Angus and Sonja help him search the park and the beach. Filled with dread, the dog checks the archery field and finds “a small lump, a flash of something pale in the moonlight” (197). The dog recognizes his best friend’s limp form and asks in rage and sorrow, “How would I live with this? How will all of us who loved you, Bertrand, live with this?” (197).

Astonished, Johannes discovers that his friend is alive. Bertrand explains that he was wounded that afternoon and has been lying there ever since because the arrow in his left wing prevents him from walking. Tearfully, the gull says, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m so embarrassed. Oh, what stupidity!” (199). Angus and Sonja help Johannes extract the arrow, and the squirrel hides it in a thicket where they will never see it again.