Aunt Elizabeth saw her friend to the door and then returned to the parlor.
“This is hard for you, isn’t it, Aunt E.?” George asked.
“It is,” Aunt Elizabeth agreed. “But let’s not dwell on it.” She brushed a stray wisp of hair off her forehead. “Let’s see what you can do with the rest of your day.”
It was late afternoon, and the sun streamed through a west-facing window in Aunt Elizabeth’s parlor.
Nancy spoke up. “I was hoping we could visit the grove where the bats live. I’d like to see that part of the road before the meeting tonight.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jessie said. “The only problem is, we can’t park a car on the roadside. There isn’t enough room. And it’s too far to walk.”
“Why don’t you take bicycles?” Aunt Elizabeth suggested. She turned to George. “When your cousins went off to college, they left their bikes behind. I think they’re still in the garage. They may be a little dusty and creaky, but they’ll get you there.”
Nancy frowned. “The only thing I worry about is biking on that road,” she said. “Wouldn’t we be in danger?”
Aunt Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t think so. As long as you return before dark, you’ll be safe.”
A trip out to the garage revealed four three-speed bicycles leaning against the back wall. Nancy, George, Bess, and Jessie each took one and set off down Aunt Elizabeth’s driveway.
The sun was still warm, and it was refreshing to be outdoors. With Jessie in the lead, they followed the road as it twisted and turned for about a mile and a half. When Jessie motioned to the other three, they pulled over to the left-hand side.
The grove of oaks nestled in a corner of the road. Leaning their bikes against the tree trunks, the girls gathered on a rocky outcrop in the woods to their right.
“What kind of bats live here?” Nancy asked Jessie.
“Gray bats,” Jessie said, “a species that’s been endangered for a while. It’s unusual to find a colony up here. That’s why they have to be saved.”
Bess looked up into the trees. “Would we be able to see them from here? Or do they camouflage themselves?”
“That’s a good question,” Jessie said to Bess. “Their coloring protects them because the trees they roost in, like these oaks, have gray bark. Right now they’re just coming out of their winter hibernation. We suspect there must be a cave nearby, because that’s where they hibernate, but we haven’t found one yet.”
“How did you discover they were here?” Nancy asked.
“Martin Noble, a professor at my college who’s an expert on bats, goes out regularly at night to sight them,” Jessie said. “He was here around twilight one evening and saw them flitting from tree to tree.”
“Did he catch one?” George asked.
“Yes,” Jessie said. “That’s what set off the controversy. When he heard about the petition, he caught one for proof.”
“How do you catch a bat?” Nancy asked.
“Do you have to have a long-handled net or something?” Bess asked. “Like catching butterflies?”
“Not exactly,” Jessie said, laughing. “You stretch some soft nets between the trees. It doesn’t harm them at all.”
The sun was beginning to set. The trees cast long shadows on the mossy ground.
“If we wait a few more minutes, we might see them head out for their evening snack,” Jessie said. “Let’s sit quietly.”
The girls sat on the rock and gazed up expectantly.
Nancy looked around her. As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the wind died down and the woods became quiet. She heard a rustling overhead and saw a small darting shape take flight.
“It looks like a bird,” Bess said.
“Yes, but it flies differently and faster,” Jessie replied.
As Nancy watched, she saw several other darting shapes flitting from tree to tree.
In the quiet twilight, the young women could hear the rustling of wings and the high-pitched squeak of the bats’ sonar as they set out for the night.
“It’s strange and beautiful at the same time, isn’t it?” Nancy whispered. Everyone nodded, awed by the sight.
Suddenly a gruff male voice disturbed the silence: “What are you doing here?”
Nancy turned to her right and saw a middle-aged man standing at the edge of the grove. He had graying brown hair and a closely clipped beard ending in a sharp point. He was dressed completely in black.
“I’m sorry,” Nancy said. “Were we disturbing you?”
“You’re not disturbing me, but you’re trespassing on my property,” the man said brusquely.
“I thought this was public property,” Nancy said. “Who are you?”
“My name is Hank Tolchinsky,” he said. “I have a house further back in the woods, but this is my property, from the rock on. I wish you’d leave.”
“We were watching the bats,” Jessie told him. “I suppose you know about the proposal to widen the road.”
The man laughed harshly. “I’m well aware of it. I don’t like bats. Never have. I wish they weren’t here. Mostly because I’ve been getting a lot of snoopers trampling all over my property.”
