Hoot Chapter 15 Summary

  • Roy is hesitant about getting involved in illegal activities like vandalism (despite wanting to help the burrowing owls).
  • Still being daylight, he tells his mom that he's going on another bike ride. And this time, he returns to Dana Matherson's house.
  • Sneaking up to the house, Roy glances into the windows until he sees the room Dana is in.
  • Roy raps on the window to get Dana's attention and then proceeds to full out moon him. First, he punches Dana in the face and now this? All from the boy who "wanted to blend in quietly and not be noticed" (4.12).
  • His stunt works exactly as planned and Dana comes after him.
  • Roy wants to make sure Dana chases after him the entire time so he paces himself knowing that Dana will be lagging behind.
  • When Dana "catches up", Roy gives an Oscar-worthy performance of being caught and offers to show him a secret stash of cigarettes in return for letting him go.
  • Dana takes the bait and Roy tells him he'll find the cigarettes in a trailer on the corner of East Oriole and Woodbury; the Mother Paula's construction site.
  • Curly is spending the night at the construction site again. But this time the lot looks completely vacant since his truck isn't there to warn intruders of his presence.
  • But Curly secures himself in his trailer which he surrounded with rat traps.
  • After a short nap, Curly wakes up to the noise of an intruder. Well, actually the sound is of rat traps going off.
  • Curly arms himself with his gun and surprises his guest by knocking him to the ground.
  • He realizes that this is just a kid and asks the boy's name. The kid replies, "Roy. Roy Eberhardt" (15.13).
  • Curly thinks this is the same kid who has been trespassing and vandalizing the construction site (but we all know that's not true!).
  • He tries to help the kid off the ground but "Roy" yanks Curly down instead and tries to run off...with a rat trap on each foot.
  • Officer Delinko is getting his stalker on and driving past the construction site again when he sees a boy in the middle of the road.
  • As Delinko drives closer he sees there is something on the boy's feet and Delinko gets out of his car to investigate.
  • The boy isn't in the mood to chat and starts walking away from Delinko. But the policeman won't have any of that and gets the boy in the back of his patrol car.
  • By now, Curly has finally caught up with the boy and is happy to see him in Delinko's custody.
  • Curly exclaims that Delinko has the construction site vandal—which makes Delinko beyond ecstatic.
  • But then Curly tells the officer that the boy's name is Roy Eberhardt. Try again, boys.
  • Since Delinko's met Roy on multiple occasions, he knows that this kid is not who he says he is.
  • The police officer needs to get to the bottom of this so he heads down to the station with Curly and the fake Roy in tow.