Hoot Study Guide

Chapter 11

Officer Delinko is continuing to drive by the construction site every morning on his way to work and again on his way home. The only unusual thing he has seen is a wild man with a red umbrella speaking to Curly, and so he hopes once again to capture the vandals himself. The next afternoon, he drives by once more and sees no dogs on patrol. He stops and the only sound he hears is a soft coo-coo, coo-coo sound which turns out to be the owls. He smiles at this before he notices a strip of green cloth hanging from the fence. He retrieves it and pockets it as part of his investigation.

In the meantime, Beatrice and Roy are pedaling madly with Mullet Fingers who slumps across the handlebars barely conscious. Roy sees Delinko’s police cruiser and at first waves at him for help. But Beatrice bolts away with her brother slung over her shoulders to escape the cops so Roy follows. They are the closest things he has to friends in Coconut Cove. To Roy, Mullet Fingers is only trying to save some owls. How can that be a crime? Five minutes later, they are resting under a shade tree in someone’s yard where ironically, tough Beatrice turns to Roy and asks him what they are going to do.

Curly decides that they only way to catch the vandals is to spend the night at the trailer on the construction site. He sits down at the television with a .38 revolver for protection, dreaming at the same time of Kimberly Lou Dixon the former runner-up to Miss America who will be playing the role of Mother Paula at the groundbreaking ceremony. Then, the cable goes out and his TV goes silent. In the silence, Curly becomes nervous especially when he hears a sound in the bathroom. His fear of more snakes makes him break open the door and before he can catch himself, he shoots the gun, destroying the toilet seat. The sound is only a mouse and Curly knows it’s going to be a long weekend when he realizes he’s shot the commode! I get it.”

Officer Delinko shows up at the Eberhardt home for two reasons: he has seen Roy, Beatrice and Mullet Fingers on the street and even though he’s not sure it’s Roy, he uses his concerns to speak to Mr. Eberhardt and gain perhaps an ally in his career moves. Mrs. Eberhardt recognizes the bike that Delinko brings to them as the one Beatrice had been riding, but neither parent recognizes the green cloth he has found as belonging to Roy. Before Delinko leaves, he asks Mr. Eberhardt if Roy had mentioned his request for a letter for his personnel file. Even though he’s running out of tolerance for the young police officer, he promises Delinko that he’ll see what he can do. Then, Mrs. Eberhardt runs in after answering the phone and says she’s on her way to the emergency room, because Roy has been hurt.

Notes

It’s important to note that once again, Delinko smiles when he sees the owls. He is not at all turned off by them and this will be important at the end of the book. He also now has the bike Beatrice had stolen and a piece of Mullet Fingers’ shirt. His brazen attempt to help his career by using Mr. Eberhardt’s influence is somewhat disconcerting for the reader who wants to like this inexperienced young policeman. However, he will redeem himself later.

It’s ironic that Beatrice who has a tough, in-charge attitude about her, turns to relatively weak Roy Eberhardt for advice. This firms up his character even more, showing the maturity and decency that other people will have come to depend on.