The Mysterious Benedict Society

S.Q. comes to the boys’ room that night and announces that Mr. Curtain wants to see them. The boys are alarmed by the summons, since Martina must have told Mr. Curtain that she did not cheat.

Mr. Curtain explains that he made Martina an Executive due to Reynie’s advice to keep those he distrusts close to him. Since there are now two Messenger positions open, Mr. Curtain is making both Reynie and Sticky Messengers. The boys are stunned and relieved.

Sticky sends a report via Morse code, and Mr. Benedict starts to send a reply: “With open eyes now you may find/A place you must exit to enter. Where one—” (310). Before he can complete it, Mr. Curtain wheels out onto the plaza, and Mr. Benedict is forced to stop. The team cannot guess what the fragment means.

Jackson wakes the boys. He blindfolds them and takes them to Mr. Curtain, who shows them the Whispering Gallery. There is a machine that resembles an old-fashioned hair dryer, with a blue helmet bolted to an armchair and a red helmet protruding behind the chair. Mr. Curtain explains that there is nothing in the room that can be used to damage